The KCCK Featured Album for September is “Songs From My Father” by Gerry Gibbs’ Thrasher Dream Trios. The drummer pays tribute to his 96-year-old father Terry Gibbs, one of the last living architects of bebop and innovators of the vibraphone, by delving into Terry’s vast discography. Gerry gathers the members of his various Thrasher Dream …
The KCCK Featured Album for August is “Grateful Deadication” by Dave McMurray. The saxophonist takes his gritty, soulful Detroit sound and reimagines the flower empowered songs of San Francisco icons the Grateful Dead. McMurray played a few years ago with the band’s cofounder Bob Weir and was immediately hooked on the Dead’s music. He spent …
The KCCK Featured Album for July is “Westward Bound” by Harold Land. The disc contains previously unissued live recordings by the legendary tenor saxophonist from the The Penthouse in Seattle between 1962 and 1965. Land is joined by stellar musicians including pianists Buddy Montgomery and Hampton Hawes, drummer Philly Joe Jones, bassist Monk Montgomery and …
The KCCK Featured Album for June is “Daring Mind” from the Jihye Lee Orchestra. The South Korea native first found success as an indie pop singer before discovering large-ensemble jazz while studying at Boston’s Berklee College. She’s since been awarded several commissions for compositions that appear on the new disc, which Lee describes as a …
The KCCK Featured Album for May is “Corridor Jazz Project, Volume 14.” This annual production features the talented high school jazz bands from Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Marion and beyond as they perform a tune each with their special guest musicians in professional recording sessions. They all get together afterward for a special concert to …
The KCCK Featured Album for April is “The Mulligan Chronicles” by David Larsen. The disc is a culmination of years of research by the saxophonist into the compositional style of Gerry Mulligan, traveling to the Library of Congress to study hundreds of scores and interviewing countless musicians. Larsen enlisted the help of veteran players who …
The KCCK Featured Album for March is “This Bitter Earth” from Veronica Swift. The singer-songwriter has crafted an ingenious song cycle that tackles issues like sexism, domestic abuse, environmental issues, racism, and the dangers of fake news. The material gathered covers multiple genres, including jazz, American musicals and indie-rock, fortifying her position as a leading …
The KCCK Featured Album for February is “Bud Powell in the 21st Century” by Ethan Iverson. Of the half dozen true pioneers of the bebop movement, pianist Bud Powell has remained somewhat in the shadows. His brilliant original compositions are essential, infinitely listenable but also strangely tricky. Pianist and historian Iverson provides a fantastic validation …
