22 years ago Jim Engelbach and Kyle Patrick brought the TubaChristmas tradition to Cedar Rapids. Anyone with a Tuba is invited to get together for a day-of rehearsal followed by an informal concert open to the public.
This year’s concert will be at the Cedar Rapids Downtown Library at 3pm on Dec 9. Players can arrive at noon for registration and a rehearsal.
Subscribe to The Culture Crawl at www.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 www.kcck.org/listen.
Hey Jazz fans, be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of lyricist Ira Gershwin, saxophonist Marshall Royal, pianist Dave Brubeck bassist/singer Jay Leonhart, singer/songwriter Tom Waits and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Louis Armstrong and His Friends: All Stars in Concert, 1951 (1951), Art Farmer Quartet feat. Jim Hall: Live at the Half-Note (1963), Paul Desmond’s “Skylark” (1973), Louie Bellson & His Jazz Orchestra’s “East Side Suite” (1987), Dee Dee Bridgewater’s “Keeping Tradition” (1992), Ulysses Owens, Jr. Big Band’s “Souls Conversations” (2019) and many others, Mondays thru Fridays at noon on Jazz Masters on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.
KCCK’s Christmas Channel brightens up your holiday season! It’s a 24-7 stream of the coolest holiday jazz ever recorded, commercial free. Listen through December 26 on KCCK’s mobile app, at kcckjazz2.org or follow this link.
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify Boston doesn’t get enough credit as a jazz town. From the days of the Storyville club and Cambridge-based Transition label to the star factory that is Berklee College of Music, the city stands tall against more celebrated places like Chicago and Detroit. One big part of that high level of creative output is Jerry Bergonzi who, for his new CD “Extra Extra,” leads his most Boston band in recent memory, reuniting with trumpeter pal Phil Grenadier and drummer Luther Gray. Bassist Harvie S came up from New York for the gig and it was he who suggested guitarist Sheryl Bailey for the album. She completes the Boston connection with her position as the Assistant Chair of Berklee’s legendary Guitar Department.
Celebrated pianist and composer Donald Vega elegantly crafts a sonic autobiography with “As I Travel,” an ode to the family and community that empowered him to make the physical and metaphorical journey to where he is today. At age 14, Vega fled from the civil war in Nicaragua and emigrated to the United States where he ultimately studied and worked with jazz greats such as Billy Higgins, John Clayton and Al McKibbon. Musically, Vega puts storytelling at the forefront of his compositions, sharing the story of his journey from Nicaragua to Los Angeles, New York City, and around the globe, through his music.
Also this week, Miami-based guitarist/composer/arranger Russ Spiegel gives a tip of the hat to some of the destinations and cultures he’s experienced as a world traveler on “Caribbean Blue”; guitarist Vin Venezia’s music resonates with soulful melodies and electrifying performances on “The Venetian”; and the young Mongolian-born, Munich-based pianist and composer Shuteen Erdenebaatar debuts on disc with “Rising Sun.”
Newsom and DeSantis face off in a debate…Santos faces an expulsion vote…a major publisher challenges a law banning books with sexual content from Iowa schools.
The KCCK Featured Album for December is “A Guaraldi Holiday” by Isaiah J. Thompson. The acclaimed young pianist pays tribute to the eclectic music of Vince Guaraldi, work which served as both an introduction to jazz, and as a childhood soundtrack for generations of music lovers, Thompson included. Produced by John Pizzarelli, the disc offers up fresh interpretations of music from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” as well as music Guaraldi wrote for Halloween and Thanksgiving specials. Filled with adventurous and spirited performances, “A Guaraldi Holiday” is on Outside In Records. Purchase
Listen to this week’s playlist on 
