Cedar Rapids Opera brings two comedies to the Brucemore outdoor stage June 22-24, “American Gothical,” a delightful take on the creation of Grant Wood’s masterpiece, from the pen of Cedar Rapids native and award-winning composer Robert Lindsay Nassif, and Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi,” in which a family must enlist the help of a scoundrel to help them acquire their inheritance.
The Opera also reprises “Charlie and The Wolf,” an original commissioned opera for young people, at the Cedar Rapids Public Library on June 18 and the Englert Theatre on June 19.
Details at www.cropera.org.
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.
Host Craig Kessler spins a batch of excellent selections from Miroslav Vitous’s 13-plus ECM recordings. We’ll hear the bassist with the likes of Chick Corea, Roy Haynes, Jack DeJohnette, John McLaughlin, and many others.
The Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00pm
SuperBlue at the 2022 ICJF
Modern jazz legends, vocalist Kurt Elling and guitarist Charlie Hunter, joined forces to create SuperBlue, a dream project that pushed boundaries and gave us a new way to listen to jazz. They delighted the 2022 Iowa City Jazz Festival crowd with music from their debut album.
Jazz Night in America
Thursdays at 11:00pm
A Jazz Father’s Day Special
Jazz Night in America celebrates the Dads in the jazz world – from those in multi-generational musical dynasties to fathers who were die-hard music fans and everything in between. We’ll hear beautiful music and touching stories from Bobby and Madison McFerrin, Catherine Russell, Cory Wong, Chick Corea, and Benny Green in this very special Father’s Day episode.
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Saturdays from 12 noon to 4:00pm
Guitar Artistry of John Scofield
Host Craig Kessler presents a terrific sampling of jazz guitar work from this master’s (nearly) 50 years of work. We’ll hear Scofield with Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Joe Lovano, and many more, as well as selections from his 46-plus recordings under his own leadership.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
Every Night at Midnight
Each night, KCCK lets you hear a new CD played start-to-finish.
Empathy by Tim Lin on Monday;Words from My Horn by Anthony Hervey on Tuesday; Parker Plays X by Richard X Bennett & Matt Parker on Wednesday; Preludes by Jeb Patton on Thursday; Six Strings of Steel by Duke Robillard & His All-Star Band on Friday; Super Soul Session! by Arlen Roth & Jerry Jemmott on Saturday; Melusine by Cecile McLorin Salvant on Sunday.
Hey, Jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of saxmen Joe Thomas, Jerry Jerome and Sahib Shihab, singers Helen Humes and Dave Lambert, bassists Milt Hinton and Jamil Nasser, pianist/composers Lalao Schifrin and Arturo O’Farrill and more! We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of “The Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis Cookbook, Vol. 1″ (1958), Stanley Turrentine’s “Look Out!” (1960), Bill Evans’ “Montreux II” (1970), David Matthews Trio “Manhattan Sunset” (1987), Teri Thornton’s “I’ll Be Easy to Find” (1997), “Ron Carter’s Great Big Band” (2010) and many others 10am to 2pm, Monday thru Friday, with Jazz Masters at noon.
Culture Crawl 828 “Jazz Titans Walk into the Studio”
Gabriel Espinoza celebrates his latest album “Bosses & Boleros” with a Cedar Rapids performance on June 23 at the inaugural Jazz on 2nd. Gabriel talks about how a Yucatan native ended up as professor of jazz at Iowa’s Central College, and also the joy (and nerves) of watching jazz stars like Fred Hersch, Anat Cohen, and New York Voices perform and record your compositions.
Also performing at Jazz on 2nd will be Ray Blue and Corey Kendrick. General Admission seating is just $5, or off for reserved seats and a 3-course meal served by Cobble Hill. Details at www.downtowncr.org/events/jazz-night-on-2nd/.
Find Gabriel online at www.gabrielespinosamusic.com/
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.
Riverside Theatre’s Free Outdoor Shakespeare series returns this summer with “Twelfth Night,” one of The Bard’s best-known comedies, spinning a tale of mistaken identity, romance, revenge and other hijinks.
Adam Knight and Kathleen Johnson say make sure to come at 6:30 for the “Green Show,” kind of a condensed version of the play to help orient you to the language and plot.
June 16-July 2 at 7:30pm (except for a 6:30 show on July 1) on the Festival Stage in Lower City Park, Iowa City. Details at www.riversidetheatre.org.
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.
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify After producing over 50 albums for other artists in Puerto Rico, Colombia and the U.S., participating as pianist/arranger on more than 100 recordings, and writing music for feature films, theater and television, the Bronx born, Puerto Rican bred pianist Israel Tanenbaum is stepping out with a new disc of his own, “Impressions.” Leading his Latinbaum Jazz Ensemble featuring a talented crew of players who hail from Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and New York City, Tanenbaum creates irresistible mambos, danzons and descargas that showcase his refined arrangements while also revisiting his musical roots and rekindling some nostalgic memories along the way.
Scandinavian bassist Thomas Fonnesbaek and the young pianist Justin Kauflin have a shared history going back to 2015, when they were introduced to each other at a gig at the legendary Jazzhus Montmarte. Since then, the two have played, recorded and toured together, increasing their mutual understanding in the process. The latest addition to the two gentlemen’s musical partnership, “Danish Rain,” builds on and expands the soundscape of their previous releases together. The recording consists of some modern and older standards and original compositions from the duo.
Also this week, Chloe Jean joins forces with guitarist and arranger Ray Obiedo on “Fairy Tale Fail,” combining original music and lyrics drawn from Chloe’s personal life and times;
Indian-born guitarist and composer Noshir Mody returns with his latest album, “A Love Song,” a captivating collection of contemporary instrumental jazz that pays tribute to love and life;
and Tim Ray’s new release, “Fire & Rain,” features his jazz piano trio with John Lockwood on bass and Mark Walker on drums.
Dennis Green was present for the very first July 4 fireworks display in downtown Cedar Rapids, which over the past 40 years has grown into the 3-week Freedom Festival celebration.
Freedom Festival celebrates its big birthday with
the return of some old favorite events, plus some new ones, including Jazz on 2nd, the Festival’s first jazz event in some years.
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.