Top 88 countdown – New Year’s Week 2015 / 2016
Monday – Wednesday 10:00 am – 12:00 pm / Thursday 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
January 1: 6:00 am – 3:00 pm repeated 3:00 pm – Midnight
Tis the season for our year-end retrospective when we look back at the best in jazz from 2015. Join us for a weeklong retrospective of the Top 88 of 2015, Monday – Wednesday, December 28th – 30th from 10am-12pm and 10am-1pm on Thursday, December 31st. Then, we’ll count down the entire 88, nonstop New Years Day beginning at 6am and we’ll repeat the countdown starting at 3pm so you won’t miss any of your favorites! 2015 was an exceptional year for jazz, with new releases from David Sanborn, Karrin Allyson, Kurt Elling, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and so many more. Which was the favorite of KCCK staff and listeners? Find out New Years Week with the Top 88 of 2015, only on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.
Toast of the Nation (NPR)
December 31- starting at 8:00 pm
Snarky Puppy
Ring in the New Year with style and join our celebration when Jazz 88-3, KCCK brings you the end-of-the-year tradition “Toast of the Nation” from National Public Radio starting at 8 p.m. New Year’s Eve. It’s jazz that you can party to, all night long with countdowns to midnight in all four continental time zones featuring live, swingin’ performances from Anat Cohen, Wynton Marsalis, Snarky Puppy, Wycliffe Gordon, Dianne Reeves and a special Allen Toussaint tribute. Snuggle up to Jazz 88.3 or get up and dance with us, as we celebrate the new year with a coast-to-coast jazz party, only on KCCK.
Short List with Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
The Short List: Jazz Clubs Live – New Orleans 
A survey of jazz clubs in America could not forget the birthplace of jazz — New Orleans. There are almost three-dozen jazz venues in the Crescent City, the most famous of these are down in the French Quarter, but there is jazz all over the city. We’ve picked several that seem significant, and not all of them feature classic or traditional style jazz. There’s also a little highlighting of two popular New Orleans musicians — clarinetist Pete Fountain and trumpeter Al Hirt.
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 6:00 PM
Hoagy Carmichael: ‘Stardust Melodies’ 
Hoagy Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. His best-known songs are now American standards, and include “Stardust,” “Georgia on My Mind,” and “Heart and Soul.” Carmichael’s career lasted four decades, and he penned hundreds of songs.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“The Jazz Scene In 1975”
Craig travels back 40 years to look in on some of the great recordings from 1975. We’ll hear from Dexter Gordon, Pat Metheny, Keith Jarrett, Miles Davis, Kenny Wheeler, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and many others! We’ll also look at ’75 through the lenses of Down Beat Magazine’s reader’s poll and critic’s poll. Don’t miss this end-of-the-year party that will be filled with a host of surprises!!
New Orleans Calling with George Ingmire
Tuesday at 6:00 PM
“Stomp in the Name of Love”
Ira “Dr. Ike” Padnos
The wedding reception of New Orleans anesthesiologist and avid record collector, Ira “Dr. Ike” Padnos in 2000 was so amazing—featuring blues acts ranging from Magic Slim and the Teardrops to R.L. Burnside—that his friends persuaded him to put on another show like it. And another. And another. Now in its twelfth official year, the Ponderosa Stomp festival remains devoted to celebrating and revitalizing the careers of long-lost rock, soul, R & B, rockabilly, country, blues, and garage musicians. Dr. Ike and his small staff (known as The Mystic Knights of the Mau Mau, an homage to Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’s “Feast of the Mau Mau”) bring recognition to forgotten artists still roaming the Earth through both the festival and their multifaceted nonprofit organization, the Ponderosa Stomp Foundation.
Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
Jazz Prodigy – Joey Alexander at Jazz at Lincoln Center
Joey Alexander
Jazz Night in America explores jazz prodigies from different eras. We highlight 11-year-old pianist, Joey Alexander, whose first album came out this spring.
Wednesday Night Special
7:00 PM (Follows Jazz Night in America)
Iowa City Jazz Festival 2015: Charles Lloyd Quartet
Charles Lloyd at the 2015 Iowa City Jazz Festival
Charles Lloyd was born in Memphis, Tennessee and from an early age, he was immersed in that city’s rich musical life and was exposed to jazz. Beginning in his early teens, he was working as a sideman in the blues bands of B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Johnnie Ace, Bobbie “Blue” Bland, and others. His closest friend in high-school was trumpeter, Booker Little.
In the intervening sixty years, Lloyd has become a true giant of the jazz world, playing with Billy Higgins, Don Cherry, Bobby Hutcherson, Chico Hamilton, Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette and many more.
In 1970, Lloyd moved to California and entered a state of semi-retirement. He practically disappeared from the jazz scene, but can be heard on recordings with the Doors, Canned Heat, and the Beach Boys. Occasionally during the 1970s Lloyd played with The Beach Boys; both on their studio recordings and as a member of their touring band.
Upon his recovery from a near death experience in 1986, Lloyd decided to rededicate himself to music. He started performing occasionally in 1987 and 88. In 1989, Lloyd reestablished an active touring schedule and began recording for ECM Records. The ECM recordings showcased his sensitivity as a ballad player and composer. In 2014, Lloyd received the 2014 Monterey Jazz Festival Jazz Legend Award.
Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland
Thursday at 6:00 PM
Eric Mintel 
Pianist Eric Mintel is on a mission to bring jazz to the masses. His playing is straight-ahead but energetic, lyrical, and always swinging. With his quartet, he has engaged audiences at the White House, The Kennedy Center, and venues around the country. On this Piano Jazz from 2005, Mintel talks about improvisation and the art of getting gigs before sitting down with host McPartland for “These Foolish Things.”
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM and Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
“The Short-Lived, Cambridge, Ma Jazz Label, Transition Records” 
Craig surveys and presents some of the exceptional material from the mid 50’s that was recorded and produced by the label founder, Tom Wilson. We’ll hear early recordings from Yusef Lateef, Cecil Taylor, Donald Byrd, Doug Watkins, Sun Ra, Herb Pomeroy, Paul Chambers, and others. Great music and interesting stories relating to the record label. Don’t miss it
Tropical Heat with Kpoti Accoh
Sunday, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Featured Album: “Paris Café” by Le Grand Baiser 
www.allmusic.com/album/paris-cafe-fisher-price-mw0000797839
“Imagine yourself sipping a café au lait with the one you love, surrounded by the beauty of Paris…” You can live that moment on this well-recorded and relaxing music from France, as the music is appropriate for dinner and all relaxing parties. Aside from a few modern tunes that get the “elevator music treatment,” virtually every song on this disc will transport you to a quaint French sidewalk café, and will rekindle your love for Paris.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at: