Culture Crawl 1059 “The Guitar in the Living Room”

Chicago Blues Hall of Famer Michael Charles is back in Iowa on tour with “Guitars, Music and Miles 2025” with a show at The Ideal Theater at 8pm on Saturday, May 3. Get your tickets now at idealtheaterandbar.com. 

To keep up with Michael Charles visit his website, michaelcharles.us.

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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Culture Crawl 1058 “For a Choir?”

Family Folk Machine’s spring concert, “LOVE” will take place Sunday, May 4, 2pm at the Englert Theatre. Director of the choir, Jean Littlejohn, talks about the concert and the wide range of genres this intergenerational machine has prepared for their season finale. 

This event is free to the public. More information can be found at familyfolkmachine.org.

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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New Music Monday for April 28, 2025

Internationally acclaimed jazzniks Shuffle Demons are celebrating their 40th anniversary in style, recently signing with one of Canada’s leading jazz labels, Alma Records. The first fruit of that union is the band’s eleventh album, “Are You Really Real.” All five members contribute compositions to the disc, with Juno-winning co-founder and primary composer Richard Underhill writing the majority of the tunes. The result is a truly diverse album, featuring elements of blues, rap, funk, and a range of jazz styles.

New York based guitarist James Zito has been praised for his masterful touch and soulful melodies, earning him the nickname “The Natural” from Artslife Magazine. Born in Orlando Florida, his style is deeply rooted in the influences of jazz greats like Wes Montgomery and George Benson. At 28 years old, Zito has already graced many of New York City’s premiere jazz venues, and has performed with esteemed artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Michael Dease, Wycliffe Gordon, and many others. He now releases his debut album as a leader, “Zito’s Jump.”

                                                        

Also this week, the latest venture from pianist Peter Smith, “Smitty Straightens Out,” harkens back to the great soul jazz releases of the early-mid ‘60s, featuring veteran players Roy McCurdy and Rickey Woodard; saxophonist and composer Laura Dreyer and her Manhattan-Rio Connection’s catchy originals combine lyrical melodies with jazz and Brazilian rhythms on “Agua e Sol”; and the Pittsburgh-based Reid Hoyson Project featuring Hendrik Meurkens and Keith Bishop unveil their fourth album, “In Your Dreams.”

This Week’s Shows April 28 thru May 3

Jazz Corner of the World  (Encore)

Mondays at 6:00pm

Mose Allison, Part 4

Craig presents his 4th and final chronological spotlight of the superlative artistry of legendary pianist, poet, singer, and composer Mose Allison. In this week’s presentation, we’ll hear selections from his final Blue Note releases, some live dates, and his final recording!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday Night Special

Wednesdays at 6:00pm

Corridor Jazz Project, Night Two

KCCK’s Corridor Jazz Project brings together the area’s talented high school jazz bands with the area’s best jazz professionals to rehearse a chart, record it in studio, then perform it live on stage. A record 21 bands took the stage at the Paramount Theatre in Cedar Rapids, and the Voxman Recital Hall in Iowa City. This week, we present the Corridor Jazz Concert at Voxman Hall.

 

 

 

 

 

Winston Mankunku Ngozi - A Song For Bra Des Tutu: listen ...

Jazz Night In America  

Thursdays at 11:00pm

Jazz and Resistance

To celebrate South Africa’s Freedom Day, Christian McBride honors the jazz musicians who stayed and resisted during apartheid — from Winston Mankunku Ngozi to Moses Taiwa Molelekwa — and spotlight pianist Thandi Ntuli, a rising star of the “Born Free” generation.

 

 

 

 

 

Jazz Corner of the WorldMusa: Ancestral Streams | Stanley Cowell

Saturdays from 12:00 noon to 4:00pm

Birthday Salute to Stanley Cowell

Craig celebrates the music and memory of the great pianist Stanley Cowell by spinning choice examples from Cowell’s stellar career. We’ll hear him both as a leader and a prominent sideman with the likes of Charles Tolliver, Jimmy Heath, Larry Coryell, Roy Haynes, Bobby Hutcherson, Art Pepper, and others!

 

 

 

 

 

KCCK’s Midnight CD

KCCK features a new album every night, played from start-to-finish.

The Slow Road by Triology on Monday; The River by the Silvano Monasterios Venezuelan Nonet on Tuesday; Don’t Stop Now: The Lost Music of Thad Jones Written for Harry James by Sean Nelson’s New London Big Band on Wednesday; Out There by Hiromi on Thursday; Retrograde by Jennifer Lyn & the Groove Revival on Friday; The Bywater Sessions by Jon Cleary on Saturday; The Green World by Lorraine Feather on Sunday.

Big Mo Pod Show 059 – “Nonverbal Communication”

With another week come and gone another episode of the pod show has come as well! This week’s sampling of tunes features plenty of new artists with their own takes on the blues, each having their own distinctive flair! Songs featured in the episode: 

  1. Charlie Musselwhite – “Storm Warning” 
  2. Dickey Betts – “Duane’s Tune” 
  3. Gary Moore – “Enough of the Blues” 
  4. Anders Osborne – “I’m Ready” 
  5. Gary Hoey & Josh Smith – “Mercy of Love” 

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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2025 Guest Djs-Mid Prairie

Rita Du and Isabelle Duvall represent the Mid-Prairie Jazz Band, fresh from a trip to Jazz Championships. Other highlights include the band’s first-ever win at the SEIBA District competition.

AND, we heard about the impressive gymnastics move director David Kunz does at every competition (and we’re very impressed at his agility!)

Rita and Isabelle’s Playlist

  • Cortex, “Huit octobre 1971”
  • Harry James, “It’s Been a Long, Long Time”
  • Ella Fitzgerald, “Blue Skies”
  • Duke Ellington, “Caravan”
  • Horace Silver, “Nutville (feat. J.J. Johnson)”
  • Duke Ellington, “Harlem”
  • Mid-Prairie Jazz Band featuring Saul Lubaroff, “My Dear”

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Talking Pictures 4-23-25

“Sinners” (2025) and a preview of the 2025 Ebertfest film festival with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Monica Schmidt.

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2025 Guest DJs-LinnMar

What a year for the Linn-Mar Colton Center Jazz Ensemble! After a slow start to the competition season, the band came storming back to win their District competition, which qualified them for Jazz Championships. Good thing, too, because they won the 4A contest!

Seniors Owen Soenen, Kyle Earnest, Joe Schafer, and Henry Granger break it down for us.

Owen, Kyle, Joe, and Henry’s playlist

  • Mingus Big Band, “Haitian Fight Song”
  • Lou Donaldson, “Autumn Nocturne”
  • Joshua Redman & The Bad Plus, “As This Moment Slips Away”
  • Freddie Hubbard, “Red Clay”
  • Linn-Mar Colton Center Jazz Orchestra featuring Rich Medd, “Who Will Rescue You?”

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