This is a complete shock to me. I had not
listened to the jazz station very much in these latter years but,
whenever I did, it was always a treat to hear Sam Fields. I went on the
air after Sam Fields every night for four years at 88.1 FM KKJZ. Sam
was a gentle and quiet soul. Not because he was shy, quite the
contrary. Sam spent his time thinking and listening to what people were
saying above, below and between the lines. I got to know Sam quite well
and you have to get to know him well to truly enjoy and appreciate the
humor and knowledge that he possessed.
Sam pretty much kept to
himself and played some of the most classic jazz music on the air. He
had a great laugh and every night he had a story to tell me about some
musician or some incident that happened back in the day, followed by a
chuckle that was unforgettable.
Sam always knew what he wanted
to play. I used to know which artist I wanted to play but, Sam knew the
artist, the song and which album it was on. I would be talking with him
in the studio while a tune was playing. There might be 20 seconds left
before the song was over and Sam would comfortably get up, go into the
other room where the library was located, grab the disc that he wanted,
walk back in the studio, take the disc out and look at it for a second,
pop it in the player, hit the tune that he wanted and it would be as
smooth and seamless as ever. No sweat for a man that was in the
business way before I could even utter the word jazz.
Playing
jazz in the late hours and in the wee early morning is a special time.
Most of the world is asleep and it is so cerebral to spend the time
with just you and the music. It is a time to reflect on life and
express that reflection through jazz music. Sam had many years and an
arsenal of jazz knowledge. His absence and even-toned sound and style
of selecting the music will be missed and will once again historically
alter the sweet sound of jazz music on the radio.
We all owe
Sam Fields a great debt of gratitude for a lifetime service of
providing us with the sounds of music that we all know and love today.
I have been asked to be a Pall Bearer at Sam's
transition into the after lifeand I can't think of a more special honor
than that. I was in New York City when the great Little Niles
took the A train to the Jazz Central Station. I know when Sam arrives,
Chuck and all of our wonderful beautiful musicians and lovers of this
music will be there at the station waiting with a warm welcome.
LeRoy Downs
Services for
Announcer/Braodcaster,Sam
Fields are open to the public
and will be held this Friday
September 30th at 1pm :
Spalding Mortuary
3045 S La Brea Ave (at Jefferson Blvd)
Los Angeles, CA 90016
(323) 934-1181
Sam Fields, 55; Noted DJ
By Valerie Nelson, Times Staff Writer 9/25/05
Sam Fields, a disc jockey at KKJZ-FM (88.1) who had been bringing his blues-influenced taste in jazz to the Los Angeles airwaves since 1972, has died. He was 55.
Fields,
who did not show up for his Thursday afternoon shift at the radio
station, was found dead by police Friday at his North Hollywood home.
No other details were immediately available.
“It's a terrible shock and loss,”
said Saul Levine, the president and general manager of KMZT-FM (105.1)
who gave Fields his first break in jazz radio at the pioneering KBCA-FM
in 1972. “He contributed so much to the field of jazz.”
His
taste in music was “never wavering and instantly recognizable,” said
Payal Kumar, broadcast director at KKJZ-FM, which is based at Cal State
Long Beach. “There was nobody better.”
“People always commented on Sam's choice in music, and how it elevated the station as a whole,” she said.
When
Levine finally had an opening for a disc jockey, he couldn't locate
Fields' contact information. Instead, he found Fields working behind
the counter at a deli on West 3rd Street and said, “I have a job for you.”
Fields
was also heard on other local radio stations, including KROQ, KLAC and
KMET. His personal jazz favorites included Wes Montgomery, Bud Powell,
Dexter Gordon, Wayne Shorter and Horace Silver.
Fields, who was a private man, never showed anger or dissatisfaction, Levine said.
“He was one of the nicest persons we ever had working with us,” he said.
When KKJZ-AM switched to classical music in 1990, the Long Beach station, which was then KLON-FM, hired Fields and another of its jazz institutions, Chuck Niles, who died last year.
Reached
during his first shift in 1990, Fields told The Times, “It's a little
bit different, but I'm enjoying it.” A Jimmy Smith number was playing
in the background.
Fields' survivors include two sisters, a brother, a niece and a nephew.
