Author's posts
Culture Crawl 835 “We Noticed the Costume Change”
“It’s going to be a good one,” says Steve Shanley on week six of the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band’s 2023 season. Ryan Smith will be featured with a classical saxophone solo and the band will present a challenging piece by Valerie Coleman that mixes styles from Latin jazz to Turkish music. Other selections this week …
This Week in Jazz July 9 thru July 15
Hey, Jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of composer/bandleader Noble Sissle, pianist Milt Buckner, saxman Paul Gonsalves, singer Irene Reid, bassist Leroy Vinnegar and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Leroy Vinnegar’s “Leroy Walks!” (1958), Charles Mingus’s “Mingus in Antibes” (1960), Sheila Jordan’s “Confirmation” (1975), …
This Week in Jazz July 2 thru July 8
Hey, jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of singers Johnny Hartman and Bill Withers, trumpeter/bandleader Doc Severinsen, trombonists Vern Friley and Frank Rehak, saxophonist Hank Mobley and more! We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of “Duke Ellington at Newport” (1956), Buddy Rich Big Band’s “Mercy, Mercy” (1968), …
Culture Crawl 834 “Steal Shamelessly From Your Past”
Larry Baker managed and owned movie theaters in Oklahoma before moving to Iowa and writing novels. His seventh book, “Harry & Sue,” takes place in just such a theater, populated by a variety of ghosts you will know, such as Marilyn Monroe, Harry Chapin, Mark Twain, Patsy, Cline, and Harry Houdini. But the ghosts, particularly …
Culture Crawl 833 “We Want Some of that Entertainment, Too!”
Community Concert organizations were created in the 1930s, as smaller communities worked to bring musicians and entertainers to towns of all sizes, not just big cities. The Cedar Rapids Community Concert Association has been doing that very thing for 93 years. Board member John Haack says because the group is all-volunteer, they can keep ticket …
Culture Crawl 832 “Like Christmas Service is for Lutherans”
This is arguably the biggest week of the year for Cedar Rapids Municipal Band, as the patriotic-themed concerts around Independence Day are always popular. But Muni Band director Steve Shanley says the program will not only include expected favorites like America The Beautiful (featuring the Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale), Stars & Stripes Forever, and Armed …
This Week in Jazz June 25 thru July 1
Hey, Jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of composers Richard Rodgers and Frank Loesser, singers Lena Horne and Tierney Sutton, pianists Elmo Hope and Andrew Hill, trombonist Julian Priester, bassist Stanley Clarke and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Duke Ellington’s “Ellington Uptown” (1952), Nina …
Culture Crawl 831 “Yes and…”
Trumpeter John Daversa and pianist Tal Cohen are back in Eastern Iowa as faculty for the annual Cedar Rapids Chamber Music Festival, June 26-30 on the Kirkwood campus. They’ll bookend their week here with two “Art of Duo” shows, June 25 at CSPS Hall, and July 1 at the Sound Conservatory in Rock Island. Five …