“The Phoenician Scheme” (2025), “Zero for Conduct” (1933) and “The Luckiest Man in America” (2024) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Denny Lynch.
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Culture Crawl 1095 “Penultimate”
Steve Shanley is in the studio as the CR Muni Band enters their penultimate 8th week. Wed, Jul 23 at Noelridge Park & Sun, Jul 27 at Ellis Park. Music begins at 7:30pm and on Sunday, Moo Moo’s Ice Cream truck will be providing free ice cream for the kids.
For more info visit crmuniband.org.
To watch the livestreams visit facebook.com/CRMuniBand.
Subscribe to The Culture Crawl at 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 kcck.org/listen.
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Clean Up Your Act 7-21-25
Researchers say linking Iowa’s high cancer rates to farm chemicals is complicated and requires more study.
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This Week In Jazz July 20 thru July 26
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Tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of saxmen Johnny Hodges, Bill Perkins, Richie Kamuca, Junior Cook, Steve Lacy and Mario Rivera, pianists Sonny Clark, Billy Taylor and James Weidman, singers Helen Merrill, Annie Ross and Janis Siegel, bassists Keter Betts and Charles Ables and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of “Chet Baker Sings” (1956), Wes Montgomery’s “Full House” (1962), Al Grey/Jimmy Forrest Quintet’s “Truly Wonderful!” (1978), Modern Jazz Quartet’s “Together Again! Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival” (1982), Mel Torme’s “A&E: An Evening with Mel Torme” (1996), Robin McKelle’s “Mess Around” (2010) and many others, Monday thru Friday and at noon on JAZZ MASTERS on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.
New Music Monday for July 21, 2025
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Pianist, vocalist and composer Dawn Clement has proven to be a joyful and formidable force in modern creative music through her work with Jane Ira Bloom, Matt Wilson, Ron Miles, Julian Priester and many others over the last two decades. As Mr. Priester describes her, “In all this world of jazz, there are very few individual voices, no matter what the instrument, but Dawn has come up with a voice that’s unique.” With her new disc, “Delight,” she forms a captivating, tri-generational unit with legendary bassist Buster Williams and the singular drummer Matt Wilson, and creates a soulful, endlessly dynamic recording of mostly original compositions.
Rising jazz vocalist Tyreek McDole releases his much-anticipated debut album, “Open Up Your Senses.” At just 25-years-old, the Haitian-American, New York-based baritone has already earned significant acclaim, including winning the prestigious Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal competition in 2023—one of only two male vocalists to achieve the honor in its 12-year history. With a deep connection to the jazz tradition, McDole makes a bold and enthralling statement on the disc, establishing him as one of the most compelling young jazz vocalists of his generation.
Also this week, trumpeter Etienne Charles takes us on a musical journey through the Gullah-Geechee communities of coastal South Carolina with his latest collection, “Gullah Roots”; tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover is back with an imaginative new trio album, “Memories, Dreams, Reflections,” featuring Tyrone Allen III on bass and Kayvon Gordon on drums, calling to mind Sonny Rollins and his chordless trios; and one of the living legends of jazz drums, Scott Hamilton, is joined by organist Akiko Tsuruga and guitarist Steve Kovalcheck for his 23rd album as a bandleader, “Coast to Coast.”
This Week’s Shows July 21 thru July 27
Jazz Corner of the World (Encore)
Mondays at 6:00pm
Guitarist Gabor Szabo
Craig takes the first of several listens to the underrated Hungarian guitarist Gabor Szabo’s work between 1958 thru 1982. We’ll hear Szabo in the company of Ron Carter, Charles Lloyd, Chico Hamilton, Gary McFarland, Richard Davis, and many others.
Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00pm
Group X Reunion at Jazz Under the Stars
Our listen back to 2024’s Jazz Under the Stars continues with a reunion of four musicians and life-long friends. In the early 2000’s, a quartet of UNI undergrads – Jennifer Tiede, Joel Nagel, Dave Tiede, and Mike Conrad – formed Group X and recorded an album. They’re back on stage for the first time in well over a decade, playing some of their classic charts.
Jazz Night In America
Thursdays at 11:00pm
Fred Hersch at 70
Pianist Fred Hersch, who turns 70 this year, looks back on a storied career filled with some of the most daring and imaginative collaborations in jazz. He shares some of his personal favorites, plus brand-new music.
Jazz Corner of the World
Saturdays from 12:00 noon to 4:00pm
Happy Birthday Kenny Burrell!
Craig celebrates Kenny Burrell’s 94th birthday with an exciting overview of this all-time great guitarist’s career, from the years 1951 up to his latest.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
KCCK features a new album every night, played from start-to-finish.
Pyrography by Paul Hecht on Monday; Time Shift by Tim Jago on Tuesday; In the Beginning by Something Blue on Wednesday; Threads of Time by Alan Broadbent on Thursday; Just Stay High by The Alexis P. Suter Band on Friday; Roadhouses, Juke Joints & Honky-Tonks by Rusty Ends & HillBilly HooDoo on Saturday; Love Endures by Tyler Henderson on Sunday.
Big Mo Pod Show 070 – “In The Pocket”
Hey Folks! This week’s show features the usual mix of old and new blues artists, with topics of discussion that range from how music can heal, and the musical science that goes behind creating a funky track! Songs featured in the episode:
- Monster Mike Welch – “Living Till I Die”
- Little Ed and the Blues Imperials – “Walking The Dog”
- Hamilton Loomis – “What It Is”
- Warren Haynes – “Lies Lies Lies”
- Dumpstaphunk – “I Wish You Would”
Listen to ‘da Friday Blues with Big Mo each week at 6pm, and catch the podcast for a behind the scenes look at the show!
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Headwinds
Congress has approved the Rescission package that eliminates funding for public media. This means a near-immediate loss of around $150,000 dollars to KCCK, with other costs to come as services provided to us by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) are wound down. This represents around 20% of our budget.
While this is not the outcome we had hoped for, we are grateful and proud of our community for your calls and emails to our representatives and messages of support to us through this trying time. You showed politicians the strength and passion of our community. While we can no longer count on any federal support, I am confident that this community will continue to sustain KCCK.
This transition won’t come without pain. We will have to make cuts, so it’s likely that some things you are used to hearing on the station will not continue. But local producers, live shows, and education programs are the heart of our service, and will be the very last things to be cut. We’re not quitting. In fact, despite this significant challenge, we’re intensifying our commitment to you. We must build a stronger, more resilient, more sustainable KCCK. It’s a model that relies — especially now — on the support of the people who value what we do.
So, we turn to you, our listeners and friends… our family, to help us shape and fund KCCK as we move forward into a new normal. If you would like to help now, click the DONATE button to make a gift or set up a monthly donation. Contact us if you’d like to increase your sustaining gift.
Again, thanks to everyone who fought the good fight and advocated for us and for all of public media. Together, we can keep KCCK strong and make sure that despite these headwinds, there is a home for local, non-profit, community media now and in the future.