A new water quality project in central Iowa aims to keep pollutants out of rivers and streams.
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Culture Crawl 1098 “How Did You Get These Paintings to Glow?”
Artist and author Tara Moorman returns to the KCCK studio after nearly eight years as her exhibition collection, “Letters to my Ancestors,” has become available for viewers to see in a new light. Manager of the newly renovated Mercy Gift Shop, Sarah Wick, joins in on the fun too in this collaborative effort to bring comfort through art to the community.
Previously displayed at Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the collection currently resides in Cedar Rapid’s Mercy Medical Center where an artist talk & walk event will be held on Thur, Jul 31. Meet in the Mercy Hospital Gift Shop at 2pm for a meet and greet, then at 2:30pm join Tara on a guided tour of her collection, and at 3pm guests reconvene at the gift shop for book signing.
Reservations are not required. For more info call 319-398-6164.
Subscribe to The Culture Crawl at kcck.org/culture or search “Culture Crawl” in your favorite podcast player. Listen Live at 10:30am most weekdays on Iowa’s Jazz station. 88.3 FM or kcck.org/listen.
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This Week’s Shows July 28 thru August 3
Jazz Corner of the World (Encore)
Mondays at 6:00pm
Happy Birthday Kenny Burrell!
Craig celebrates Kenny Burrell’s 94th birthday with an exciting overview of this all-time great guitarist’s career, from the years 1951 up to his latest.
Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00pm
Trio Grismore at Jazz Under the Stars
Our listen back to 2024’s Jazz Under the Stars concludes with Trio Grismore. Guitarist Steve Grismore, organist Mitch Towne, and drummer Tim Crumley pay tribute to the legendary guitar master Grant Green, plus works from classic organists Big John Patton and Jimmy Smith.
Jazz Night In America
Thursdays at 11:00pm
Classics From Newport
Hear an unforgettable lineup of music from the Newport Jazz Festival, hand-picked by Christian McBride. Check out rare sets from the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet, Dave Brubeck and Horace Silver.
Jazz Corner of the World
Saturdays from 12:00 noon to 4:00pm
Steeplechase Records, Part Seven
Craig presents another terrific sampling of jazz from this remarkable Danish record label. Founded by Nils Winther, there are over 1,000 top-notch releases from some of the biggest names in jazz. We’ll hear from artists Frank Foster, Hal Galper, Larry Schneider, Dexter Gordon, Gary Versace, Archie Shepp, Rich Perry, the Ferre Brothers, and many more.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
KCCK features a new album every night, played from start-to-finish.
Delight by Dawn Clement on Monday; Memories, Dreams, Reflections by Nicole Glover on Tuesday; Coast to Coast by the Jeff Hamilton Organ Trio on Wednesday; Gullah Roots by Etienne Charles on Thursday; The Kerry Kearney Band by The Kerry Kearney Band on Friday; One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Spivey by Maria Muldaur on Saturday; Open Up Your Senses by Tyreek McDole on Sunday.
Program Changes
Thanks to everyone who has called, emailed, or made a gift to support KCCK in the wake of the federal funding cuts. We’ve had a tremendous response in new donors, additional gifts, as well as new and increased sustainers.
But $150,000 is a large amount to make up. Local programs, local announcers, and jazz education are the core of what we do, and must come first as we work to fill the gap. At the same time, we know that you may be a fan of the programs that we purchase from national and regional sources. More than $25,000 in national program fees come due in the next few weeks, While we hope that if our fundraising continues to accelerate, we’ll be able to fund our local programs with enough to spare to also pay for national shows. But, it’s not responsible to sign an annual contract now when we aren’t sure where the money to pay for it will come from.
TL:DR, we are not going to be able to continue some programs at this time. Here are the programs affected, along with approximate dates the shows will leave our air.
Programs going on hiatus on or about July 31
- Echoes
- Jazz Happening Now
Some of these programs offer their shows to stream or download from their websites. And many will continue to air on other stations, so you may be able to find them elsewhere. We hope that circumstances will allow us to bring them back sometime.
Thanks for your understanding and support.
