Clean Up Your Act 2-9-2021

It could cost tens of millions of dollars to treat public drinking water systems in Iowa for nitrates.

Talking Pictures 1-20-21

News of the World (2020), WandaVision (Disney+) and His Dark Materials (HBO) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Denny Lynch. 

Clean Up Your Act 2-8-21

Des Moines sets ambitious goals to combat the effects of climate change.

This Week In Jazz January 17 thru January 23


Hey, Jazz fans!!! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of drummers Sid Catlett, Jimmy Cobb and Jeff “Tain” Watts, vocalists Anita Baker, Irene Kral and Lizz Wright, keyboardists Horace Parlan and Russell Ferrante, trumpeter Ray Anthony and more!!! We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Miles Davis’ “Birth of the Cool” (1949), “Sonny Rollins w/ The Modern Jazz Quartet” (1953), “Clifford Brown with Strings” (1955), “Larry Young in Paris: The ORTF Recordings” (1965), Joe Lovano “Quartets at the Village Vanguard” (1995), Greg Osby’s “St. Louis Shoes” (2003) and many others throughout the week and Mondays thru Fridays at noon on our ‘ MASTERS’ program on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.

New Music Monday for January 18, 2021

     Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
At only 30-years-old, pianist Emmet Cohen—the winner of the American Pianists Association’s 2019 Cole Porter Fellowship—has made a name for himself performing and recording with jazz masters Jimmy Cobb, Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Tootie Heath and George Coleman, among others. On his new album, “Future Stride,” Cohen revisits jazz’s earliest forms through a progressive lens. The disc features bassist Russell Hall, drummer Kyle Poole, trumpeter Marquis Hill and saxophonist Melissa Aldana.

 

 

 

     Cory Weeds delivers a blistering set of Italian-themed tunes backed up by one of the pre-eminent organ bands in jazz today on “O Sole Mio!” The results speak for themselves: swinging bop lines, crackling rhythm section accompaniment and interaction, and an ensemble sound that underscores the values of swing and groove. A carefully selected set of compositions celebrates, through reinvention and interpretation, some great Italian music as well as compositions taken from the rich history of contributions that Italian-Americans have brought to jazz and the Great American Songbook. Cory is joined in this endeavor by saxophonist Eric Alexander, organist Mike LeDonne, guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Joe Farnsworth.

 

 

                           

Also this week, Posi-Tone Records offers up another group of “New Faces,” an ensemble of emerging artists providing a vision into a brighter tomorrow;

 

 

 

 

              

guitarist Charlie Apicella and his trio pay tribute to some of the classic 1950s and ‘60s guitar albums from Charlie’s collection on “Classic Guitar”;

 

 

 

         

      and The Grasso-Ravita Jazz Ensemble, led by guitarist Skip Grasso and bassist Phil Ravita, presents a program of original compositions on “Jagged Spaces.”

 

 

 

Special Programs for January 18 thru January 23

Short List with host Bob Naujoks

Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturdays at 7 AM

Short List: “The Hits”

The Short List continues its look at jazz tunes that became popular hits. This week, host Bob Naujoks visits songs that scored high on the pop charts Tune in to hear songs and stories from Herb Alpert and “Taste Of Honey,” Ray Anthony and “Peter Gunn,” Peggy Lee’s “Fever,” Dick Hyman and “Three-Penny Opera,” and Cannonball Adderley’s cover of “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.”

 

 

 

Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler 

Mondays at 6:00 PM

Tribute to Stanley Cowell

Craig celebrates the wonderful career of one of his favorite figures in jazz – Stanley Cowell –  who has recently passed at the age of 79. In this first of two shows, we’ll hear great records featuring Cowell as a side man … performances with Bobby Hutcherson, Sonny Fortune, Max Roach, Art Pepper, Gary Bartz, and many more. 

 

 

The Wednesday Night Special

Wednesdays at 6:00 PM

Chris Vadala at Kirkwood

KCCK’s Bob Stewart hosts a night with woodwind legend Chris Vadala. He joined the Kirkwood Jazz Ensemble and the CR Jazz Big Band for two outstanding sets of standards and Vadala’s own originals. Vadala, who passed away this week in 2019, jammed with hundreds of jazz greats. He was Chuck Mangione’s saxman for many years, including on the classic Feel So Good album.    

 

 

 

Jazz Night in America with host Christian McBride

Thursdays at 11:00 PM

More Bucket List Newport

Host Christian McBride returns to Rhode Island for more from the Newport Jazz Festival archives. Featured are some real gems, including performances from Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan in her prime, Cannonball Adderley, and later-years sets from Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.

 

 

 

Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessle

Saturdays at 12:00 Noon

Pacific Jazz 1962 & 1963

The end of the 1950s signaled the quick fade of West Coast jazz’s popularity. In a pre-emptive move, Pacific Jazz Records made a surprising “right turn,” and began recording artists that would later be considered purveyors of the ‘new’ genre of “soul jazz,” featuring organists, guitarists, and new styles of modern jazz. Craig spins groovy tunes from the likes of Joe Pass, Groove Holmes, Carmell Jones, Curtis Amy, and a flock of other great players.  It’s gonna be great!

 

 

KCCK’s Midnight CD

Every Night at Midnight

Each night, KCCK gives you the chance to hear a new CD played start-to-finish.

Love, Dad by the Larry Newcomb Quartet on Monday; The Astoria Suite by David Detweiler on Tuesday; Bud Powell in the 21st Century by Ethan Iverson on Wednesday; Flash of the Spirit by Santi Debriano on Thursday; Legacy by A Band Called Sam on Friday; Heart on the Line by Vanessa Collier on Saturday; More Than Another Day by Lisa Hilton on Sunday

Culture Crawl 613 “Hang With Them Just Fine”

Mirrorbox Theatre has 40 readings of brand-new plays scheduled for 2021, as what started as a temporary response to the pandemic has become an important outreach for Mirrorbox and the entire Iowa performing community.

Mirrorbox Director Cavan Hallman reflects on  year of “Out The Box” and previews “Best Life,” a time-twisting new script, premiering Jan. 15. 

Details at www.mirrorboxtheatre.com.

Talking Pictures 1-13-21

The Midnight Sky (Netflix 2020) and The Sherlock Holmes Collection (Matt Frewer) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Ron Adkins.