Jonathan Schwartz (radio) - Radio Career

Radio Career

Schwartz worked at New York's WNEW-FM from 1967 to 1976, followed by stints at WNEW-AM, WQEW, and currently WNYC-FM. Schwartz also served as programming director for XM Satellite Radio's now-defunct High Standards channel, and later appeared on Sirius XM's Siriusly Sinatra channel. He continues to host a daily show, also called High Standards, on Sirius XM's '40s on 4 channel.

Schwartz is best known for his two four-hour-long weekend broadcasts on WNYC-FM, The Saturday Show and The Sunday Show, which comprise about half talk and half an eclectic mix of music. The Saturday Show is simulcast on wnyc.org, and The Sunday Show is simulcast on the '40s on 4 channel on Sirius XM. Beginning September 15, 2012, The Saturday Show has been heard in the evenings, while The Sunday Show is heard in the afternoons, New York time; "The Saturday Show" is recorded on Saturday afternoons, and a live stream of it can also be heard via the "Specials" section of wnyc.org.

In his talk during the shows, Schwartz will discuss many famous pop songwriters and singers, and jazz artists. His music selections incorporate a high concentration of pop jazz, pop standards, big band and Broadway show tunes, augmented by music of nearly any popular style that has influenced twentieth century American tastes. His playlists reflect the concept of the "Great American Songbook" or, as Schwartz puts it, "America's classical music". Traditionally, Schwartz opens each broadcast with the same secret snippet of music which he has always refused to identify: slightly more than a minute of "a lilting woman's voice, wordless and yet evocative, over an acoustic guitar." The voice may be that of Schwartz's friend since childhood, Carly Simon; listeners speculate that the music may have been composed by his father. Similarly, he closes most shows with a song from the late cabaret singer Nancy LaMott, followed by another snippet, an instrumental piece whose origin is difficult, yet not impossible, to identify.

Schwartz is known for his on-air stories about his interactions with Frank Sinatra and other famous people, mostly songwriters, singers and musicians. He is also known for his encyclopedic knowledge of Sinatra, who was amazed by Schwartz's knowledge of every song he had ever recorded. He champions young artists who carry on the traditions of the American Songbook, as well as reveling in the songwriters and performers of the Sinatra era. In 1986 Schwartz won a Grammy Award for Best Album Notes for The Voice - The Columbia Years 1943-1952.