Leave us your thoughts....


Home



    steve@oscartreadwell.com
 
38


Name:
Jay Adrick
Date: Thu 30 Aug 2007 10:38:10 PM EDT
Subject: OT
  I had the pleasure of beginning my broadcast career in 1964 working at WZIP and WZIP-FM. We put the FM station on the air in July 1964 and OT was our Saturday evening host. He did a 1 hour segment called "Songs by Sinatra" followed "OT's Jazz and Poetry". During this time, the station required an engineer to run the transmitter and I was lucky enough to draw that shift. We spent many evenings working at the studios in the Vernon Manor Hotel. Oscar hosted several live remotes from local clubs which I also got to engineer and he soon helped to shape my interest in music.

While we only worked together at WZIP for about 14 months, we kept in contact over the years. Many years later, OT did some naration work from his home studio on several productions that I put together while teaching at Xavier University.

I will always treasure the time that we spent together. OT's warm personality and style set him apart from the rest of the pack. We can only hope that WVXU continus his program for many years to come.

Jay Adrick
Vice President Broadcast Technology
Harris Corporation
 
 
37


Name:
Kevin
Date: Sat 23 Jun 2007 11:05:20 AM EDT
Subject: O.T. Rap Response
  Hey O.T. where you gone to
Up on the other side at the pearly gate too
Sittin on a cloud, playing a harp
Or picking up a horn and laying in down sharp

Or have you went off and joined the best
Miles, Monk, Ellington, and all the rest
Found your spot in jazz club glory
Sitting around and swapping stories

Wait, wait, where’s the groove
That relaxing voice so soft and smooth
Our jazz world’s loss is eternity’s gain
You’re like we won’t see soon or again

Rest in peace in your well earned Haven
We’ll be missing you most, nine to eleven.
 
 
36


Name:
Brian Gomien
Date: Thu 21 Jun 2007 08:54:13 PM EDT
Subject: A Letter to Saint Oscar
  This message is late in coming (much too late.)
I remember listening to "Jazz with O.T. when I was in my teens and being very effected not only with the
music (for which I was just beginning to gain an appreciation of) but also with the charismatic host.

Who else in radio could play such diverse and powerful music and have the dignity, magnetism and coolness
in presenting it that he had? He was just as much a draw for me as the music was. The poems, the critiques
and insight into the music made me want to explore and take risks with my own collection of music.
As my library grew I fell into the habit of sharing new discoveries with friends and inspired me to develop
as a musician who thrived on taking risks as well. This desire to share music and art eventually led me to take
a 2:00 AM slot on Saturdays with WAIF FM playing an ecclectic mix of World, Folk, Avante Garde and Jazz.

At first I thought I was alone in the endeavor. I clung to O.T.'s example as if he were my patron saint, a
personal guide who was in my own backyard. Each week a new theme, new connections and readings from
the greatest thinkers who ever lived. Gradually the insomniacs, club-goers and third-shifters stepped out of
the Hopper paintings they inhabited to let me know they were listening and digging what I played. The show
became a dimly lit diner where the Nighthawks could here Monk riffing with Rumi or Ravi Shankar putting into
sound exactly what the Mad Hatter really meant. There were no borders, no rules except that whatever it was,
it had to be good.

But as the show began to wrap up, I and the audience came to a realisation. as good as it was, it wasn't O.T.
The tunes were good but I rushed my intro's. The poetry, axioms and random insights came from good sources
but a missplaced "um" or "err" would kill their power. I thought I was doing something fresh and original but I
was just doing a weak immitation of the best of the best. In the end we all wished O.T. could've done the show,
but he already had one and a damn good one.

For now, I still keep it to a theme. I'm teaching in an art school and the music always compliments the assignment.
The projects are challenging but come with great rewards if you just follow through. The greats always come to visit
and inspire. You know who I mean, Krishna Murti, Rembrandt, Miles, Einstein and they always ask me the same thing
as they arrive, " You did say O.T. was coming, didn't you?"
 
