Leslie Keros

Leslie Keros, the weekday morning jazz host on College of DuPage’s WDCB 90.9-FM, will soon be going national.

Starting July 5 Keros will join the talent roster of the Chicago-based Jazz Network, a programming service of WFMT Radio Network, the syndication division of Window to the World Communications classical WFMT 98.7-FM. She is replacing Neil Tesser, whose contract with the network ended.

“I’m excited to be a part of the Jazz Network and look forward to sharing the swinging, soulful sounds of jazz with listeners across the country,” Keros said. She’ll join a lineup that includes Dee Alexander, Dave Schwan and John Hill.

The new job for Keros doesn’t mean her role will change at WDCB. She’ll continue to host the public radio station’s flagship “’DCB Jazz” from 5 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday, according to station manager Dan Bindert.

While there are no official ties between WDCB and WFMT, Bindert said the two stations have a "friendly relationship," including partnering on live broadcasts of the Chicago Jazz Festival and other projects.

WDCB continues to air WFMT Jazz Network's “Sunday Jazz with Dee Alexander” from 8 to 10 p.m. Sundays, he said, but there are no plans to pick up Keros’s network programs on the west suburban Glen Ellyn-based station.

A Detroit area native, Keros, 54, began hosting jazz and blues shows in 2000 at the University of Chicago’s WHPK 88.5-FM. She joined WDCB as a volunteer host before becoming a staff employee in 2016.