Bamberger grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and experienced an epiphany in 1963 after picking up for ten cents a two-record set of Tommy Dorsey broadcast performances at a book fair at his elementary school.
[2] On the program, he plays selections from the large jazz collection that fills the entire basement of his Arlington Virginia home,[3] and discusses both the musicians and the music for the benefit of his listeners.
[4] Bamberger continues the show as a part-time employee of the radio station (with a short break after WAMU decided to jettison all programing besides news and talk, described in Hot Jazz Saturday Night).
[8] After Bamberger retired from the Congressional Research Service in 2010, he studied for a Masters in Social Work to pursue a second career in senior care.
He currently works at Iona Senior Services where he facilitates support groups for the children, spouses and partners of individuals with dementia and similar chronic conditions,[9] and serves on the Steering Committee and faculty of the Aging Program of the Washington School of Psychiatry.