 
35


Name:
stevlroberts
Date: Fri 08 Jun 2007 04:18:06 PM EDT
Subject: O.T.
  It always brought a sense of warmth to my being whenever I heard O.T.'s voice. I started listening to him when he was with WNOP. At some point, when my kids started arriving, I lost track of him. One night when I was up very late with my oldest son with yet another earache, I turned on the radio, and there he was! My son, even through his crying, seemed to pause momentarily to listen to the voice and the music. One never knows what influences babies, but that son is now studying saxophone performance at CCM with a deeplove of jazz.
The man was "cool."

He will never be forgotten.

Steve
 
 
34


Name:
Jim Arthur
Date: Mon 07 May 2007 09:32:17 PM EDT
Subject: Thank you, Oscar Treadwell
  When I look through many of the jazz albums in my collection, I can remember Oscar Treadwell's voice resonating between the cuts. Oscar Treadwell was the voice of after midnight in Cincinnati.
 
 
33


Name:
Suzanne Cloud
Date: Fri 17 Nov 2006 10:15:55 PM EST
Subject: Oscar's death
  I don't know who will read this message, but I first spoke with your father in person when I was doing my PhD dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania on the Philadelphia jazz community. Prior to that, your father played my CDs (I'm a jazz singer) on his show and we corresponded via email. I interviewed him for my research, I think it was in Westmont, NJ., right after my husband died. Your father was a wonderful man and a good friend for a time. We kind of lost touch after he remarried. Funny, I just decided to see if I could find your father again after reading a 1992 column written by local deejay (Bob Perkins) here in Philly saying how much your father meant to him as a young and eager jazz deejay wanna be. (I'm helping Bob Perkins with his memoirs and so I'm going over old columns he wrote.

I have your father talking about his life on tape. Let me know if you might like a copy and I'll try to retrieve it from storage. Please accept my condolences. Your father was quite a wonderful person. He will certainly be missed.
 
 
32


Name:
brian hue
Date: Wed 28 Jun 2006 05:19:43 PM EDT
Subject: ot
  I began listening to O.T. back @ 1970 on the old WNOP station. When I got to college I listened to him on WGUC from midnight till two a.m. He became a part of my life over the years and I always thought he would be there just like a parent. I now listen to old shows on cd and I find great comfort in hearing his voice. Yet no matter how many times I listen to the artist profiles I always learn something new. Thank you to his family for sharing him all these years. And thank you to God for creating such a wonderful person.
 
 
31


Name:
Paul Evans Pedersen, Jr.
Date: Thu 25 May 2006 12:09:57 PM EDT
Subject: Uncle Bud...Man, Was He Cool!
  Man, Was He Cool!

I was three or four
And I remember, it didn't matter
From where in the room you looked at his picture...
His eyes were always looking straight into yours.
They'd follow you, those eyes...and that big smile...
The picture was on my grandmother's dresser,
And I'd sneak into her room...just to see that guy's eyes
Follow me wherever I went.
"That's your Uncle Bud" my grandmother would say, and I'd hear her sigh,
"Ahhhh...that's my Buddy" in that nearly Irish lilt of hers.
Then, she'd take my hand and lead me out of that room, and on the way, I'd say,
"Gram, he's cool"...
Man, he was cool!

And I remember the old man's '63 Bel Aire
As he'd drive me over to his brother's house,
Mumbling' all the while how he was going to checkmate Bud this time if it killed him.
We'd get there, and they'd look at each other with their eye brows raised, seeming like they
Were ready to talk the shit, but instead, just ask each other, "White or Black?"
Then, aunt Caroline would busy me and Arthur, Alan, Patchin and Gretchen with some sort of game outside
As the brothers did battle.
I'd hear the old man call me an hour later, and, walking back into the house, I'd see and smell
Uncle Bud's cigar, and knew the outcome of the black and white war.
Again.
And on the way home, I'd hear the old man muttering, "Next time, his ass is mine!" to
No one in particular.
He beat the old man again, I knew.
Man, was he cool!

