Beach, Ed.

Beach was born in Winnipeg, Canada, and moved to Portland, Oregon, as a child. He became interested in jazz music as a teenager. He later performed as a pianist with the Gus Arnheim Big Band, and formed a jazz trio which appeared in Portland, St. Louis and Chicago. After attending college in Portland, Beach earned course credits towards a graduate degree in theater at Cornell University. He then spent five years in New York City working as an actor in off-Broadway productions, touring companies, television and summer stock theater. In 1957, Beach began working at radio station WNYC in New York. He took a position in 1961 with WRVR, a not-for-profit station operated by New York City's Riverside Church. It was there that he developed the much-praised format of the "Just Jazz" broadcast, which featured a single artist on each show. Beach became well-known for his extensive knowledge of jazz music and musicians.