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Jazz DJ Bob Naujoks retires after 47 years on Eastern Iowa radio
How the “Gentle Jazz” host on KCCK made smooth jazz connections spanning generations
Jun. 27, 2025 5:30 am, Updated: Jun. 27, 2025 7:52 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — Bob Naujoks organized his beloved jazz radio shows much in the same way he fell in love with the genre — with everything being in the right place at the right time.
On June 29, after 37 years with KCCK 88.3 FM, he signs off just as gently as he came on to Iowa’s airwaves in 1978.
Now, at 89, the name synonymous with jazz for thousands of Iowa listeners spanning multiple generations calls his passion an “advocation.” He continued to DJ his Sunday program 27 years after he retired from teaching at Mount Mercy University, “because I want to share it,” he said.
Quality jazz, he believes, is simply too good not to share.
How he fell in love
Naujoks’ love of jazz started as a teenager doing dishes after dinner.
“In those days, of course, you turned on the radio,” he said.
The DJ on his dishwashing shifts played swing jazz — Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong and the like.
And Naujoks really liked it.
“I’ve always liked that style of music.” he said. “There’s just nothing that captures me like jazz does.”
Jazz is collaborative, and Naujoks doesn’t like confrontation.
Tune in
The last airing of “Gentle Jazz” with Bob Naujoks airs on KCCK 88.3 FM on Sunday, June 29 from 7 to 10 a.m.
Jazz saxophonist Saul Lubaroff will take the segment’s place, for now. KCCK is deliberating whether to air reruns of Naujoks show.
How he got into radio
His first initiation to broadcasting was behind the microphone of a startup radio station from his dorm at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
“I was petrified the first time I sat behind a mic,” he said.
An art major, he planned to go into commercial art after graduation. But a television production course in his senior year imbued a realization: his love of art and interests in broadcasting melded well together.
So after graduation, he sent out application tapes instead of a portfolio of art. Born and raised in Ohio for most of his childhood, he returned to the Buckeye State for his first radio gig at WFHA in 1958.
He was only there about 6 months before he was drafted into the Army between the Korean and Vietnam wars. He credits his military experience for helping him come out of his shell, leaving a shy persona behind.
Upon discharge in 1960, he returned to Wisconsin, where he ran the Saturday Night Jazz Hour in Wausau from 10 to 11 p.m.
Among local teenagers, It was known as “making out music.” But that didn’t offend the DJ.
“I wanted people to like the jazz, but people liked the music. It’s the same with ‘Gentle Jazz,’” Naujoks said. “It’s not about having to know all the ins and outs of jazz. It’s music that is about settling down.
“They can have it as the background or the foreground.”
Coming on the air in Cedar Rapids
After a stint in television directing in Missouri, Naujoks came to Cedar Rapids in 1966 to serve as art director for WMT’s television station. Over the next 12 years, he would be tapped to help in various functions that relied on his past radio experience.
In the ‘70s, he helped fill in for Jerry Carr’s popular Sunday pops program while finishing a master’s degree in fine arts.
But it wasn’t until 1978 that Naujoks returned to the air in his most authentic form. Fans can thank a little known associate in advertising for that.
Gary Kouba, a WMT salesman, is the reason “Gentle Jazz” exists. The two bonded over their love of jazz, and it was clear to Kouba that Naujoks’ love was on another level.
And, being in sales, Kouba saw a way to monetize it.
“I told the programming department this would be a good demographic to go after,” Kouba said. “That’s a salable item for advertisers and the station.”
Naujoks returned the favor by playing Jerry Mulligan, Kouba’s favorite saxophonist, at about the time he would drive home from church.
“Now, that’s service,” said Dennis Green, KCCK station manager since 1999.
“Gentle Jazz” at WMT would remain on the air for about 10 years, even after the station transitioned from a “beautiful music” station to soft rock.
After a sabbatical teaching in the Philippines, Naujoks came back on the air with “Sunday Brunch” at KCCK. Later, the program became “Soft Winds,” before coming full circle with a return to “Gentle Jazz,” after WMT dropped the title in the early 2000s.
All of it happened in tandem with his teaching career at Mount Mercy University, where he taught art and design for 30 years until his retirement in 2008.
How he plays it
In a genre known as the antidote to rigid rules, Naujoks says it’s the groove that captivates his listeners. The host calls his show a “middle of the road” curation that isn’t too lyrical or loud.
Over 37 years, he has maintained a balance of his personal taste, mainstream jazz and an introduction of new selections each Sunday.
He humbly simplifies his vocation: “I just come in and play music.”
But in the age where music streaming is the most popular method of consumption, listeners run the risk of sensory overload. In a world of unfettered access to entertainment and information, his selections are more than a convenience — they broaden the listener’s horizons in incisive ways.
Without a guide in the world of music, finding a connection that deepens one’s love of the arts can be a challenge. His skill has proved its value with a smooth jazz show that worked on a beautiful music station in the ‘70s, a soft rock station in the ‘80s, and a mainstream jazz station decades after that.
“I’m just here to get them connected,” Naujoks said.
But what’s more telling is that the connection has remained a timeless priority in KCCK programming over a dramatic period of transformation for music. Naujoks has ushered listeners through the dominance of vinyl, cassette tapes, CDs and streaming without missing a beat.
“Bob is the dean of jazz DJs in Iowa. You don’t toss that away,” Green said.
While the show has evolved somewhat over the years, it remains “quintessentially Bob,” he said, between his choice of music and his presentation. On “Gentle Jazz,” it’s not just a genre, it’s a mood.
“He creates a mood and that texture that is ‘Gentle Jazz,’ but he does it in such a way that the music he plays is really smart and good,” Green said. “It’s easy to play soft songs. It’s not so easy to make softer songs really interesting, and that’s what Bob does.”
What listeners say
Through a shower of cards mailed to KCCK this month, listeners have shared their connections — old friends, former students or parasocial relationships — and how his work has defined the backgrounds or foregrounds of their lives.
“Sunday morning will not be the same,” one said in elaborate calligraphy.
“It’s not really Sunday morning or Tuesday evening if I’m not listening to your musical choices and commentary,” another concurred.
Many mention his wealth of knowledge and his popular “Short List” feature that introduced listeners to countless new names for 24 years.
“The music has gotten us through some really hard times,” said another.
These comments, flooding KCCK’s mailbox at Naujoks’ retirement, validate a persona that “always looked out for the people around him,” the station manager said.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to being genuine on the air. When you listen to Bob week after week, you really feel like you get to know him,” Green said.
It’s the highest measure of success a DJ can mark.
But Bob simply came in to share his love of music. A nice melody of feedback was “a bonus,” he said.
Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
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