Hosts

A Tasteful Blend, 6am-9am, Thursdays and Fridays

Rick was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and moved around a lot as a child, finally settling in Westborough, Massachusetts at the age of 16. Being a drummer, at that time he sought out other musicians and began playing in rock bands, a bad habit he still cannot seem to shake. Rick fell in love with jazz when, in his early 20's, he heard the tune "Lil Darlin'" by the Count Basie Orchestra. His love of the music has grown exponentially ever since that day. In the late 80's, Rick discovered WICN and he became a fan of many of the shows -- particularly A Tasteful Blend, which at that time was hosted by the wonderful musician, educator, and producer, Jack Wertheimer. Hosting A Tasteful Blend  is an absolute dream come true for Rick. When not on the radio, Rick works as a Technical Writer for the EMC Corporation. Much to his wife Lisa's chagrin, Rick maintains an ever growing collection of LPs and CDs…another bad habit he can't seem to shake! Rick and Lisa have two children, Zachary and Amelia.

Folk Revival, 7-11pm, Thursday

A long-time educator (he has taught middle school and high school history for twenty-six years), Nick Noble is a big fan of folk music, especially the folk revival period of the 50s and60s. He enjoys sharing this passion with the radio audience, and he always likes hearing from listeners with ideas, suggestions, information, conversation, and requests. A resident of Worcester, Nick writes books in his spare time, with five published to date—all on obscure historical topics of very specific or local interest, with a sixth (on folk music and “the Great Folk music scare” from 1959-1964) at the publisher now—and he loves to read (others’ work, not his own). He is also a sometime singer (thirty years ago he belonged to one of the last collegiate folk groups before acapella became the rage), a part-time poet, and a full-time husband and father. Nick is also a loyal WICN member and an active WICN volunteer.

Email: nicknoble@wicn.org 

Saturday Night Fish Fry, 7-11pm, Saturday

Norm Rosen grew up in the New York City and Washington, D.C. areas as a kid where he was surrounded by a vibrant Blues and Rockabilly scene. As a teenager, he would sneak into many of the area clubs to see some of the top musicians perform. One of his earliest concerts was a free show at American University featuring B.B. King. Norm spent some time as a booking agent and music critic in New York where he worked closely with groups like The Johnny Copeland Band, Larry Davis, and Jimmy Dawkins. In 1989 Norm got his first on-air radio experience at an alternative station in Pittsburgh. Since then he has worked his way through the New England radio network with stops at WRIU, WATD, WHOB, WGBH and now WICN where he educates and entertains his listeners with the various styles of the Blues.

Email: norm@wicn.org

Jazz Matinee, 12-4pm, Saturday

Joe was born in Concord, MA but grew up in Bellingham. Coming from a musical family he was often appointed "booking agent" in providing music for school dances. Following high school he attended Dean College in Franklin and later Graduated from Northeast Broadcasting School in Boston and at the age of 18 was hired by WMRC in Milford as an evening disc jockey seven nights a week. In a 17-year period Joe was employed by various radio stations in over a dozen towns including Providence, Springfield, Worcester and many in between. The deterioration of popular music forced him out of the radio business and in 1978 he became an antiques auctioneer. After hearing WICN in 1985, Joe became the host of Thursday morning's "A Tasteful Blend" and later the Saturday "Jazz Matinee" (upon the retirement of his good friend Mary Mardirossian). Joe and his wife Pat now live in Paxton and have 3 children and 6 grandchildren. They continue their romance with antiques, old houses and most of all...music.