And that smile of Bud's sure pissed off Uncle Norm
As we all watched the Beatles one afternoon up in Levittown.
"He must have RENTED those Ludwigs", Norm was ranting, as he set up his Pearls
And tried to play along with Ringo, to the disdain of me and the room-full of cousins
That were enamored with these guys from Liverpool.
An ol' Uncle Bud would roar that Uncle Bud laugh, knowing how much Norm would have liked to have had that new set of Ludwigs
Shining' up there on that Muntz TV screen.
"Hey, man, whattaya gonna do...?" Bud would say to Norm,
The implication being "Be happy with what ya got, my man!".
Uncle Bud couldn't help but to be positive. In Everything.
And Norm would calm down, and point out the new sticks and heads he'd just put on his kit.
And Bud would smile that smile, look at him, and say, "Man, that's the way to think, brother...just be cool!"
Man, was he cool!

At my Grand parent's 50th wedding anniversary
The whole family was gathered at a caterer's hall,
Along with life-long friends of my grand parents from their Methodist church, and stuffy
Old Republican-types from Grand pop's Masonic Lodge.
Proud and dignified were my grand parents, very conservative, very "old country" Irish and Norwegian.
Us cousin kids, now mostly in our teens, were on, of course, our very best behavior.
Grand mom sitting there, glowing in the lime light.
Grand pop sitting there, arms folded, looking over the room like the King he was, barely smiling, only nodding.
Uncle Bud, again, as he loved to do, shared the story of how his father scared away Oogie Orwitz (Michael Landon) from marrying his sister, Etta, telling her, "no daughter of mine is going to marry someone with a six-shooter on his belt, Yumpin' Yimminy!"
And then, with his toast to his parents, in one sentence, Uncle Bud
Shook the room to it's roots, and nearly had most of the dentures in the room drop on the floor.
"And Dad, who can believe that most all of these beautiful people sprang from your loins..."
Man, he was cool!

And I don't know if it was the seemingly thousands of "hip" records he had,
Or his unbound exuberance at the prospect of me and my best friend Danny
Thumbing it from New Jersey to California the first time I visited him in Cincinnati...that amazed me...
On my way to California.
"Man, this is SO great that you guys are doing this", he'd said, over and over.
But we were more interested in that record collection than the trip we'd planned since 6th grade.
"Do you have 'Surrealistic Pillow?"
He did.
"Are You Experienced?"
He did.
"King Crimson, even?"
He did!
The Doors...?
Yep! He did!
He kept talking about "Train", and "Hank Crawford" and "Miles", and told us that's the stuff he played on his radio show, where he was known as Oscar Treadwell...but what did we care.
He had Hendrix, and he played it...and smiled at us, and then bid us farewell and good luck,
Never once warning us with any kind of discouragement.
Man, was he cool!

Just after I released my first CD,
The old man announced that Uncle Bud had received an honorary doctorate for his dedication to jazz.
I wondered how he'd receive the Traditional Country CD I'd sent,
And it wasn't long that the phone rang from Cincy.
"Man, this is just outstanding! Really, really well-done, my man!".
He wanted to know all about the players and the writers,
And actually knew who I was talking about as I bragged on who played on the album in Nashville.
"And, man, the writing is primo. You've outdone yourself, guy!", he said,
As I tried to keep my face from cracking off in smile.
And in one sentence, he quelled all my fears about "making it" in the commercial quagmire called the music business.
"But, Paul, think of the education you'll get on your journey!"

Man. Was he cool!
 
 
30


Name:
Jimmy Wisner
Date: Wed 24 May 2006 09:04:06 AM EDT
Subject: Oscar's passing
  My deepest condolences to all of Oscar's children.I thought he was the
exception and he'd go on forever. Literally, a great man in the best sense
of that expression. His lyrics were beautiful and compelling. He taught me
a lot about life. There was never a bigger fan of american jazz than Oscar.

I feel a great loss. Jimmy Wisner
 
 
29


Name:
Gretchen
Date: Thu 11 May 2006 09:11:19 AM EDT
Subject: May 11, 2006
  Happy Birthday, Dad! I miss you so much. Please give Mom a big hug from me.
 
 
     
 
28


Name:
Jon Weatherly
Date: Sat 06 May 2006 01:26:53 PM EDT
Subject: OT showed us how to be human
  I am saddened by the passing of Oscar Treadwell as I have been by few other public figures. My life has been enriched for years by his artistry.

