News Digest 12-21-23

Congress is done for the year without an agreement on aid for Ukraine tied to changes in immigration policy…Nikki Haley says while campaigning in Iowa that the U.S. won’t survive another Trump term in the White House. 

Clean Up Your Act 1-8-24

Removing nitrates from Iowa drinking water supplies is costly.

Talking Pictures 12-20-23

When Evil Lurks (2023) and Scrooge (1935) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Ron Adkins

News Digest 12-20-2023

The Colorado Supreme Court bars Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot…Republicans in the Iowa legislature look to eliminate gender balance for state boards and commissions. 

News Digest 12-19-23

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meets with Israeli leaders concerning the fighting in Gaza…Republicans in the Iowa legislature talk about speeding up income tax cuts.

News Digest 12-18-23

No agreement yet on additional military aid for Ukraine…Iowa is approaching a deadline for deciding whether to provide food assistance for low-income kids during the summer. 

This Week In Jazz December 17 thru December 23

Hey, Jazz fans! Tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of bandleader Erskine Tate, drummer Panama Francis, New Orleans legend Professor Longhair, trombonist/pianist/composer Bob Brookmeyer, pianist/composer Bobby Timmons, saxophonist/composer/educator Chris Merz and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of “Melba Liston & Her ‘Bones” (1958), Charlie Rouse’s “Unsung Hero” (1960), Woody Shaw’s “Moontrane” (1974), Pat Metheny/Dave Holland/Roy Haynes’ “Question and Answer” (1989), Loren Schonberg & His Jazz Orchestra’s “Out of This World” (1997), Patricia Barber’s “The Cole Porter Mix” (2007) and many others, Mondays thru Fridays at noon on Jazz Masters on Jazz 88.3 KCCK. 

New Music Monday for December 18, 2023

Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Individually leading busy and varied artistic lives in Chicago and throughout the Midwest, trumpeter Eric Jacobson, pianist Pamela York and bassist Clay Schaub have gathered weekly for the Monday night residency at Milwaukee’s Mason Street Grill since 2021. There they allow their ideas and inspirations gleaned through the week to take musical form in an intimate setting, unfurling their arrangements on standards from the American Songbook, Latin jazz, bebop or through their own compositions. As the Affinity Trio, their debut recording, “Hindsight,” captures their comfortable simpatico.

Sarah McKenzie grew up in Australia, taking classical piano lessons from the age of five. A teacher introduced her to rock, the blues, ,and boogie woogie when she was nine. “By the age of 15 I heard Oscar Peterson’s ‘Night Train’ record and that was the turning point for me. It was such happy music that I knew that I wanted to do that with my life.” The pianist, singer and composer is releasing her sixth album, “Without You.” A project that conveys her love for Brazilian music and culture, the disc includes a generous amount of Antonio Carlos Jobim songs along with four of McKenzie’s originals and a few other selections, all performed in her own inventive way.

                                                                    

Also this week, “Upswing” is a celebration of the post-bop sound that trombonist Robert Edwards’ band has been forging for the past six years at their West Village residency in New York’s City’s iconic Small’s Jazz Club; “Radiance” is a classic jazz trio album from keyboardist and composer Bennett Paster; and New York City-born, Portland-based pianist and composer Gordon Lee unveils his new quartet disc, “How Can It Be?”