Re: Where are they now category...

["David W. Harris" <dwh@totalnetnh.net>]

A. Joseph Ross wrote: "I remember a Tony Cennamo who was program
director at WCAS in Cambridge, sometime around 1968 or so."
Mike Hemeon wrote: "Remember listening to Tony Cennamo WCAS years ago.
Anyone know what he is up to today???"

This is the same guy who went on to become WBUR's answer to Robert J.
Lurtsema and I hope he's enjoying his retirement after 25 years at 90.9
although I know he was not in the best of health in his final years
there and his departure from the airwaves had more to do with the
station's desire to have news/information programming 'round-the-clock
than his desire to retire.
Cennamo joined WBUR in 1972.  The oldest listing I can find for his "New
Morning" program (in FM Guide, 1/74) describes it as "American music
from folk to jazz"; that may have been so in the beginning but "NM" soon
became THE jazz show in Boston.  In its early days "NM" was on from 7 to
11:30 but by the mid-'70s it ran from 6 to 11.  When WBUR picked up
NPR's "Morning Edition" in 1981, Cennamo was moved to 10pm to 2am.  By
the early '90s jazz on WBUR was relegated to the overnight hours.  James
Cennamo sometimes helped out on those early-morning shifts after his
father suffered a couple strokes.
Tony Cennamo's last show was 2-5am on Saturday, February 8, 1997.  A
retirement party was held at the Karma Club in May of 1997 and a tribute
called "Raisin' Cane for Tony Cennamo" took place at the Berklee
Performance Center in September of that year.  Many area jazz performers
turned out for these events.
Among off-air activities, Cennamo taught at Emerson (history of jazz,
music programming) and was master of ceremonies at many a Boston Globe
Jazz Festival.

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