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This Week’s Specials for February 13 thru February 18

Jazz Corner of the World Encore

Mondays from 6:00pm to 10:00pm

Keyboard Wizard Joe Zawinul

Host Craig Kessler takes a loving listen to the career of Joe Zawinul. A tasteful (and tasty) variety of Joe’s earlier works is set to play in this first of three episodes. Zawinul made legendary recordings with Cannonball and Nat Adderley, Miles Davis, and co-founded the supergroup Weather Report.

The Wednesday Night Special

Wednesdays at 6:00pm

More From daBluesapalooza ‘22

daBluesapalooza 23, KCCK’s night-long blues blowout, is just days away! To get us ready for this amazing night of live music, the Wednesday Night Special listens back to Eastern Iowa’s top blues and R&B musicians from last year’s jam. This week, it’s Homebrewed, the Tanya English Band, and Jonny Kilowatt with Gloria Hardiman!

Jazz Night in America

Thursdays at 11:00pm

Remembering Chick Corea

On the second anniversary of Chick Corea’s death, Jazz Night in America rebroadcasts its 2018 program with a concert from the late pianist and his Vigilette Trio from Chick’s hometown of Boston, plus a conversation with host Christian McBride.

Jazz Corner of the World

Saturdays from 12 noon to 4:00pm

Grant Green On Blue Note

Host Craig Kessler gives us a listen to Grant Green on Blue Note Records. We’ll hear some sweet stuff from this all-time guitar great’s 1960s work, both as a leader and as a sideman. Tune in for absolute classic sides, including titles from Lou Donaldson, Baby Face Willette, Stanley Turrentine, and Hank Mobley.

KCCK’s Midnight CD

Every Night at Midnight

Each night, KCCK lets you hear a new CD played start-to-finish.

Live at Smalls Jazz Club by Jesse Davis on Monday; Ashanti by Santi Debriano & Arketra Bembe on Tuesday; Big Band Extravaganza by Doug Mac Donald on Wednesday; Far Rar Away by Jim Snidero featuring Kurt Rosenwinkel on Thursday; Blind Raccoon & Nola Blue Collection (Disc 1) by Various Artists on Friday; Blind Raccoon & Nola Blue Collection (Disc 2) by Various Artists on Saturday; It Was Time by Mark Ortwein on Sunday.

This Week In Jazz February 12 thru February 18

This week we celebrate the birthdays of composers Alec Wilder and Harold Arlen, trumpeter Charlie Spivak, saxophonist Charlie Fowlkes, percussionist/bandleader Machito, clarinetist Buddy DeFranco and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Coleman Hawkins’ “Rainbow Mist” (1944), “Chet Baker Sings” (1954), Stan Getz/Charlie Byrd’s “Jazz Samba” (1962), Sarah Vaughan and the Count Basie Orchestra’s “Send In The Clowns” (1981), The New Shearing Quintet’s “That Shearing Sound” (1994), Ron Carter’s “Dear Miles” (2006), Monday thru Friday at noon on Jazz Masters.

Culture Crawl 790 “Fighting With The Painting”

Artists Jack Hayes and Sam Weis have a combined show of their paintings in the Marvin Cone Gallery in Sinclair Auditorium at Coe College through March 9.

Sam, whose friends and fans know has a peripatetic career, also has some paintings on display in the lobby of PCI, as well as a novel coming out, and will be playing concert Feb. 15 at the Lisbon Library!

Visit Jack at www.jackhayesart.com. Find Sam on Facebook.

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Soundtrack to the Struggle: Producer Norman Granz

It was easy to dislike Norman Granz. He was acerbic, sarcastic, and quite often, downright rude. But, like him or not, jazz producer and impresario Norman Granz earned universal respect for his battle for racial equality, and for equity in the music world. His biggest critics, it seemed were racists in the industry.

Granz insisted that his musicians be treated with the same respect as their white colleagues. “Because,” he said, “they were just as good. As both men and musicians.” His roster of jazz performers included legends Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, and Oscar Peterson – all of whom packed nightclubs and auditoriums. And, all of whom were forced to enter through the back door, and could never sit in the audience.

Unless, of course, when Norman Granz was at the show. His contracts stipulated no segregated venues. If owners didn’t comply, Granz’s artists didn’t perform. Boycotting a segregated club hurt the owners more than it hurt him. When they did take the stage, Granz guaranteed equal pay, equal dressing rooms, and equal hotel accommodations as white musicians.

