Jo Ann Cheatham: It came out of Scoby [Stroman]; when we were going out to different places… Because I had worked on a magazine called Unique New York when I was in college in the 70s [Hunter College]. I was in school and somebody called me and said there’s a posting for a new magazine coming out, you better go there and don’t be late. So I went, and the guy hired me. I worked with that magazine for about four years. Then I had a magazine called Teen Lines.

I work in the school system and at that time I was working in a middle school and some money became available, my major at Hunter was Communications, production and everything, so why I didn’t do video I don’t know, but I decided to do this magazine called Teen Lines, to help teens save and spend their money wisely. The children would do all the articles, go visit the people – banks, where to buy the best sneakers, etc. So on our first cover was MC Lyte, and our other cover was Malcolm-Jamal Warner, also Dr. Ruth, and our last cover was Kid & Play – in color! So I knew what to do with magazines. I had students in high school on work/study come and help us in junior high school, so I knew kind of what to do with a magazine.

So Scoby [Stroman] and I would go around and we would read Down Beat and Jazziz… and I would say ‘where are the black jazz magazines…’ [Every issue of Pure Jazz is dedicated to C. Scoby Stroman and Jim Harrison.] What happened was Scoby’s brother had passed and he was going to sell the house. He said ‘when I sell the house, I’ll give you some money to start that magazine.’ And Scoby [Stroman] passed and I used my own money, until I got a grant.

The content of Pure Jazz all comes out of my head, it's all been a personal quest because I am at heart a historian. I used to work for Weeksville, for at least four years. I wanted Pure Jazz to be different, it has become a jazz literary magazine. I was talking with this Jewish guy I worked with and told him I was going to start a magazine called Pure Jazz, African American classical music. He said ‘what, can’t white people be in the magazine?’ I said no, I didn’t say that, I said you do you I’ll do us… But now there’s a problem, because when I started out African American classical music… first I went three years to obtain the title. I talk about history, the women [in jazz], I have a crossword puzzle, and I wanted to have interesting things for the reader to appreciate in the magazine.