I can think of no other "disc jockey" who could rightly be termed an artist. But OT's taste in music and poetry, including his own poetry, is gentle delivery, his encyclopedic knowledge of music, was driven by an artistic passion.

I believe that OT played music and read poems because he loved them. I believe he loved them because in them he heard the common expression of humanity that crosses every border of human societies.

He taught me what it is to be a human being. Being human is being an artist, one who seeks meaning, beauty and love.

Sweet love!

Thank you, OT. I miss you already.

I pray for God's blessing of peace for the family as they grieve the loss of this wonderful gentleman.
 
 
27


Name:
Steve Borowski
Date: Thu 20 Apr 2006 12:25:39 PM EDT
Subject: My Neighbor
  I was lucky to have lived on Sunderland Drive for 14 years with OT as a neighbor and spent many nites smoking cigars and drinkin G'Jack on his patio...sometimes freezing our butts in winter! I knew nothing about Jazz...he sure changed that! I remember he cut me a CD one time when he came over my house for dinner and wanted me to "crank it up"... it was all Hendricks and I was a little taken back. Me and another neighbor who lived next to him, Bren Fries, who actually introduced me to OT, used to go hang with him and he would educate us about life in general. OT could relate to all ages. We were dazzled...OT was certainly a Jazz Icon, he was also one of the most genuine human beings I have ever known. I celebrate his life.

Neighbor and Friend,

Big Bo
 
 
26


Name:
Pam Owens
Date: Tue 11 Apr 2006 08:18:38 PM EDT
Subject: A. Pedersen
  My deepest sympathy to the entire Pedersen family. My heart certainly goes out to all of you. Since I haven't seen "Art's dad" for many, many years, it was a joy to hear his voice on the radio programs offered at this web site. Peace.
 
 
25


Name:
stu engel
Date: Mon 10 Apr 2006 04:44:43 PM EDT
Subject: OT
  I didn't listen to nearly as many OT shows as I would have liked to. Was so excited to hear that he was back on WVXU playing jazz for us again, only to hear so soon after that he is now gone. When I heard his voice, it was like I was taken to another place, a place where only the coolest jazz was worth playing, and Prof. OT was going to give us an intimate lesson with words and music that was more like a master class with the world's most recognizable jazz voice. When I first heard him on the radio, it was already so amazing in itself, that voice, and how he made you realize the depth of jazz and it's history. But then, I see the tunes with his name in the "Real Book", and you hear the heavy jazz guys in town, or in New York, or whereever, saying "OT was playing such and such the other night.....", and you realize that OT is a legend way beyond Cincinnati! Long live OT, he will with all of us. What a blessing he was.
 
 
24


Name:
Martin Giesbrecht
Date: Mon 10 Apr 2006 04:26:15 PM EDT
Subject: OT: The Best
  Cincinnati radio is the best in the nation, and OT helped make it so. I'll miss him.

Martin Giesbrecht
 
 
23


Name:
Christine Wands
Date: Mon 10 Apr 2006 01:17:32 PM EDT
Subject: O.T.
  I moved to Cincinnati in 1980. I found O.T. soon after. I missed him after his retirement and was so happy to hear his mellow voice again on WVXU. His knowledge of and love for jazz made every show a learning experience.

Thank you, O.T.
 
 
22


Name:
Jim Williams
Date: Sun 09 Apr 2006 07:35:54 PM EDT
Subject: O. T.
  I well remember O. T. on one of my all time favorite radio stations, WNOP!! I was then very joyed when he remained over at WVXU with all the stupid changes they made, a while back. He will be greatly missed by all who enjoyed real jazz in a town that sadly lacks good jazz on the radio.
Prayers for the entire family,
Jim Williams
 
 
21


Name:
Sue Neufarth Howard
Date: Sat 08 Apr 2006 01:49:24 PM EDT
Subject: A Poem Written for Oscar
  TENDER TRANSFORMATION

A petal fades and gently falls
a leaf recolors, floats downwind
morning fog magically disintegrates
jet black night transforms to iridescent dawn

For the fortunate
the end is kind
a gentle transition

as if a fairy of the beyond hovers
PeterPan-like, outside the window
beckons, wind whispers
"It's time"

The chosen grasps the extended hand
glides smoothly past infirmity
to the other world
leaving ripples of shock
and awe in the wake

-Sue Neufarth Howard

Sweet Love to you Oscar on your gentle journey there.
 
