Jingyu “Lucy” Liu, a sophomore at Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, has been chosen as the winner of the Corridor Jazz Project CD Cover design. Liu will receive a $100 cash prize from KCCK-FM and her design will adorn the cover of the “The Corridor Jazz Project VI”, a compilation of recordings from the …
In 1962, Duke Ellington recorded a trio date with bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach that is today considered one of the pivotal jazz recordings of the ’60s. The resulting disc was, among other things, a commentary on the perennial tug-of-war between art and commerce. In some ways, the songs were intended as a …
Hot Latin Jazz for a Cold January Night: Orquesta Alto Maiz at KCCK’s Jazz Under the Stars 2012 Orquesta Alto Maiz is something of a musical enigma. It is a popular eleven-piece Latin-jazz-dance band made up of musicians now living in the “heartland” of America. Alto Maiz has been performing regionally and internationally since …
It was only after Michael Jackson’s death that Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava gradually became aware that he had for many years been ignoring, in his words, “one of the great protagonists of 20th century music and dance. A total artist. A perfectionist. A genius. I felt the need to delve more deeply into Michael’s world. …
KCCK is delighted to offer this special live broadcast Wednesday, Jan. 23, at 10 p.m. of the Grand Opening Concert from the San Francisco Jazz Center – conceived as the first stand-alone building in the U.S. designed specifically for jazz performance. The show has been sold out for months, and the list of artists for …
A supremely lyrical guitarist and award-winning composer with a deep love of literature, Ken Hatfield is always on the lookout for texts ripe for musical interpretation. He found an ideal muse in poet Langston Hughes (1902-1967), whose rhythmically agile verse, marked by penetrating observations about love, life and politics, takes flight on “For Langston.” A …
“Since I started to tour in the late ’70s, I’ve collected instruments from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern and Western Europe and North and South America,” says Joe Lovano, who, in addition to his instantly recognizable tenor sax, improvises on many other horns and an array of percussion. “I’ve spent a lifetime feeling the …
“What’s up, San Francisco? Are you ready to have a good time?” asks the timbales player and band leader Pete Escovedo at the beginning of “Live From Stern Grove Festival”, his new CD capturing a live show he played earlier this year at the legendary 75-year-old San Francisco cultural venue and institution. Early in his …
