China Valles
Born November 5, 1925 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Charles "China" Valles had a lifelong passion for music. He loved jazz, soul, blues, and
R&B - but especially jazz. Valles began his musical career as road manager for saxophonist "Illinois" Jacquet in the Fifties, meeting and interviewing musical giants such as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. Valles arrived in South Florida in 1962 to head an upstart Jazz radio station, and eventually graced the airwaves continuously including on WBUS, WTMI and WDNA. Most famously, he became a beloved fixture at WTMI-FM 93.1, where he spent 24 years playing bop, blues and fusion. Nicknamed "The Mahj" by Duke Ellington himself (short for Maharajah, Purveyor of Swirls), the veteran Jazz DJ quickly became one of America's leading authorities on Jazz. Valles was well known in the music industry and on occasion would broadcast live from the Historic Hampton House Motel and Villas in Brownsville, where some of the best musicians in Miami played multiple sets from night til early morning for some of America's most influential showbiz types, as well as locals and passing tourists. With his delightfully gruff voice, full of whimsy and charm, Valles will always be remembered as a well-worn local treasure.