 
20


Name:
Jeff Leist
Date: Sat 08 Apr 2006 10:28:17 AM EDT
Subject: thanks
  I first listened to Oscar's show as a college student at Wittenberg in Springfield. He is truly a legend and will be missed. I learned so much about jazz from listening to him. He was an inspiration to me when I began airing my own jazz show on Witt's college radio station. He will be fondly remembered by all.
 
 
19


Name:
Joann Marksberry
Date: Sat 08 Apr 2006 09:51:14 AM EDT
Subject: Thanks for the Memories
  Oscar, my husband Jim considered himself your biggest fan until his death in November 1988. When you joined WVXU, your voice (and music) brought back many fond memories. May the devotion of your many fans bring your family comfort in your absence.
 
 
     
 
18


Name:
art pedersen
Date: Fri 07 Apr 2006 04:58:34 PM EDT
Subject: dad
  thanks so much for this site Gretchen and Steve. its great to read the feelings of dads friends and listeners.
 
 
17


Name:
Gary Winters
Date: Fri 07 Apr 2006 04:01:38 PM EDT
Subject: Oscar
  Oscar was the best of the best and will be missed as a great human being and as an ambassador and promoter of jazz for the whole jazz community. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
 
 
16


Name:
Jerry Conrad
Date: Fri 07 Apr 2006 11:46:53 AM EDT
Subject: Great ones
  Living at a time when great music and those who made sure the message was delivered,has been a true blessing in my life. Oscar was at the top. Love Ya'Man.
 
 
15


Name:
Stan Piates
Date: Fri 07 Apr 2006 12:26:13 AM EDT
Subject: OT
  Thanks for helping keep jazz alive with a great voice and beautiful words.
 
 
14


Name:
Drew Cremisio
Date: Thu 06 Apr 2006 11:34:06 PM EDT
Subject: Love, sweet love
  Peace be with you all.

OT's voice, verbage, and message is as smooth and masterful as any solo by Miles or Coleman Hawkins. Monk and Bird knew it. I guess they wanted him back.

God is close to those with breaking hearts.

Shalom
Drew Cremisio
 
 
13


Name:
Jeff Folkens
Date: Thu 06 Apr 2006 10:35:22 PM EDT
Subject: to be continued...
  I was telling a friend of mine that I listen to CDs from the public library, and that the quality shot up immensly when O.T.'s collection was donated. My friend recently crossed paths with Oscar on the street and mentioned it to him. I am told that Oscar seemed genuinely pleased and appreciative of the story. I know I'm glad O.T. heard a little of how his legacy continues to influence my little corner of the world.
 
 
12


Name:
Lowell (Woody) Woodrey
Date: Thu 06 Apr 2006 05:20:41 PM EDT
Subject: fond memories
  Listening to OT, a true gentleman of note, over these many years has done so much to enhance my life as a jazz musician and music educator. God bless you for all that you have given us.
 
 
11


Name:
Paul Saas
Date: Thu 06 Apr 2006 03:19:20 PM EDT
Subject: O.T.
  Words cannot express my sense of loss. Perhaps music can.
 
 
10


Name:
Tom Hyatt
Date: Thu 06 Apr 2006 12:29:13 PM EDT
Subject: We jazz musicians owe you so much, Oscar
  What a classy gentleman was Oscar. His knowledge of jazz and love of the arts coupled with that rich deep voice made him a terrific spokesman for jazz. You'll be missed, Oscar. God Bless you,

Tom
 
 
9


Name:
Janice Trytten
Date: Thu 06 Apr 2006 11:48:45 AM EDT
Subject: OT Thougts/Thanks
  Hearing that wonderful voice again was one right thing among the sad changes at WVXU - very right. Oh, that he had stayed.
OT is, I think, a part of a beautiful group including Jim Henson and Fred Rogers, maybe S. Silverstein. Please, read me a poem.
 
