Short List with Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
The Short List: Corridor Jazz (Eddie Piccard) new series
Pianist Eddie Piccard rehearsing prior to performing with his quintet at KCCK’s Jazz Under the Stars
A familiar musician is on The Short List this week as we survey “Corridor Jazz.” If there were a face for jazz music in Eastern Iowa, the leading candidate would be pianist-singer Eddie Piccard. He has been resettled in Cedar Rapids for more than a quarter-century and has brought a lot of joy to both dyed-in-the-wool and casual jazz fans. He is a native of Norway, Iowa, and attended Cornell College back in the days without a jazz program—he and his friends made their own. Eddie spent a few years in Chicago playing clubs like The London House and the Jazz Showcase; then a few more in Florida resorts where comedian Jackie Gleason became a fan. Piccard has played all the great jazz venues in Cedar Rapids (including KCCK’s Jazz Under the Stars) and has legions of loyal fans.
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 6:00 PM
Mary Lou Williams, ‘Perpetually Contemporary’
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams achieved and maintained a status that many women in jazz found elusive: unwavering respect from male colleagues as a musical equal. Her accomplishments are many as arranger and pianist with Andy Kirk and his Twelve Clouds of Joy, with her own small groups, and with the be-bop artists of the ’40s. Throughout, she was always — as Duke Ellington once said — “perpetually contemporary.”
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“Birth Date Anniversary Celebration for Gil Melle”
Craig celebrates the birthday of painter, sculptor, jazz artist, film composer, and pioneering inventor of electronic instruments, GILBERT JOHN MELLE (b.12/31/1931). We’ll hear a variety of amazing recordings made by Melle, including his respected Blue Note and Prestige dates, most of which fall into the category of “overlooked” and “underrated”.
New Orleans Calling with George Ingmire
Tuesday at 6:00 PM
Allen Toussaint: Say Yes To Music (Part 1)
Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint (1938-2015) was a huge figure in New Orleans music: a producer, songwriter, arranger, musician, and sharp-dressed man. To even begin to give a sense of who he was, we need more than just one hour. So, in this program, part one of a two-hour tribute special, we hear Allen Toussaint’s own voice, from interviews preserved at the Archive of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, as he talks about his early career, in the years leading up to his time in the Army in the mid-1960s.
And in this first part we’ll also hear an exclusive live performance of Allen Toussaint, recorded in 2005 at WWOZ Piano Night, an annual benefit for the radio station where this program is produced. Allen has been a supporter of WWOZ since its inception, and we’re proud to share this recording, which has not been heard in ten years.
As Allen Toussaint said: “Once you have said ‘yes’ to music, it says ‘yes’ back to you.”
Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
Jazz Night in Panama
Danilo Perez
Jazz and Panama may not have an obvious relationship, yet this tiny country between the Americas and giant oceans, has given us some of its finest musicians dating back to Luis Russell, around the time of construction of the great Canal itself. Today, no one person is doing more to underscore this connection than Danilo Perez, renown pianist, educator, and country’s official Cultural Ambassador. We take you to his Panama Jazz Festival, the grand vehicle behind his greater mission of introducing underserved kids to music and inspiring greater social change in his developing nation.
Wednesday Night Special
7:00 PM (Follows Jazz Night in America)
Hot Latin Jazz For a Cold Winter’s Night – Jane Bunnett and the Spirits of Havana (ICJF)
Jane Bunnett
A native of Toronto, Jane Bunnett has become one of the foremost jazz musicians in Canada, and has gained recognition around the world for her improvising talents, technical proficiency, composing and band leading abilities. Following several visits to Cuba, she has devoted much of her music to reflect her own unique experiences with that island’s musical traditions. The result is an infectious blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and straight-ahead North American Jazz. Don’t miss Jane Bunnett and the Spirits of Havana from the 2004 Iowa City Jazz Festival on the next Wednesday Night Special.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM and Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
“A Look Back at Jazz, 2016”
Paul Smoker: May 8, 1941 – May 14, 2016
This past year was an especially rough one for having to say goodbye to a particularly large number of jazz personalities. This week, Craig gives a tip of the hat to many of these folks by spinning some great selections by the likes of Bobby Hutcherson, Kay Starr, Claude Williamson, Toots Thielemans, Sharon Jones, Paul Smoker, Bob Cranshaw, Joe Temperley, Paul Bley, and so many more that left us during 2016.
Tropical Heat (hosted by Kpoti Senam Accoh)
Sunday, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Featured Album: TBD
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at: