Author's posts
“The Jazz Gene Pool” Dick Oatts in Iowa
Jefferson, Iowa native Dick Oatts is one of the world’s movs celebrated jazz saxophonists. Soon after arriving in New York in the late 70s, he landed a gig in the prestigious Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, and has gone on to release or appear on dozens of CDs, plus touring and performing all over the world. …
Culture Crawl 389 “Yeah, We Did The Snap-Snap”
The Addams Family has been a part of American pop culture for 80 years. Beginning as a New Yorker cartoon in the Thirties, then as a 60s TV show, movies in the 90s, and now onstage as a musical. Marqueta Senters plays GrandMama in the Old Creamery Theatre production that opens October 11. She tells …
Culture Crawl 388 “8 Bands, 1 Stadium”
The 22nd annual Metro Marching Band Classic takes place Oct. 8, 6:30pm at Linn-Mar Stadium. It’s the only time this season you can see the bands from Jefferson, Kennedy, Washington, Prairie, Xavier, Linn-Mar, and Marion perform their shows on the same night in the same location. Special guest band will be the UI Hawkeye Marching …
Culture Crawl 387 “Six Degrees of Waubeek”
Cedar Rapids author Barb Feller has written a book that is part biography, part personal memoir exploring her journey learning about a man who had an extraordinary impact on the arts and culture not only of Iowa, but the entire world. Jay Sigmund was a friend and mentor to artist Grant Wood, and poet Paul …
Culture Crawl 386 “Make The World Smaller”
John Kenyon is the director of the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature, presenting the Iowa City Book Festival Oct. 1-7. Dozens of literary events, most of them free, will range from a talk by rapper and actor Common to the celebration of this year’s Paul Engle Award winner, Dina Nayeri. There will even …
Ann Hampton Calloway – “I Just Thought Every Family Was Like This”
Singer Ann Hampton Calloway performs “A Night of Chicago Jazz” with Ramsey Lewis Sept. 28 at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines. She tells Dennis Green about how she thinks musical improvisation and improv theatre are connected, as well as remembering growing up in a musical family in Chicago. Tickets and information at www.civicmusic.org.
Ramsey Lewis – “Taming The 88”
We caught up with jazz legend Ramsey Lewis at his Chicago home, just prior to heading out on the road for a tour with singer Ann Hampton Calloway. He talks to Dennis Green about his off again-on again retirement plans, becoming the interviewer rather than the interviewee on a past BET show, and “taming the …
Culture Crawl 385 “Dawn’s Picks”
Dawn Jones from the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance (ICCA) stops by with some suggestions of cool things to do this weekend, from musicals to museum exhibits. Details on these and hundreds of other events at www.culturalcorridor.org.