It is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the passing away of Richard “Gene” Knight, Producer and Host of Café Jazz, a three-hour weekly classic jazz program distributed by the AAPRC. Gene passed away on Monday, November 28, 2022, after a year-long battle with cancer.
From the African- American Public Radio Consortium:
Having produced jazz programming since 1969, Gene was a "jazz aficionado" with a talent for illuminating jazz music, history, and culture, through his vast knowledge and brilliant programming skills. In 2007 he launched Café Jazz on WVAS-FM at his alma mater Alabama State University (an HBCU) in Montgomery.
The AAPRC has distributed Cafe Jazz to public radio stations nationwide since 2011.
In a life filled that included multiple media pursuits, Gene had more than 30 years of experience in photography, filmmaking, cinematography, and television. Early in his career, he worked at the Kansas State Network, and later at Kentucky Authority Educational Television in Lexington and Alabama Public Television in Birmingham.
Even as he battled his illness over the past year, Gene insisted on producing new episodes of Café Jazz from his home studio whenever he could muster the strength. We understood that Gene was doing what he loved for as long as he could. He was a man of few words with an abundance of honor.
Gene was a beloved colleague in the Consortium and earned the respect of public radio station executives and programmers around the country. We will miss him dearly.