Ken Wiley's Obituary

Kenneth Wallace Wiley, Jr.

December 17, 1938 - February 5, 2026

Ken Wiley, the gravelly voiced creator, scripter, and Host of “The Art of Jazz” for 41 years for local stations KPLU, and KNKX, has died.

Kenneth Wallace Wiley Jr., was born in Tacoma, Washington, on December 17, 1938, and died after a long and difficult illness on February 5, 2026.

Affectionately known to his first family as Tad, Ken lived on Union Avenue, and then at Browns Point after 1949. He attended Jason Lee Jr. High, and fortunately was highly influenced by his Band teacher, saxophonist Bob Main. He graduated from Stadium High School in 1957, mentored by his fabulous band teacher, Bill Cole. This world class trumpeter helped Ken form a jazz band -- his first of many. Ken studied music and English at the University of Puget Sound, where he was highly influenced by, and collaborated with, the inimitable transplanted New Yorker and jazz historian, Leroy Ostransky, who remained a close friend to Ken until his own death in 1993.

Ken was a voracious reader of literature, a happy fisherman with his father and brother off the beach at Browns Point, a prolific writer of abstract poetry, and a seaman around lower Puget Sound on his beloved Lady Day. He influenced countless students and listeners, just as he had been influenced by his great teachers.

After college and for 30 years, Ken taught English— and as he put it—”Think-

ing,” in the Tacoma Public Schools; it is his family’s hope that many who read this will remember him warmly. He often said that he did not need to have children of his own because he had every- one else’s children.

Ken was an extraordinary jazz trombone player, whether playing a sensitive solo, impeccable back-up, or blasting in the tradition of Kid Ory. For over 50 years, he was heard with various groups around the Pacific Northwest, and more widely at Jazz festivals up and down the West Coast. At the Engine House #9 Tavern in Tacoma, he played with the Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band and with the Great Excelsior Jazz Band, recording albums with both groups. Other work of note included performing in the Tacoma Symphony, and many years playing, and also recording, with the Ham Carson quintet, which performed for more than a decade at the New Orleans Restaurant in Seattle.

His greatest pride, however, and his gift to the Pacific Northwest, and to worldwide listeners on line, was his 41 year stint hosting his radio show, The Art of Jazz, first on KPLU and then on KNKX. Every Sunday, listeners heard his opening and closing tune, Duke Ellington’s Cotton Tail—based on “I got Rhythm,” in its entirety, followed by three hours of jazz music from every era. The music was drawn exclusively from Ken’s private eclectic collection. Listeners loved hearing a few seconds of a phonograph needle on a 78 rpm record, before the tune started, or hearing “Fats” Waller perform on a piano roll when he was still billed as “Thomas.” A most popular feature was to “chase” a tune, presenting a jazz standard recorded in different styles over the years. He also “chased” performers, as when he presented Louis Armstrong as a mere second trumpet in King Oliver’s band, and then in a later recording directing his own orchestra.

Ken shared his extensive historical and anecdotal knowledge about jazz in between tunes, inviting alto listen and draw their own conclusions, and in general to “find your own solo” in life. An inductee to the Hall of fame of Earshot Jazz, His keen ear was highly respected, and he was credited in at least one Discography for assisting to identify the musicians on vintage records. His engaging stories often rose from his own interviews of Jazz greats. The gravelly baritone voice was known and loved by thousands of listeners, often recognized in the community, by people who had not met him in person. He played original recordings of all ethnicities, resulting in fan curiosity regarding his age, appearance, and even his race. Each show ended with his sign-off “Thanks for being out there.  Past “Art of Jazz” shows are still available online, at KNKX “On Demand.”

Ken is preceded in death by his father, Dr. Kenneth Wallace Wiley Sr., and his mother, Alice Morgan Wiley. He is survived by his devoted and loving wife, Jeanie, by 8 children and 14 grandchildren by marriage, his brother, Richard Wiley, and sister-in-law, Virginia Wiley, of Los Angeles, his niece, Pilar Wiley, also of Los Angeles, and his nephew, Morgan Wiley, of Brooklyn, New York. Memories in Ken’s honor could best be made by paying forward a kindness, or contributing to a worthy cause.