For ‘Swingin’ Years’ radio host, big bands’ allure endures

Working from a library of more than 30,000 records, deejay Chuck Cecil mixes dance tunes, sentimental ballads, jazzy jumpers and novelty records. Often you can hear the sizzle of the needle on the platter.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Chuck Cecil holds a CD of his radio show “Swingin’ Years” at his home studio in Ventura. Many of the shows were recorded on reel-to-reel tape and have now been copied onto CDs.   (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Chuck Cecil pulls out one of his shows that has been transferred onto CD. He recorded many shows on reel-to-reel tape but has changed along with the technology.   (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

A photo from a different era shows Chuck Cecil, center, with his wife, Edna, and crooner Tony Bennett, who has called Cecil “a great jazz historian.”  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

After working in his recording studio, deejay Chuck Cecil gets a hug from Edna, his wife of 66 years.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Chuck and Edna Cecil dance during the monthly meeting of the Channel City Jazz Club at the Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club in Oxnard.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)