Greg Cootsona

I love jazz and first started playing drums at age 10. My jazz playing really moved forward in high school, where our big band ultimately appeared at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In college and graduate school, I performed at various clubs in the Bay Area, like Yoshi's and Pearl's. Since then, I have played off and on, which is why I like being a jazz DJ--it keeps my head in jazz.

I teach comparative religion and humanities at Chico State University, and before that, I was associate pastor for adult education at Bidwell Presbyterian Church in Chico and the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. I have degrees from U.C. Berkeley, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the Graduate Theological Union. I've written for several periodicals such as The Wall Street Journal and Christianity Today; I've been interviewed by CNN, the Wall Street Journal, the BBC, and The New York Times; and I've appeared on the Today Show three times. My wife and I live in Chico and have two emerging adult daughters (23 and 26). Besides hanging out with my family, I love biking, reading, writing, and drinking great beer and coffee.