Feder: WDCB station manager Dan Bindert keeps the faith with jazz fans

As a mainstay of public radio in the Chicago area for more than two decades, Dan Bindert has worked to keep the sounds of jazz in the air with the passion of a true fan.

Since 2013 he's been station manager of WDCB 90.9-FM, the noncommercial public station licensed to the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. There he has expanded jazz programming dramatically and championed an array of outdoor jazz concerts, jazz and blues nightclub events and a jazz documentary film series.

It's the culmination of a lifelong love of jazz and radio for Bindert, 54, a Hillside resident who was born in Rochester, New York, and landed his first radio job as late-night jazz and blues host at WXXI in his hometown.

After several stops along the way, he came to Chicago in 2000 to join Chicago Public Media WBEZ 91.5-FM as jazz host, arts producer and news anchor, followed by a stint as vice president of radio operations and morning host at Lakeshore Public Radio in Northwest Indiana.

It was at WDCB that Bindert found what former Chicago Tribune jazz critic Howard Reich called "his dream job." Within weeks Bindert had jazz airing at all hours. "Not bad for a station based at the College of DuPage, in Glen Ellyn, a scenic western suburb not typically considered a nexus for this quintessentially urban music," Reich noted at the time.

As WDCB approaches its 45th year on the air, Bindert reflected on the station's enduring commitment to jazz, his good fortune to be working in public radio and whether the ratings even matter.

Q. Your slogan is "Chicago's Home for Jazz," but you actually have quite an eclectic lineup of programs. How would you describe the format?

A. More than 130 of the 168 hours in our weekly schedule is jazz ... so jazz is our identity and primary focus. Chicago is still the world capital of the blues, too, so we're proud to offer a robust selection of blues programming. Our Saturday nostalgia shows have a huge audience and connect us to history, while our specialty shows with everything from folk and Irish music to Latin jazz allow our knowledgeable hosts to extend [the college's] cultural and educational mission even further.

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