Category: KCCK Blog

High School Musicians Rub Shoulders with Pros – Dennis

Amidst homework, final exams and holiday concerts at area high schools, the halls are also buzzing with the sound of jazz. Students at ten Corridor-area high schools are in final preparation stages to put their best musical foot forward as they record with a professional jazz educator for the Corridor Jazz Project. The bands from …

Continue reading

Vocals Past and Present – Bob Stewart

Lizz Wright spent her previous three releases defying categorization-contemporary jazz stylist? Neo-soul/neo-folk/Americana artist? None or all of the above? So it’s no surprise that “Fellowship” would introduce yet another wrinkle into the mix: gospel. As the daughter of a Georgia pastor, Wright listened to and sang nothing but religious fare before fate and/or the Lord …

Continue reading

Loeb Joins Fourplay – Bob

After 20 years and a dozen CDs, in an industry that has undergone sweeping transformations in the past decade, Fourplay knows that the only thing that’s certain, in music or any other business, is change. The latest proof of that axiom is the new face in their lineup-that of guitarist Chuck Loeb, who makes his …

Continue reading

Holiday Goodies – Bob

It might be the parties. Or maybe it’s the roasting of chestnuts. Or the caroling out in the snow. Whatever the reason, most people consider the holiday season to be the most wonderful time of the year. That’s exactly the case among the members of Take 6, the a cappella group that has been mixing …

Continue reading

Gadd’s Gang Live – Bob

Steve Gadd has had a remarkable career during the past 40 years, working with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie and Chick Corea to Maynard Ferguson and George Benson. When it comes to his own projects, the drummer loves to play good-time groove music that has the danceable qualities and bluesiness of the best R&B along with …

Continue reading

Strings Attached – Bob

Russell Malone has been a significant figure in the jazz world for more than two decades. One of his most pivotal career-shaping experiences was as part of organist Jimmy Smith’s band in the late-80s. He’s also spent time working in the bands of Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr., Sonny Rollins, and Ron Carter among other …

Continue reading

KCCK’s Military Veterans

Veterans Day 2010 – we note several KCCK staffers who are veterans of military service. Mark Yother was in the Air Force for three years. He was editor of the base newspaper at Ent Air Force Base in Colorado, then worked in radio and television with the American Forces Korea Network (AFKN) for a year. …

Continue reading

Hot Club Sandwich and Other Good Stuff – Bob

Drawing on the Hot Club style of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, Hot Club Sandwich adds in classic Latin American, old-world European and other influences, including a bit of West Coast twang. The fourth release from the Seattle-based band — “And If Only” — takes listeners from the smoky cafes of Paris to the hipster …

Continue reading