Oscar Peterson often spoke of how Granz stood up to racist cops, paying the legal fees of artists arrested for simply being Black. Granz once stared down the barrel of a cop’s pistol for insisting that white cabbies drive them to their hotel. He tore down “Whites Only” signs on bathroom doors, and led the charge for the desegregation of Las Vegas nightclubs.

“Soundtrack to the Struggle” is hosted by Hollis Monroe. Produced by Ron Adkins. Executive Producer is Dennis Green.

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New Music Monday for February 13, 2023

Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Pianist/composer Fred Hersch and vocalist/bassist Esperanza Spalding can both be counted among the most acclaimed and inventive artists in modern jazz. The Village Vanguard is the music’s most revered venue, having played host to countless legendary musicians and beloved live recordings. The duo and the club converge for a magical performance on “Alive at the Village Vanguard,” a rare opportunity for listeners to enjoy the singular and thrilling collaboration between two marquee jazz players at the top of their game.

For nearly all of his four-decade career, the Los Angeles-based pianist/composer Bobby West was an unheralded scientist of sound: well-known and respected in his community, but largely unknown beyond it, with no recordings of his own as a leader. All that changed in 2021 when he released his first record. No longer a best-kept-secret from the West Coast, West’s fluid and formidable pianism is praised by jazz fans and critics alike. Josef Woodard of Jazziz magazine wrote of West’s “elegant…organically flowing energy…” and his “unpretentiously impressive musicianship.” That musicianship is on full display on West’s new release, “Big Trippin’.”

Also this week, the Verve Jazz Ensemble gives listeners an opportunity to once again revel in their originality and hard bop focus with their 8th album, “All In”;

80-year old percussionist Joe Chambers, best known for playing on a long list of critically acclaimed Blue Note jazz albums in the 1960s, brings together a global cast of talent on his third release as a leader for the label, “Dance Kobina”;

and pianist Bob Himmelberger unveils his new trio release “Legacy,” featuring original compositions spanning the 45 years of his musical life.

Soundtrack to the Struggle: Roy Eldridge & Gene Krupa

It’s 1941 and drummer Gene Krupa steps between his bandmate, trumpeter Roy Eldridge, and the nightclub doorman who refuses to let him enter. Krupa points to the poster beside him, with he and Eldridge listed as headliners. The doorman doesn’t move. Furious, Krupa confronts the club owner. Fire that doorman or the band walks out – right here, right now. The doorman is fired.

Krupa saw the effect that Eldridge had on listeners. “Even Joe Public knew this was artistry,” he said. “It was like someone switched on a light.” But it didn’t matter that Eldridge, a trumpet virtuoso, stunned audiences every time he played. He was Black and the rest of the band was white. Just getting to the bandstand was a nightly struggle.

Ironically, said bandmate Artie Shaw, “Droves of people would ask him for his autograph, but he couldn’t get off the bus to buy a hamburger.” Krupa more than once did jail time for punching a restaurant manager who refused Eldridge a menu, or for threatening a hotel clerk when the band’s reservations suddenly disappeared from the books.

As one writer noted in retrospect, Krupa was one of the most forward-thinking men in jazz. He knew that he couldn’t change the ugly face of bigotry by punching it in the nose. It wouldn’t open people’s minds. But Roy Eldridge’s playing, along with that of many other great Black musicians, would, at least, open people’s ears. And that, believed Krupa, was a good place to start.

“Soundtrack to the Struggle” is hosted by Hollis Monroe. Produced by Ron Adkins. Executive Producer is Dennis Green.

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Culture Crawl 789 “Andy Can’t Screw Up”

The next event in Orchestra Iowa’s historic Centennial season is “Best of The Beatles,” featuring Classical Mystery Tour, who portray each of the unique eras of The Fab Four. It’s the third time the group has performed with Orchestra Iowa, and it’s always one of the most popular shows.

The Orchestra functions truly as the “Fifth Beatle” in a show like this, because the orchestrations have become just as ingrained into our memories of these classic tunes just as much as the voices of John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

Dennis thinks just hearing Andy Classen on the piccolo trumpet on Penny Lane is worth the entire admission price.

Feb. 11 at the Paramount Theatre. Tickets at www.orchestraiowa.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.

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Talking Pictures 2-8-23

Skinamarink (2023) and I, Claudius (1976 BBC Mini-Series) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Ron Adkins.

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