About

Each week, Make Believe Ballroom transports you to the golden age of swing with classic big band hits from the 1930s and 1940s—the music that shaped jazz and became the foundation of the Great American Songbook.

On the air almost continuously since 1935, the program features treasured 78rpm recordings, fascinating stories of legendary bandleaders, musicians, composers, and vocalists, listener requests, and special segments that bring the era’s music and history vividly to life.

Your host is Jeff Bressler—jazz enthusiast, big band historian, author, and broadcasting veteran with more than 30 years behind the microphone.

Make Believe Ballroom is syndicated and distributed by the Public Radio Exchange (PRX), Pacifica Network, and Global Community Radio. The show's flagship affiliate is Jazz 90.1, WGMC in Rochester, NY.

About the Hosts

Jeff Bressler

Host

Jeff Bressler is a 30-year veteran of the radio industry. He has broadcast NASCAR racing, spent ten years as the News Director and on-air anchor of Motor Trend Radio broadcast on Sirius XM, and twenty years as the past news and motorsports anchor of Auto World Radio. He was the past host of Speed Racing Radio, a nationally syndicated motorsports weekly program.

Jeff was a much-in-demand substitute DJ who filled in for numerous music radio stations in the New York metropolitan area.

Jeff Bressler was an avid listener as a youth to the William B. Williams version of the Make Believe Ballroom broadcast over WNEW 1130 AM in New York.

Bressler recently commented, "After a 35-year radio career, I still cannot believe that I was asked to fill the shoes of past Make Believe Ballroom hosts, including one of my broadcast idols, William B. Williams, to carry on the traditions of this excellent program. The show had been almost continuously broadcast for the past 88 years. Hosting such an iconic program comes with a tremendous amount of responsibility.

I am highly gratified that over 50 public, university, and community radio stations play the show each week. I am also delighted that, through podcast versions, the show is heard by thousands more each week.

I hope to keep the show going strong to its 100th Anniversary and beyond. In my estimation, the 1930s and 1940s were the golden age of American music, laying the foundation for the Great American Songbook. This music must continue to be played for generations to come."

Jeff also has a new book out, titled Big Band Vignettes, that takes a lighthearted look at some big band personalities of the 1930s and 1940s. It is available on Amazon and Kindle.

Lenny from Down the Block

Virtuoso of the Virtual Turntable

Lenny is the Producer Emeritus of the Make Believe Ballroom, who maintained and added to the Ballroom's record playlist of thousands of big band-era songs. He is genuinely the Virtuoso of the Virtual Turntable!! Lenny recently retired to Tampa, Florida, but occasionally pokes his head in as the Producer Emeritus and now hosts the weekly Ballroom feature "Lenny from Down the Block's Record Pick of the Week."

Norton

Studio Audience

Not his last name like Ed Norton from The Honeymooners, it's his first name. Norton is a regular in the Crystal studio and comprises the entire studio audience.