Lois Deloatch and Ed Gomes have a date night every Sunday. And they share it with 50,000 jazz lovers in the Triangle.
The husband-and-wife team glides up to the WNCU microphone at 7 p.m. for three hours of "Sunday Evening Classics," featuring classic and contemporary jazz.
"It's a guaranteed three hours of togetherness time doing the thing that we love doing -- listening to jazz," says Gomes, who works behind the scenes as engineer and music researcher. "We love the music, and we love spending the time together to do this. It's actually fun."
Deloatch, the voice of the program, is associate director of corporate and foundation relations at Duke University as well as a vocalist who has five CDs to her credit. Gomes is the associate dean of information science and technology with Duke's Trinity College of Arts and Sciences.
The two have been volunteer DJs at the radio station since January 2007, and their show features jazz artists such as Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane and Lester Young. They also highlight new and emerging artists and dip into the local jazz scene. Deloatch and Gomes have featured the works of Paul Jeffries, former director of the Duke Jazz Ensemble; Jim Ketch, a music professor at UNC-Chapel Hill; and the late Brother Yusuf Salim.
The couple can take anywhere from 45 minutes to more than an hour to prepare a show. They usually sit down on Sunday mornings and map out times and breaks. Deloatch likes the element of surprise --she'll flip through her music collection to rediscover a song to use on the show. Gomes focuses on making sure there is a diverse mix of instruments, eras and vocal styles.
Then they put their CDs in a carry case, pack up food and beverages and head to the station.
Gomes marvels at the vitality of the Triangle jazz scene. He counts two jazz stations that broadcast for almost 24 hours a day, which he says is more options than listeners can find in his native Boston.
"The joy of doing the show is that there is so much incredible music," Deloatch said. "Jazz is America's classical music. We feel it's important that we keep it alive and well."
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Radio: Sunday Evening Classic Jazz 90.7 FM, WNCU Jazz Radio Information: wncu.org