Newark’s WBGO unveils new performance series

WBGO in Newark, N.J., launches a new broadcast performance series this week, The Checkout: Live from 92YTribeca, hosted and curated by Josh Jackson as an extension of his weekly music magazine. Featuring modern jazz, the monthly series debuts on Wednesday, June 22 with a performance by New York-based pianist and composer Dan Tepfer, “one of the most formidable jazz musicians on the international stage,” and special guest saxophonist Noah Perminger. Performances will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. eastern on WBGO 88.3 FM, streamed on WBGO.org, and offered as a video webcast on NPR Music. The series is part of a larger service expansion that WGBO is rolling out this summer: it’s launching an HD Radio channel focusing on emerging jazz artists and strengthening its signal in Manhattan, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Journal featured the WBGO and New York’s WQXR in a story on terrestrial broadcasters repositioning themselves as “thriving multi-platform hubs.” Earlier in Current: Josh Jackson’s The Checkout as a showcase for music discovery.