Progressive rock group The Beaker Brothers have added a new member. Pianist, guitarist, and singer Steve Protsman went to high school with Steve Grismore, and when Steve P relocated to the Iowa City area, it didn’t take long for Steve G to recruit him for the band.
The new lineup of the popular band performs at the Englert October 28, for a show that will pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Allman Brothers classic “Eat A Peach,” among many other tunes from the “Beaker Era.”
Follow The Beaker Brothers on Facebook, and get tickets at www.englert.org.
Subscribe to The Culture Crawl at www.kcck.org/culture or search “Culture Crawl” in your favorite podcast app. Listen Live at 10:30am most weekdays on Iowa’s Jazz station. 88.3 FM or www.kcck.org/listen.
Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre celebrates its 25th anniversary this season, and is kicking things off with “Norman and Abigail,” October 28 at CSPS Hall.
The event pairs baritone Norman Garrett, who made his professional debut with Cedar Rapids Opera, with soprano Abigail Rethwisch, who despite being an Eastern Iowa native, is marking her first-ever performance with the Cedar Rapids group.
The two will perform solos and a duet from several of the Opera’s most memorable shows over the last quarter century.
Tickets and info at www.cropera.org.
Subscribe to The Culture Crawl at www.kcck.org/culture or search “Culture Crawl” in your favorite podcast app. 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 drummers Cozy Cole, J.C. Moses and Ronnie Burrage, guitarist Barney Kessel, trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Wynton Marsalis, singer Sathima Bea Benjamin and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of “Benny Golson’s New York Scene” (1957), Jimmy Forrest’s “Most Much!” (1961), Zoot Sims & Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis’ “The Tenor Giants feat. Oscar Peterson” (1975), Harry “Sweets” Edison’s “There Will Never Be Another You” (1986), New York Voices’ “Reminiscing In Tempo” (2018) and many others, Mondays thru Fridays at noon on JAZZ MASTERS on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.
Craig Kessler spins more material from recently departed producer and label owner Creed Taylor. This week, Craig features important 60’s and 70’s works from Taylor’s own CTI Records. We’ll hear goodies from Freddie Hubbard, George Benson, Wes Montgomery, Milt Jackson, Stanley Turrentine, and a host of others.
The Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
Betsy Hickok/Ron Roberts at Jazz Under the Stars
Betsy Hickok & the Ron Roberts Group lit up our second night of 2022’s Jazz Under the Stars. They treated the Noelridge Park audience to a beautiful set of jazz standards and the Great American Songbook. Opening the show was the outstanding student ensemble Yesternite.
Jazz Night in America
Thursday at 11:00 PM
Strings With Wings
Host Christian McBride takes us to the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee to hear two virtuosi – Bela Fleck and Edmar Castaneda – on two unique instruments – banjo and harp – for one breathtaking musical adventure.
Jazz Corner of the World
Saturdays at 12:00 Noon
Milestone Records, Part 5
Tune in as Craig Kessler spins Joe Henderson music that can change your life. Craig spotlights the master reedman’s 12-plus records of astonishing jazz that Henderson made for Orrin Keepnews’s Milestone label.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
Every Night at Midnight
Each night, KCCK lets you hear a new CD played start-to-finish.
Pride & Joy by The Jon Cowherd Trio on Monday;The Evening: Live at Apparatus by The Baylor Project on Tuesday; Verdant Valley by Art Hirahara on Wednesday; Gifts by Alex Acuna on Thursday; The Lights Went Out in Dallas by Mike Morgan & the Crawl on Friday; The Blues Don’t Lie by Buddy Guy on Saturday; Fade to Black by Carmen Lundy on Sunday
Nicholas Meyer is a UI alumnus who has gone on to write and direct hit movies like “The Seven Percent Solution,” “The Day After,” and pretty much all the “good” Star Trek movies.
He’s back in Iowa to appear at ICON, the Iowa Sci-Fi and Fantasy convention, where he’ll talk about his career and meet fans.
Get ICON tickets and more information at www.iowa-icon.com.
Subscribe to The Culture Crawl at www.kcck.org/culture or search “Culture Crawl” in your favorite podcast app. 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 Saxophonist/composer Bobby Watson draws inspiration from the rich jazz heritage of his Kansas City hometown on his spirited new album, “Back Home in Kansas City.” Watson grew up in K.C., leaving to study at the University of Miami and then spending a quarter century making his name in New York City. He returned home in 2000 to serve as Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music and Dance, retiring 20 years later. The disc features an all-star quintet with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, pianist Cyrus Chestnut, bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Victor Jones.
A pivotal member of New York’s jazz scene for 40 years, pianist Bruce Barth’s inspired vision and generous accompaniment has always led to rich musical collaborations, none more so than with his working trio of many years with bassist Vincente Archer and drummer Montez Coleman. Their collective voice found its perfect setting, which makes the release of “Dedication” a profound and emotion-filled moment, as Montez passed away five months after the recording session at the age of 48. Celebrating the joy and camaraderie Montez brought to their work, the thread of relationships, inspiration, guidance and gratefulness that imbued the recording revealed itself, leading Bart to present the music as a display of the mindfulness of those gifts.
Also this week, one of today’s major voices on tenor saxophone, Gregory Tardy, demonstrates his exceptional composing skills on his newest recording, “Sufficient Grace”;
saxophonist JD Allen continues his investigation of the crucial role the blues has played in the history of jazz and how it continues to evolve and influence the art form today on “Americana, Vol. 2”;
and Canadian-born guitarist Mike Clement, who now calls New Orleans home, unveils his debut release, “Unfinished Business.”
Kate Kunau from the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art shares details about two unique exhibits at the museum.
“Dreamscape: Surrealism from the Collection,” takes a look at both classic Surrealism (Dali, deChirico, Escher) of the 1930s and 1940s as well as more modern and contemporary artists working in this style.
“The Collector’s Eye” is an exhibit of works from the collection of Cedar Rapidians Tom Jackson and Joanne Stevens, who have spent several decades amassing a remarkable collection of prints by some of that style’s leading artists.
Both exhibits are up through the remainder of the year. More information at www.crma.org.
Subscribe to The Culture Crawl at www.kcck.org/culture or search “Culture Crawl” in your favorite podcast app. Listen Live at 10:30am most weekdays on Iowa’s Jazz station. 88.3 FM or www.kcck.org/listen.
The Munsters (2022 Netflix) and The Day After (1983, directed by Nicholas Meyer, who will be a guest at ICON 2022) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Monica Schmidt.
Jazz Corner of the World Encore
Jazz Night in America
