KCCK in South Africa with Bob

Bob Wolff is a beekeeper and an alumnus of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange (MWFRE) Program, a US State Department funded program. Through this program, he’s been to several countries on the continent of Africa. A longtime KCCK member, Bob says that he keeps up on Eastern Iowa events and music by streaming KCCK on his trips. 

“This past March, I had the opportunity to go to South Africa for a MWF Symposium,” Bob says. “While there, I was able to visit my friends I met while they were here at Kirkwood They are part of another International Exchange program, Community College Initiative (CCI) Program.”

Bob took some KCCK t-shirts to share with his Kirkwood friends. But he also spread the gospel of Iowa’s Jazz Station with a new acquaintance.

“A woman from the Netherlands, staying at the same place I was, asked me what I was listening to on my computer. She really liked the tunes.  I told her it was KCCK from Iowa, the best jazz station in the country, or should I say the world! KCCK is fantastic and nice company while at home and traveling.”

Thanks to Bob for taking KCCK with him on his travels and for keeping his Kirkwood alumni friends connected to the college and the station!

Just A Little Poisonous – West Branch Guest Djs 2023

Lynzi Dystra, Luca Hahn, Nina Torkelson, and Bailey Walker represent the West Branch Jazz Ensemble as guest Djs. We learned about expansion in the West Branch band and theatre departments, and the interests of each young women in and outside of music, particularly Lynzi’s love of all things reptile.

And tunes from Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Trombone Shorty, Cory Wong and a lot more.

Lynzi, Luca, Nina, and Bailey’s playlist

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Talking Pictures 4-5-23

Infinity Pool (2023), Murder Mystery 2 (2023) and The 12th Victim (Showtime) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Monica Schmidt.

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Don’t Get Electrocuted – Marion Guest Djs 2023

Katie Noll, Chris Oberbroeckling, and Aaron Piper kicked off our 2023 Guest DJ season with a tasty playlist, including lots of J.J. Johnson and Art Blakey, befitting since Chris is a drummer, and both Katie and Aaron play trombone.

Katie, Chris, and Aaron’s playlist

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This Week’s Shows for April 3 thru April 8

Jazz Corner of the World 

Mondays from 6:00pm to 10:00pm

Grant Green As a Blue Note Leader, Part 1

In this first of two shows to feature guitarist Grant Green’s 1960 to 1963 Blue Note work as a leader, host Craig Kessler spins classic sides that have become essential listening. We’ll hear “Green Street,” “Oleo,” “Born To Be Blue,” and many others.

 

 

 

 

The Wednesday Night Special

Wednesdays at 6:00pm

Da’Bluesapalooza 23

KCCK’s second annual mega-blues-jam! Gathered for a hot night in winter were Craig Erickson, “Daddy-O” McMurrin, Kevin Burt, Tanya English, and many more of the cream of Iowa’s bluesmasters.

 

 

Jazz Night in America

Thursdays at 11:00pm

Cassandra Wilson Inside & Out  

For Women in Jazz Month, host Christian McBride toasts vocalist, composer, and NEA Jazz Master Cassandra Wilson. We’ll hear tracks from her vast discography and look into the way she turns standards inside out, and covers other musicians’ songs sideways.   

 

 

 

 

 

Jazz Corner of the World 

Saturdays from 12 noon to 4:00pm

A Tribute to Wayne Shorter

Host Craig Kessler celebrates the late Wayne Shorter’s stellar career by presenting his work from Columbia, Verve, Prestige, Blue Note, and other labels. We’ll hear the 12-time Grammy-winning saxophonist with Miles Davis, Bobby Timmons, Art Blakey, and Joe Zawinul. Shorter will always remain one the all-time great composers and soloists in jazz!

 

 

 

KCCK’s Midnight CD

Every Night at Midnight

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

Convertible by Kingsley Durant on Monday; Samba Sem Voce by Rosa Passos on Tuesday; Border Widow’s Lament by Bill Cunliffe, Martin Wind & Tim Horner on Wednesday; Pride by Christian McBride’s New Jawn on Thursday; Cut My Spirit Loose by Big Harp George on Friday; Fresh Tracks by Big Shoes on Saturday; The Art of Intimacy, Vol. 2: His Muse by Jeremy Pelt on Sunday.

Kirkwood Board of Trustees to meet April 13, 2023

The regular meeting of the Kirkwood Board of Trustees will take place April 13, 2023.  Time, place, and meeting agenda can be found at this link.

This Week In Jazz April 2 thru April 8


Hey, Jazz fans, be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of bassist Gene Ramey, Bluesman Muddy Waters, singers Billie Holiday and Doris Day, saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, drummer Stan Levy and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Miles Davis All-Stars’ “Walkin’” (1954), Bud Powell’s “The Complete Essen Jazz Festival Concert” (1960), Donald Byrd’s “Black Byrd” (1972), Geri Allen/Paul Haden/Paul Motian’s “Segments” (1989), The Louie Bellson Quintet’s “Salute” (1994), Al Jarreau & the Metropole Orkest – “Live” (2011) and many others, Monday thru Friday at noon on Jazz Masters. 

New Music Monday for April 3, 2023

    Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
In the grand tradition of jazz piano trio records, Lafayette Harris returns to Van Gelder Studios for his latest effort, “Swingin’ Up in Harlem,” covering a wide spectrum of tunes by composers ranging from Hoagy Carmichael to Stevie Wonder. Harris’ sympathies have always been wide-ranging, as one would imagine from his stints with Max Roach, Donald Byrd, Ernestine Anderson and others. Bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash bring the insight that only their decades of experience can give. The disc also boasts the participation of saxophonist Houston Person, this time in the producer’s chair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     “The Layers” is a stunning companion piece to guitarist Julian Lage’s acclaimed album of last year, “View With a Room.” The collection features six original pieces recorded during the same sessions which found Lage discovering new orchestrational possibilities by augmenting his deeply attuned trio of bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King with the addition of guitar icon Bill Frisell. Intimate and gorgeous, exploratory and embracing, imbued with vibrant colors and exquisite interplay, “The Layers” is a welcome additional offering from this meeting of two of modern jazz’s most distinctive voices with one of the music’s most skilled and inventive rhythm sections.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                            

 Also this week, saxophonist/composer Don Aliquo charts his personal and professional growth living and performing in the Nashville area and reflects on the expansion of the jazz scene in that city on his new disc, “Growth”;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                   

 Pittsburgh-based saxophonist Jason Kush offers up eight new compositions on “Finally Friday”;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

     and Josh Lawrence picks up his trumpet and steps boldly back into the spotlight with steadfast determination and emotional earnestness on his aptly-title fifth release, “And That Too.”