Cal State Northridge Established Jazz Scholarship In Honor of Jazz Great Chuck Niles

The jazz community is joining Cal State Northridge in celebrating the creation of a scholarship in honor of jazz great Chuck Niles on Saturday, July 13.

Performers Lou Rawls, Buddy DeFranco, James Moody and many more are joining Niles for a 75th birthday celebration at the Westin Long Beach Hotel to raise money for the Chuck Niles Scholarship for Jazz Broadcasting. The event is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

"The scholarship will be awarded to one upper division student who shows an interest in a broadcasting career with an emphasis in jazz," said Michele Cesca, director of development for the College of Arts, Media, and Communication.

Cesca said In-House Music, a jazz entertainment company, chose to establish the scholarship at Northridge after meeting with several universities across the country.

"We felt that Cal State Northridge has an excellent combination of music and broadcasting," said Merle Kreibich, president of In-House Music. "The university is perfect for the type of scholarship we are creating."

Kreibich added that it also seemed appropriate to establish the scholarship at CSUN because of Niles' past relationship with the university. He taught an intro to jazz course in CSUN's music department during the mid-1970's.

Niles' career began at the age of 14 when he started playing the saxophone professionally. However, he continued his education and later graduated from American International College with a degree in sociology.

He eventually found work as a radio personality at stations first in Florida and then California. Once here, Niles also dabbled in acting. He performed in productions at the Pasadena Playhouse and served as the afternoon movie host for KHJ Channel 9.

Chuck Niles is widely known as the "voice of jazz radio" in Southern California and has been afternoon host for the area's jazz radio station, KLON, since 1990.

Contributions to the scholarship fund may be made payable to KLON/Niles Fund and sent to In-House Music, 4425 Stewart Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90066.

For more information about the scholarship, call Michele Cesca at (818) 677-3320.
Contacts: Tracy Talaid or Carmen Ramos Chandler (818) 677-2130 tracy.b.talaid@csun.edu