Friday mornings on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning have a rhythm all their own, and this past week’s episode was no exception. Hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God kicked off what they declared a “Love Supreme Friday” — a conscious pivot from the week’s heavier political coverage toward something a little warmer, a little more grounded in community. “We’ve been talking a lot of politics for a while and it’s time to make a decision — it’s going to be Love Supreme Friday today,” Paul B. announced, setting the tone for an hour that would feel less like a broadcast and more like a front-porch conversation about the soul of North Omaha.
The centerpiece of the morning was a rich, wide-ranging conversation with Dana Murray, Executive Director of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA) — formerly known as Love’s Jazz. A South Omaha native who spent eleven years in New York City before returning home, Murray has been teaching music in Omaha for two decades. But as the conversation quickly made clear, music is only the surface of what he’s really building.
Paul B. framed it through a concept he introduced to viewers called the “secondary matrix” — the deeper purpose underneath any visible action. “Everything you’re doing really does have a secondary matrix — a deeper reason for doing what you’re doing,” he explained. “In Dana Murray’s case, he teaches kids music on the surface, but the secondary matrix is to create critical thinkers.” Murray didn’t disagree. “We’re not only raising musicians but more importantly raising more critical thinking human beings,” he said, “because these young kids are not all going to become musicians. Some will become doctors, some lawyers, some business owners — but whatever they choose to do, they’re going to be better because they were aligned with artistry.”
The idea resonated with viewers almost immediately. Viewer Pops chimed in from the chat: “I experienced my secondary matrix in junior high when I took algebra. I noticed that I was suddenly able to think outside the box on several different levels. Music the same.” It was exactly the kind of real-time affirmation that makes the show feel like a community conversation rather than a one-way broadcast.
Murray spoke passionately about the North 24th Street corridor — “the Deuce,” as it’s known locally — and what it could become with the right investment and infrastructure. “The area that has the most history and the one that can claim we are a cultural and arts district for real is the North 24th Street corridor,” he said. “And we’ve been so far removed from that.” He laid out a practical framework: successful districts need housing, eateries, parking, services — and ideally a hotel to anchor larger events. “I hear a lot of talk about things people want to do to revitalize the area, but unless those metrics are there, it doesn’t matter.”
When asked about his standing as a South Omaha native working in North Omaha’s cultural space, Murray was direct and unapologetic. “If you’re Black and you’re in Omaha, especially in the 70s and early 80s, everyone had a shared relationship with North Omaha. That was the Mecca for us.” He acknowledged a hard truth about missed opportunities, pointing to events like Native Omaha Days as examples where the community’s excellence could be better showcased to the broader city. “One of the things I’ve tried to do was reach out and be a beacon for all of Omaha to come down to North 24th Street,” he said. “People told me that was going to be very hard, but people don’t have any problem coming from wherever they are in Omaha or Iowa to come down North 24th Street to hear jazz music.”
Paul B. added his own endorsement of the NMA space, which has undergone a striking transformation. “The sound is incredible in there. It’s set up like the Blue Note New York now — and it’s that level of sound quality.” Viewer Mark Manor backed up the excitement around upcoming programming: “Mono Neon is bringing one of the last and most relevant connections to Prince. I saw him a few years ago — he’s awesome. Do not miss that.”
Murray’s ambitions for NMA extend well beyond its current footprint. He envisions a full campus anchored by a $20 million first-phase capital campaign — a North Omaha answer to what Omaha Performing Arts means for downtown. “If you think of Omaha Performing Arts and what it means to downtown — not only as a cultural and music entertainment entity, but as an economic vehicle that brings in $40 to $50 million in revenue every year — that’s what we’re trying to be for North Omaha.” He was equally pointed about the broader economic principle at stake: “What we have to sell in most Black communities is our culture, because if we don’t monetize it — and 99% of the time we don’t — the rest of the country monetizes our culture for us. The sooner we understand that our culture is equity, that our artistic genius is equity, the better off we’re going to be.”
For music educators interested in getting involved, Murray offered a direct invitation. NMA is actively seeking instructors, though he was candid about their standards. “Unless you’re able to inspire a young person, they don’t really have the attention span for the X’s and O’s of music. The why they’re doing it is everything, because they don’t need us for the what — they can go to YouTube and see anything we’re trying to teach them.” Interested educators can reach Murray at dmurray@northomahamusic.org or assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahamusic.org.
The chat room offered a steady warmth throughout the morning. Viewer Senator KML wrote simply, “Thank you, Uncle Dana. You’re changing lives in big ways. We are the students.” And in a moment that gave the whole show a tender human heartbeat, viewer Aeros 402 shared: “On a love note — my only daughter gave birth to my second granddaughter. They are both new and good. I feel blessed.” On a Love Supreme Friday, it was hard to imagine a more fitting message.
Buddy the God, never far from the bigger civic picture, tied the morning together with a reminder that community building and civic participation aren’t separate projects. “We got to do both — build our own ecosystems and continue to figure this out as far as a nation,” he said. The show also touched on local primary election results and highlighted community entrepreneur Charell Shelton and her company Core Science Bio Diagnostics — a reminder that the work of building North Omaha happens on many fronts at once.
If this Friday’s show was any indication, 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning is doing exactly what Dana Murray hopes NMA will do — creating critical thinkers, one conversation at a time. Tune in Monday morning and pull up a chair.