New Music Monday for July 28, 2025
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Four-time Grammy-winning, NEA Jazz Master Terri Lyne Carrington and Grammy-nominated vocalist Christie Dashiell present “We Insist 2025!,” a bold reimagining of the seminal 1961 album “We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite.” Originally created by Roach in collaboration with Abbey Lincoln and lyricist Oscar Brown, Jr., the disc commemorated the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation and served as a rallying cry during the civil rights movement. Carrington and Dashiell’s reimagined version honors this legacy while expanding its sonic palette, blending jazz with influences from gospel, neo-soul, funk, Afro-Latin, West African and blues traditions.
Saxophonist Joshua Redman unveils his second Blue Note Records release, “Words Fall Short,” a collection of original compositions that serves as an introduction to his new quartet featuring pianist Paul Cornish, bassist Philip Norris, and drummer Nazir Ebo, which was formed as a working band for the world tour behind Redman’s 2023 label debut. As the quartet performed steadily on the road, he felt a vibe developing, and was inspired to bring them into the studio to record a set of music he had composed during the pandemic that embraced the shifting moods of wistfulness, sadness, and resolve.
Also this week, pianist, composer, and Brazilian jazz master Antonio Adolfo, puts his spin on the music of “Carnaval,” the lively, upbeat music combining elements of traditional Brazilian music with African rhythms and European music that’s been featured at the annual festival since he was very young; Israeli pianist Anat Fort honors the sound and approach of drummer and composer Paul Motian with her new recording, “The Dreamworld of Paul Motian”; and Eastern Iowa pianist and composer Mike Conrad offers up his new trio recording, “Pretzel Letters,” featuring bassist Katie Ernst and drummer Cassius Goens III.
Big Mo Pod Show 071 – “He plays what can’t be written down”
Howdy folks! This week we have a special edition of the big mo pod show, eschewing our typical why’d you play that in favor of a brand new interview! We brought local blues legend Merrill Miller in for a second time to get a more in depth look at his story and the thoughts that go into his performances. In this episode we discuss how he got his start in music as well as some of the key experiences that shaped his music career!
Listen to ‘da Friday Blues with Big Mo each week at 6pm, and catch the podcast for a behind the scenes look at the show!
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Culture Crawl 1097 “Playing Next To His Ride Cymbal”
Musicians Paul Lichty from the Paul Lichty Jazz Orchestra & Chris Jensen from Wave Cage are in the studio ahead of a one of a kind big band experience featuring live visual art from Vintage Liquid Projections. The show is Sun, Aug 3, 7:30pm at The James Theater.
Tickets at thejamesic.com.
More info at www.paullichtymusic.com.
More info at wavecageband.com.
Check out @vintage_liquid_projections on instagram.
Subscribe to The Culture Crawl at kcck.org/culture or search “Culture Crawl” in your favorite podcast player. Listen Live at 10:30am most weekdays on Iowa’s Jazz station. 88.3 FM or kcck.org/listen.
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Jazz Under The Stars 2025
KCCK’s Jazz Under the Stars Brings Back The Stars
Legendary Iowa Jazz, Blues, and Funk Bands Reunite for KCCK 50th Anniversary
Iowa’s Jazz Station reunites some of Eastern Iowa’s best-known musicians to celebrate KCCK’s 50th anniversary at Jazz Under the Stars. Music fans who remember names like Daugherty, Davis & McPartland, Blues Instigators, Mean Street & The Hell Horns, Flock of Funk, and The I-380 Express won’t want to miss this historic series.
“We’ve planned for some time that during KCCK’s 50th Anniversary year, we wanted to bring back some of the musicians and bands that laid the groundwork for our corner of Iowa to be such a hotbed of live music,” says KCCK General Manager Dennis Green.
“These musicians pioneered our music scene in the 70s, 80s, and 90s and have influenced two generations of music artists. Many still form the backbone of our scene today, others are coming from as far away as California and Florida to be a part of this historic series. This is a unique chance to see our legendary favorites together again.”
But it’s not all oldsters. KCCK’s Young Artist series is back as well, featuring high school and college musicians to open each concert.
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Schedule:
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August 7
- Daugherty, Davis, & McPartland
- Young Artists: Griffin Bieber Quartet
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August 14
- Funk Legends, featuring Funk Stop & Funk Daddies
- Young Artists: David Donald Trio
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August 21
- Kings of ‘daBlues
- Young Artists: 10th Street Rapids
- KCCK Album and CD Sale
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August 28
- Al Naylor’s I-380 Express
- Young Artists: Go Benesh Quartet