A familiar voice lives on with some new local music

Jim Chenot was a radio legend in Akron, but his sudden and unexpected death last month is also being felt in Youngstown.

Chenot, who was just 62, was an on-air personality at Akron’s The Summit radio station (heard in the Mahoning Valley at 90.7 FM) for the past 15 years. Before that, he spent many years at WONE, also in Akron.

His “Beatles Breaks” and “Jim Chenot’s Radio Sandbox” were regular features on The Summit. Chenot was also a force as a fundraiser for the nonprofit station, handling underwriting and sales.

He could be seen at the evening concerts at Morley Pavilion in Youngstown every summer, manning the Summit info booth. The station played a role in bringing some of the rock acts to the outdoor venue.

When Hoss and the Juggernauts, the popular R&B-soul act from Youngstown, played the Morley in the summer of 2015, it was Chenot who introduced the band to the crowd.

The band recorded the show, and Chenot’s introduction is the first thing heard on the Juggernauts’ new album, “Live at the Morley,” which recently arrived in my mailbox. The up-tempo and horn-drenched songs have brightened up the gray clouds of the past week, and I can recall the warm summer evening it was made.

A live album is something of a rarity in these parts, but for Hoss & Co., it’s a natural. The band is at its best live, with husky-voiced soul singer Joe “Hoss” Jarman and his tight band.

COURTNEY WASKIN RELEASES JAZZY CHRISTMAS ALBUM

Courtney Waskin, who has been performing in the area for a decade, also recently released a unique album.

Under the moniker Ms. Waskin and titled “All Is Bright,” the album is a collection of holiday standards, mostly from the ’40s and ’50s. What sets it apart is Waskin’s jazz-singer voice, which is classy and relaxed, but a little bit sultry and smoky.

“I have been feeling the weight of the oversaturation of everything, and wanted to bring things back to a simpler time,” she said.

Waskin is backed by a supremely confident jazz quintet that sounds like its straight out of a bygone era. The musicians are Jack Ciarnello, piano; Vincent Vivacqua, upright bass; Abby Gross, saxophone; and Roger Lewis, drums (Lewis, by the way, is also the drummer for Hoss and the Juggernauts).

Waskin sings in many styles – folk, blues, rock, country – and had been toying with making a jazzy Christmas album for years.

The songs on her new release are ones that she has always loved, and have been covered by the greats (think Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald). It can be purchased at Geo’s Music in Youngstown and the Record Connection in Niles, and online at iTunes, Spotify and cdbaby.com,

Waskin has been featured on some locally made rock albums in the past, including Radio Lark’s “Stolen Oranges” (2015).

“For my first full-length album though, I wanted to present an angle of my ability that most people have never heard before and maybe didn’t even know I was capable of,” she said.

Waskin plans to continue in the current vein. She plans to record an album of jazz standards next year and is already whittling down the track list and thinking about booking summer gigs.

“We’d love to jazz this place up a little,” she said.

‘AMERICA’S GOT TALENT’ AUDITIONS IN CLEVELAND

Do you think you have the talent to be on national television?

Then take a shot Saturday. That’s when a crew from “America’s Got Talent” will have open auditions at the Huntington Convention Center, 300 Lakeside Ave. E in Cleveland.

To learn more or to register to audition, go to AGTAuditions.com. Tips for auditioning can be found on the site. Those who can’t make it in person can submit an online audition at the site.

“America’s Got Talent” has been a summer staple on NBC for a decade.

SANTA’S TAVERN TREK FOR HOLIDAY FUN-SEEKERS

Also Saturday will be the inaugural Santa’s Tavern Trek in downtown Kent.

A group effort between Great Lakes Brewing Co. and 10 bars and restaurants, the event is designed to get folks into the holiday spirit while exploring the college town’s lively downtown. It will run from 6 to 10 p.m.

Tickets are $10 at mainstreetkent.org.

Ticket holders will begin by picking up their Trek pass at Venice Cafe on Railroad Street. The pass grants discounts on Great Lakes beers at the Venice and also at Water Street Tavern, Ray’s Place, The Loft, Zephyr Pub, Panini’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dominick’s, 157 Lounge and Nineteen 10.

Once a Trekker has checked in at six places (no purchase is required at any of them), he or she can stop at Nineteen 10 to pick up a Great Lakes Christmas Ale pint glass and enter to win the grand prize: a $100 gift card to Great Lakes Brewing Co., $100 in casino chips at Jack Casino, and an overnight stay at a downtown Cleveland hotel.

For information, call 330- 677-8000.