Hey, Jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of saxman Paul Gonsalves, trumpeter Conte Candoli, organist Big John Patton, drummer Philly Jo Jones, pianist Harold Lopez-Nussa, and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Leroy Vinnegar’s “Leroy Walks!” (1957), Stan Getz’ “Focus” (1962), The Poll Winners’ “Straight Ahead” (1975), Oscar Peterson’s “Nigerian Marketplace” (1981), Pharoah Sanders’ “Welcome to Love” (1990) and many others throughout the week and Mondays thru Fridays at noon on our ‘JAZZ MASTERS’ program on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.
This Week In Jazz July 11 thru July 17
New Music Monday for July 12, 2021
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Like many serious musicians, John Stein was trying to find a way to reach his audience during the Covid-19 shutdown. The guitarist had just released a career-defining recording to mark his planned retirement from Berklee College of Music where he was an acclaimed educator. When the tour in support of the disc was scrapped due to the pandemic, Stein came up with the idea of taking his trio—with Ed Lucie on bass and Mike Connors on drums—to the New Bedford Art Museum for a live-streamed performance. The show was an enormous creative success. While it was skillfully documented on video, Stein also had a sound engineer capture and mix the audio. The result, “Serendipity,” is a pure celebration of bristling energy and brilliant, intuitive performances.
Judy Wexler is known for her soulful, heartfelt vocals and her ability to find under-exposed gems and imbue them with warmth and wit. She has a sumptuous voice and eschews vocal pyrotechnics, instead focusing on lucid storytelling. Wexler’s spot-on phrasing and sophisticated approach to melody capture the emotional essence of a song. “Back to the Garden” is a departure from her previous albums, which featured a mix of standards, contemporary jazz, and reworked modern pop classics. On the new recording, Wexler points her gaze to interpreting pop/rock songs from the 1960s as jazz/pop anthems relevant for today’s social and political ethos.
Also this week, tenor saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart pioneers a sophisticated modern jazz language cross-pollinated with Afro-Caribbean rhythms and melodies inspired by the Gwoka traditions of his native island of Guadeloupe on “Sone Ka-La 2: Odyssey”;
keyboardist Dave Bass enters the refined world of the piano trio, saluting many of the pianists upon whose shoulders he stands on “The Trio Vol. 1”;
and singer Jean Baylor and drummer Marcus Baylor unveil the second offering from The Baylor Project, “Generations.”
Culture Crawl 643 “Exit, Pursued by a Bear”
Shakespeare’s most unusual line appears in “The Winter’s Tale,” and director Adam Knight promises a real bear onstage!
Riverside Theatre’s Free Summer Shakespeare Series returns to the Festival Stage in City Park, with “The Winter’s Tale” the first of two plays to be presented. Adam, who is directing the play, says it’s unusual in how the first part of the play is a tragedy, but it eventually morphs into a comedy in the latter scenes. The trick, he says, is to make the transition.
Angie Toomsen directors “A Comedy of Errors” August 13-22.
No tickets necessary, just come to City Park in Iowa City for the pre-even “Green Show” at 6:30. Curtain at 7:30. More information at www.riversidetheatre.org.
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Talking Pictures 7-7-21
The Forever Purge (2021) and R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Ron Adkins.
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Clean Up Your Act 7-27-21
The Iowa Environmental Council calls out the state’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy as insufficient.
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Culture Crawl 642 “Rodney, Sammy, and Raiders”
The Cedar Rapids Municipal Band heads to McGrath Amphitheatre for the first time this season, to spread out on its large stage and feature special guest Saxophonist Rod Pierson, playing a selection written by Sammy Nestico. A long-time member and composer for the Count Basie Band, Nestico also wrote music for concert band, which you’ll hear, along with selections from “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and even a Louie Armstrong medley.
July 6 at McGrath, July 11 at Bever Park. Both concerts at 7:30. More info at www.crmuniband.org.
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This Week In Jazz July 4 thru July 10
Hey, Jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of drummer Louis Bellson, trumpeter/bandleader Doc Severinsen, vocalist Billy Eckstine, saxman Arthur Blythe, trumpeters Cootie Williams and Lee Morgan, bassist Major Holley and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of “Duke Ellington at Newport, 1956”, “Count Basie at Newport, 1957”, “Sonny Rollins on Impulse!” (1965), “Bobby Hutcherson & Harold Land, San Francisco” (1970), Kenny Barron Trio’s “Green Chimneys” (1983), Jessica Williams Live at Yoshi’s, Vol. 2” (2003) and many others throughout the week and Mondays thru Fridays at noon on our ‘JAZZ MASTERS’ program on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.
Special Programs for July 5 thru July 10
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Mondays at 6:00 PM
ECM Records in the 1970s
On this special live broadcast Craig will spin classic selections from the great ECM record label. We’ll hear from the likes of Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Bennie Maupin, Gary Burton, Ralph Towner, and many others!
The Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
The Beaker Brothers at Jazz Under the Stars
The wait is almost over! We’re just a month away from the return of Jazz Under the Stars, KCCK’s last great party of the summer. To celebrate, we’re looking back at the great party bands who have graced our Noelridge Park stage. We start with the Beaker Brothers. This group of some of Eastern Iowa’s best takes us back to the days of classic jam bands and underground rock.
Jazz Night in America with host Christian McBride
Thursdays at 11:00 PM
Endea Owens Give Back
Host Christian McBride spotlights young bassist Endea Owens. We’ll hear her playing with such jazz legends as Wynton Marsalis and Jon Batiste. Owens and McBride sit down and talk about her deep Detroit roots, and how she’s giving back to her community with free meals and free concerts on the street.
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Saturdays at 12:00 Noon
Strata-East Records, Part 2
Craig spins another batch of delights from the great, oft-overlooked jazz label Strata-East. We’ll hear goodies from a broad spectrum of Black artists from the early and mid 1970s, such as bassist Larry Ridley, sax man Cecil Payne, altoist Shamek Farrah, drummer Billy Parker, trumpeter John Gordon, and a host of others. Tune in for this extremely important music!
KCCK’s Midnight CD
Every Night at Midnight
Each night, KCCK gives you the chance to hear a new CD played start-to-finish.
New Love by Charnett Moffett on Monday; Fallen Heroes by Willie Jones III on Tuesday; The Bright Side by Joel Frahm on Wednesday; Too Close For Comfort by George Cables on Thursday; Soul Distancing by Adam Shultz on Friday; Let’s Have a Party! by Gerald McClendon on Saturday; Squint by Julian Lage on Sunday