No sooner had WNUA 95.5, Chicago slammed shut its door on smooth jazz than WLFM, which broadcasts from atop the John Hancock Center, activated its 87.7 FM frequency in the Chicago-land area and acquired broadcast rights from the Smooth Jazz Network for the smooth jazz format. The new station will go by the nickname of ‘The L’ and will have the catchy slogan of “Smooth Jazz Rides The L, WLFM 87.7 FM, It’s New Radio Home In Chicago”.
Although initially the output will be nothing more and nothing less than the syndicated programming from Broadcast Architecture that some blame for the demise of the radio we knew and loved, press reports suggest that ‘The L’ plans to reconstitute the cutting-edge community approach to smooth jazz in Chicago that, in its heyday, WNUA demonstrated so well. One of its main goals will be to create a station that has a very strong Chicago identity with a musical mix that represents what Chicagoan’s have been asking for
Over the next few months ‘The L’ will use extensive market research to formulate an increasing amount of locally based programming. However, for now, we should all rejoice that, in Chicago, smooth jazz is back on the dial.