Oscar Treadwell (born Arthur Pedersen) (May 11, 1926 - April 1, 2006) was an American jazz radio journalist and presenter. Known as "OT", he became known mainly by a dedication to him by Charlie Parker, a composition called "An Oscar for Treadwell". Treadwell's first jobs were as an industrial manager and consultant. However, he was better known due to his career as a DJ, jazz historian and radio host, which began in 1947 and lasted over 50 years.

Jazz career

Treadwell began his career at radio stations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania before moving to

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

in 1960. There he began in 1962 with his jazz on radio station

WZIP WZIP (88.1 FM) is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Akron, Ohio, carrying a college radio–programmed rhythmic CHR format known as "Z88". Owned by the University of Akron, the station serves the Akron metro area. WZIP' ...

and then from 1965 to 1973 at

WNOP (AM) WNOP is a radio station located in Newport, Kentucky that can be heard in/around the Cincinnati area. It now broadcasts for Cincinnati's Catholic community and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati, archdiocesan base and is an affiliate of EW ...

. Treadwell moved to

WGUC WGUC (90.9 MHz) is a public FM radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is owned by Cincinnati Public Radio and has a classical music format. WGUC broadcasts using HD Radio technology and plays jazz on WGUC-HD2 and adult album alternative on WGUC- ...

and moderated the jazz program under his initials OT from 1973 to 1995, then moved "Jazz with OT" to Xavier University's

WVXU WVXU (91.7 FM) is a public radio station located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is owned by Cincinnati Public Radio, which also operates station WGUC and WMUB. It airs public radio news and talk syndicated programming from National Public Radio, Ameri ...

. Until his retirement in 2001, he oversaw the jazz program and the station WMKV. In 2005 Treadwell returned to WVXU, where he worked until his death in April 2006. Repeats of his many programs continue to be broadcast Sunday evenings on WVXU.

Tributes

Oscar Treadwell, who was called by his fans, "OT", was an important member of the jazz scene of Cincinnati. Through his radio programs, he was known by many, and friends with many jazz musicians, including

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

and

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

. His friends honored him with the compositions: * "An Oscar for Treadwell" (1949) by Charlie Parker * "Treadin 'with Treadwell" (1950) by

Wardell Gray Wardell Gray (February 13, 1921 – May 25, 1955) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods. Biography Early years Gray was born in Oklahoma City, the youngest of four children. He spent his early chi ...

. * "Oska T" (1955) by Thelonious Monk After his death, the Public Library of Cincinnati released a CD entitled "O.T. - A Celebration of Oscar Treadwell". The library had been given recordings of many of Treadwell's shows on cassettes and CDs. The entire collection is available on CD at the library; the CD index has been digitized and can be viewed on the library's website.

References

External links

CCM: Jazz Remembers Oscar

Oska-T-Oscar-Treadwell-R-I-P

Jazz with OT at WVXU
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treadwell, Oscar 1926 births 2006 deaths American music journalists Jazz writers American radio personalities