Author's posts
Culture Crawl 659 “The First White Man Was A Black Man”
“Esteban and The Children of the Sun” is the final work from the prolific musical mind of John Rapson, the long-time leader of the University of Iowa Jazz program, completed just days before he died in August of 2021. It’s a story of a Moroccan Muslim who was the first African to journey across North …
Culture Crawl 658 “A Happy Kind of Choked Up”
After more than 18 months without a concert, Orchestra Iowa returns with a roar with Brucemorchestra, Sept. 18. It’s a Rodgers & Hammerstein evening featuring chorus, dancers, and Broadway performers with local ties, in conjunction with Revival Theatre. Tim Hankewich says that even though the spotlight may be on the singers, there is plenty for …
106.9 Off The Air
KCCK’s Johnson County translator at 106.9 FM is currently off the air due to equipment failure. We’re working on it and hope to have it back up and running soon.
Culture Crawl 657 “Beer and Ice Cream”
Sept. 17-19 will be a big weekend for the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids. The fun kicks off on Friday with the return of Brewnost, back in person after a virtual 2020, and moved outside to accommodate distancing. Taste beers from around the world matched to tasty food, enjoy music, …
Culture Crawl 656 “Parallel Evolution”
Stepping is a percussive dance and music style that originated in fraternities and sororities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. “Drumfolk” is an original commission by Hancher Auditorium that uses this form to tell the story of Africans in America and the triumph of human spirit during enslavement. StepAfrika! founder C. Brian Williams talks about …
Culture Crawl 655 “Happy Place”
Fred Easker has been paining full time since 1994, and his landscapes are currently being featured at Gilded Pear Gallery. Fred talks about the very first landscapes he painted, and what locations other than his native Eastern Iowa environs that have inspired him. “Meditations on Moments in the Landscape” will be up through Oct. 2 …
Culture Crawl 654 “Double Minority”
KCCK’s Jazz Under The Stars 2021 wraps up on August 26 with the Iowa Women’s Jazz Orchestra. This all-female big band is the only one in the state. Directors Toni Lefebvre and Kelli Swehla say the band was formed to give women opportunities to perform and arrange, and also to spotlight female jazz composers, who …
Culture Crawl 653 “Easier To Say Than Accompanist”
Vocalist Lynne Rothrock hosts the first public event since March 2020 in the Opus Concert Cafe, when she debuts a brand new show, “American Songbook” Aug. 20 and 21. The program will run the gamut, with standards from Gershwin and Cole Porter, but also more recent classics from Carole King, Jimmy Webb, and Iowa native …