Short List with Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
Dodo Marmarosa
The Short List: A Personal History of Jazz – Favorite Jazz Pianists
This week Bob Naujoks concentrates on his favorite pianists, both traditional and modern. His list includes Teddy Wilson and Jess Stacy of Benny Goodman fame; the ill-starred bopper Dodo Marmarosa; the popular George Shearing; and two female players, Lynne Arriale and Marian McPartland. It’ll be a small piano festival with a few stories to match.
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 6:00 PM
Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan: ‘Jukebox King’
Louis Jordan is a part of the NPR Basic Jazz Record Library for many reasons. He was among the first black entertainers to be successful in a wider pop market. Jordan and his Tympany Five influenced bands like Bill Haley and the Comets — his music is often cited as one of the roots of rock and roll. He was also underrated as a jazz musician, both a fine clarinetist and alto saxophonist. But most importantly, Jordan is a part of the Library because his music is guaranteed to put a smile on the faces of all who heard him.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“The Birthdate Anniversary Celebration for Tenor Giant, Wardell Gray”
Craig celebrates Wardell’s 2/13/21 birthday by spinning some delightful gems with Wardell at the helm, as well as a number of inspiring record dates in the company of other jazz giants, such as Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Dexter Gordon, Earl Hines, Sonny Criss, and many others. This is very important material that seems to be slipping gradually into unwarranted obscurity.
New Orleans Calling with George Ingmire
Tuesday at 6:00 PM
“Shallow Waters: Mardi Gras Indians” 
Many New Orleanians get in shape for Carnival by attending weekly Mardi Gras Indian rehearsals held at several clubs around town. This week New Orleans Calling brings us a rare, behind the scene look inside this unique New Orleans Tradition that celebrates the culture and practices of the legendary Mardi Gras Indians like Big Chief Howard of the Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians and the late Big Chief Bo Dollis Jr. of The Wild Magnolais. Also, Mardi Gras Indian Queens like Mercedes “Queen Mercy” Stevenson and Pauline ‘Ree’ Johnson. There is even a museum devoted to Mardi Gras Indian culture in the Lower Ninth Ward with the mission to preserve this quintessential New Orleans tradition.
Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
Eric Lewis
ELEW Goes Trio
Eric Lewis’ career has circulated both in and out of jazz circles. Performing under his given name, he was an up-and-coming pianist who performed in the bands of Wynton Marsalis and Elvin Jones. As his career progressed – or didn’t – he found that a lot of contemporary rock music also spoke to what he wanted to do. So performing under the name ELEW, he devised a new theatrical, high-energy style of playing solo piano called rockjazz, and it took him to TED Conferences, national tours, America’s Got Talent and the White House. Now he’s set to translate his vision to the jazz trio format, planning a recording with some major players. Jazz Night In America follows ELEW to the studio, and to Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, where his burning band includes Reginald Veal on bass and Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums.
Wednesday Night Special
7:00 PM (Follows Jazz Night in America)
Heath Brothers Quartet with Jimmy Heath (saxophone) and Al “Tootie” Heath (drums) at the 2012 Iowa City Jazz Festival
Jazz Legends at the Iowa City Jazz Festival: Heath Brothers Quartet (2012)
For over 60 years, the legendary Heath Brothers have been synonymous with great jazz. NEA Jazz Master tenor player, Jimmy Heath and his drummer, brother Tootie Heath, came to Iowa City to promote ‘Endurance’, their first CD since the passing of their beloved brother, legendary bassist Percy Heath.
Jimmy Heath has long been recognized as a brilliant instrumentalist and a magnificent composer and arranger. Jimmy is the middle brother of the legendary Heath Brothers, and is the father of Mtume. He has performed with nearly all the jazz greats of the last 50 years, from Howard McGhee, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis to Wynton Marsalis. It is no surprise that over his long and storied career, Jimmy Heath has performed on more than 100 record albums including seven with The Heath Brothers and twelve as a leader. His work as a composer is every bit as impressive, having written more than 125 compositions, many of which have become jazz standards and have been recorded by other artists including Art Farmer, Cannonball Adderley, Clark Terry, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, James Moody, Milt Jackson, Ahmad Jamal, Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie J.J Johnson and Dexter Gordon.
Albert “Tootie” Heath is the youngest of the Heath brothers and drummer for the quartet, Tootie is a recipient of Yale University’s Duke Ellington Fellowship Medal. He was the drummer on John Coltrane’s first recording as a leader and the last drummer for the Modern Jazz Quartet. Tootie has played and recorded with Don Cherry, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, Frederic Gulda, Tommy Flanagan, Dexter Gordon, Nina Simone, Herbie Hancock, J.J. Johnson, Yusef Lateef, Sonny Rollins, Bobby Timmons, Lester Young, Cedar Walton and Ben Webster. He was a featured performer in the recent documentary “Between a Smile and a Tear,” by the filmmaker and pianist Niels Lan Doky, which revisited the glory years of Copenhagen’s famed Club Montmartre where Tootie was house drummer. He is also the leader of the Whole Drum Truth ensemble, which performs innovative all-percussion concerts with a rotating roster of the foremost jazz drummers.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM and Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Jeff Ballard
“The State of the Instrument – The Drums”
In this 3rd installment of this series, Craig will examine the work of 6 jazz drummers who are currently involved with top-notch artists on today’s Jazz scene. We’ll hear from Antonio Sanchez, Yoron Israel, Mark Ferber, Clarence Penn, Jeff Ballard, and Jorge Rossy. Essential listening, to be sure!
Tropical Heat with Kpoti Accoh
Sunday, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Featured Album: “Sbohem lásko… Zlatá kolekce” by Waldemar Matuska 
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/waldemar-matuska/id295878274
One of his nation’s best-known pop singers from the 1960s, Waldemar Matuska was born in Kosice, Czechoslovakia, on July 2, 1932. His peak in the music world would be matched by his work in theater and film during the same time period. Outside of his artistic endeavors, Matuska was perhaps just as well known for his decision to leave Communist-controlled Czechoslovakia in 1986 to be with his wife in Florida. Upon his departure, the powers that be decided to condemn Matuska as a “moral failure,” and deleted his songs and scores from films, in addition to deleting his titles from record stores. Although his work had suddenly become very hard to obtain in Europe, Matuska continued to ply his trade stateside, performing for receptive audiences of Czech and Slovak expats. After the Cold War ended and Czechoslovakia experienced its “Velvet Revolution” in 1989, Matuska’s work was once again made available — much to the pleasure and gratitude of a very receptive home audience. He continued to release works and perform for years afterward, and was still making appearances well into his seventies, in fact singing for the last time in Prague on the occasion of his 75th birthday. Long suffering from asthma, he died as a result of pneumonia and heart failure in Florida on May 30, 2009. Waldemar Matuska was 76 years old.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at: