The Jazz Slinger
Evening radio king Eric Jackson is still making good on an old boast.
- Eric Jackson has been the dean of the Boston jazz scene for 25 years. Photo by Jason Goodman.
A more modest guy might never have spoken up. And that guy would still be working the graveyard shift at WGBH. Thankfully, though, a young Eric Jackson one day bragged to the Globe that he knew enough about jazz to host a top-notch show any time of the day. Rather than throw the cub DJ with the butter-smooth voice out the door, the station gave him his own show (he’s on from 8 p.m. to midnight, Monday through Thursday). This year Jazz with Eric in the Evening celebrates its 25th anniversary. As good as he’s gotten, Jackson points out that the gig’s tougher than when he made his debut. “There was a quarter-century less music to deal with back then,” he says.
Originally published in Boston magazine, October 2006
