Chuck Niles (b Charles Neidel on June 24, 1927 in Springfield

Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 - d. March 15, 2004 in Santa Monica

Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

) was a well-known jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 disc jockey

Disc jockey

A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

 who became the only jazz DJ to be on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...

.

Niles first gained notoriety on Los Angeles commercial jazz station KNOB-FM

KNOB (defunct)

KNOB , was a broadcast radio station on 97.9 MHz, licensed to Long Beach, California, with an effective radiated power of 79,000 watts.It went on the air in 1957 on 103.1 MHz at 320 watts...

 in 1957 and then in 1965 moved to KBCA-FM (later KKGO). After that station switched formats, he took over the afternoon drive slot at the non-commercial, public-supported KLON-FM (now KKJZ

KKJZ

KKJZ is a non-commercial public radio station in Southern California broadcasting from the Long Beach State campus. The station is one of several public radio stations in Southern California presenting jazz and blues....

) on the campus of Cal State Long Beach. Chuck Niles was a DJ for KKJZ from 1990 until his death in 2004.

Horace Silver

Horace Silver

Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....

 ("The Hippest Cat in Hollywood'), Louie Bellson

Louie Bellson

Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni , better known by the stage name Louie Bellson , was an Italian-American jazz drummer...

 ("Niles Blues"), and Bob Florence

Bob Florence

Bob Florence was an American jazz arranger and pianist. He began taking piano lessons at five and initially intended to be a concert pianist. However, on taking classes with Bob McDonald he changed direction toward jazz.At the beginning of his career Florence worked as a pianist and arranger with...

("Bebop Charlie", "Nilestones"), and others have written tunes for “Carlitos Niles”. He also appeared in small parts in several films.

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