 
     
 
8


Name:
Bob Hinklin
Date: Thu 06 Apr 2006 11:38:33 AM EDT
Subject: Oska T
  I followed Oscar's car...with this license plate.... down Miami Road, not even ten days before his passing. Should have honked and waved one last time.

Oscar was and is a treasure, and clearly the best ambassador, messenger, and friend that jazz ever had in Cincinnati. Some of us, myself included, go back to the old Monmouth studios of WNOP, where Oscar graciously allowed guys like me to stop by and just chew the fat over whatever right there in the studio. He continued his amazing in-depth love of this music throught his shows on any number of FM stations through the years.

What an amazing, erudite, classy guy. It was easy to feel selfish about being around Oscar....and not a musician in this town ever called him by his birth name, just his respected jazz moniker......we all felt like we wanted his attention and the benefit of his enthusiasm and knowledge all to ourselves and not share him with others. Clearly unfeasible and unrealistic, but Oscar just endeared himself so much to so many of us outside his family that we in fact (again perhaps selfishly) wanted to believe that we were part of his exended family.

If tomorrow should dawn and bring with it travail and sorrow, at least we have had today. I thank Oscar Treadwell for so many glorious todays and extend my condolences to his entire family, with special thanks for allowing him to be shared with so many of us for such a long period.

Sweet Love, indeed!

Bob Hinklin
 
 
7


Name:
David Haldeman
Date: Thu 06 Apr 2006 10:52:30 AM EDT
Subject: We will all miss Oscar and his insights.
  Oscar was one of the reasons I moved to Cincinnati in 1970. I reasoned that any town that employed jazz disk jockies on AM Radio had to have some great things going for it. It was also my delight to have Gretchen in my 7th grade general music class at Anderson Middle School. Over the years, O.T. and I have stayed in touch, and Karen and I, and our whole family will miss him. Our deepest sympathy goes to all his children and friends.
 
 
6


Name:
Troy Mastern
Date: Thu 06 Apr 2006 10:32:49 AM EDT
Subject: O.T. Remembered
  Thanks for all the great memories O.T. You'll always be with us in the music.
 
 
5


Name:
Josh Haldeman
Date: Thu 06 Apr 2006 01:10:02 AM EDT
Subject: OT Lives On...
  I grew up listening to Oscar thanks to my Dad. Their infectious love for jazz continues to inspire me every day. I hope to be able to pass his influence onto my kids someday. Thanks for everything Oscar!
 
 
4


Name:
Jeff Day
Date: Wed 05 Apr 2006 08:45:39 PM EDT
Subject: What a voice
  The Eclectic Stop Sign. Way back in '71 at Miami U on Friday nights. Ken Nordine to Sonny Stitt to T-Bone Walker to Keith jarrett to Jimi. Throw in some poetry. Then seeing McCoy Tyner at a club in Cinci and hearing this voice from behind, "Ah, it's going to be a beautiful night." It was HIM! I was as thrilled to know that OT was there as I was to see Tyner. I spent years wanting to hear OT again, having moved away. Then the web came along and I was thrilled again, 30 years later, every Sunday, or with those archives. What a magical trip he gave me. Then and now. What perspective he had. How gentle sounding he was. What a voice. Thank you, OT.
 
 
3


Name:
John L. Knorek
Date: Wed 05 Apr 2006 06:50:06 PM EDT
Subject: OT Rembered
  some sweet love...

oh how much we will miss him.
 
 
2


Name:
Gretchen
Date: Wed 05 Apr 2006 05:49:57 PM EDT
Subject: All we need is love
  You will always be part of my every decision now and in the future. I love you so much, Dad. I'll continue to live my life the way you and Mom taught me. Sweet Love to you both.
 
 
1


Name:
Steve
Date: Wed 05 Apr 2006 05:25:39 PM EDT
Subject: Remembering OT
  My father-in-law Oscar Treadwell passed away much too soon. We'll miss him.
 
 


  Home