Pat Henry is remembered for his role in creating and nurturing pioneering Bay Area jazz station KJAZ.
Born in Bakersfield, Henry served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, he began working in broadcasting in the Bay Area. He had an affinity for jazz, building a following on Oakland’s KROW by adding jazz records to his music mix.
While still working at KROW, Henry started the effort to launch KJAZ. He got it on the air in 1959 and built it into an important destination for jazz musicians and their fans before selling it in 1980, and had a Saturday afternoon show on KCSM through the ’90s.
Henry almost didn’t get the ideal call letters for his station. The Federal Communications Commission told him KJAZ had been assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II and assigned his station the call letters KZEE. Henry was able to win a legal battle and claim KJAZ.
Pat Henry died in 1999 at age 73.