2020 is on track to be one of the hottest five years ever recorded.
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This Week In Jazz November 22 thru November 28
Hey, Jazz fans!!! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of composer/pianist/singer Hoagey Carmichael, pianist/composer Scott Joplin, songwriter Johnny Mandel, saxman Paul Desmond, cornetist Nat Adderley singer Etta Jones and more!!! We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers “At the Cafe Bohemia” (1955), The Cannonball Adderley Quintet – Paris 1960, Benny Bailey’s “Big Brass” (1960), Duke Ellington’s 70th Birthday Concert 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 November 23 thru November 28
Short List with host Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturdays at 7 AM
Licorice Stick 2: Kenny Davern
As a teen, Kenny Davern was entranced by the sound of Pee Wee Russell. Right out of high school, Davern joined Ralph Flanagan’s Glenn Miller-styled orchestra for a year, then joined up with trombonist Jack Teagarden’s combo with whom he made his first recordings. Later, parings with pianist Dick Wellstood and reedman Bob Wilber were well-known and popular. Davern and Wilber formed the group “Soprano Summit.”
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Mondays at 6:00 PM
Saturdays at 12:00 Noon
More Early Art Pepper
In early September, Craig delivered a look at the first 10 years of Pepper’s stellar career (1943 to 1953). This week, Craig looks at more good stuff from Pepper’s 1950s material – covering 1950 to 1956. We’ll hear excellent examples of Pepper’s saxophone artistry, with jazz luminaries Stan Kenton, Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, Warne Marsh, Marty Paich, Hoagy Carmichael, and many others!
The Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
Anat Cohen at the Iowa City Jazz Festival
This month, KCCK’s Wednesday Night Special features members of the jazz supergroup, Artemis, and their standout gigs at the Iowa City Jazz Festival. This week, it’s clarinetist Anat Cohen from her 2014 main stage gig.
KCCK’s Thanksgiving Day Special
All Day Thursday
Join us for a feast of great music, recorded live from the Opus Concert Café. KCCK presents The Best of First Friday Jazz. There’s something on the table for every taste in jazz – from the Blake Shaw Quintet and Commons Collective, to the Peter Schlamb Trio and Eddie Piccard. We’re even serving up some double portions of great sets from the Rod Pierson Big Band with Craig Boche, Steve Grismore’s Big Fun, Soul Sacrifice, Craig Erickson, and the Corridor Quintet.
Jazz Night In America with host Christian McBride
Thursdays at 11:00 PM
Pre-Empted This Week. Join us all day Thursday for KCCK’s Thanksgiving Day Special
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Saturdays at 12:00 Noon
The Pioneering John Lewis
Craig takes a respectful look at the pioneering pianist, composer, and arranger, John Lewis – known best as the founder and director of the Modern Jazz Quartet. We’ll hear Lewis in the company of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, “Orchestra U.S.A.,” and, of course, the Modern Jazz Quartet. Lewis was an important figure in the development of “Third Stream jazz,” and in the movement of modern jazz in general!
KCCK’s Midnight CD
Every Night at Midnight
Each night, KCCK gives you the chance to hear a new CD played start-to-finish.
BB XL by Walter White on Monday; You’re It! by the Mike Melito/Dino Losito Quartet on Tuesday#KingButch by Butcher Brown on Wednesday; Music in Film: The Reel Deal by Richard Baratta on Thursday; Living in the City by Big Harp George on Friday; Tales from the Psychedelta by Kerry Kearney on Saturday; New York Strong – Latin Jazz! by Noah Bless on Sunday
New Music Monday for November 23, 2020
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in 2012, Peter Leitch was forced to give up a decades-long career as a guitarist and band leader because of his treatment. Although he is unable to play his instrument, he is still driven to create music. Leitch has re-invented himself as a composer, arranger, and director of a 15-piece orchestra. Celebrating this transformation, he has released “New Life,” the debut recording of the eponymous Peter Leitch New Life Orchestra. The project, which took Leitch two years to complete, is comprised of two discs corresponding to two sets of music in a club or concert.
The Airmen of Note is the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force. As one of today’s few professional touring big bands, it has attracted some of the finest musicians in the country. Twice yearly the Note travels throughout the United States spreading its big band sound to communities from coast to coast. It also has an extensive record of international performing. Appearances in five South American countries, eight European countries and Japan have solidified the ensemble’s reputation as one of the best bands of its kind in the world. Their Jazz Heritage Series began in 1990 and has become an annual tradition that is widely anticipated by jazz lovers in the nation’s capital. Highlights from the 2020 edition feature special guests John Fedchock, Christian McBride and Randy Brecker.
Also this week, the Pete Ellman Big Band, a regular presence in and around the Chicago-land area, debuts a new CD, “For Pete’s Ache”;
Chris Rottmayer, a pianist/vibraphonist/composer out of Madison, Wisconsin, unveils his third CD, “Sunday at Pilars”;
and “Trio in Motion” finds pianist Alan Broadbent, drummer Billy Mintz and bassist Harvie S reuniting in Broadbent’s New York apartment-studio.
Talking Pictures 11-18-20
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020) and The Dark and the Wicked (2020) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Monica Schmidt.
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Clean Up Your Act 12-14-20
Trees Forever is leading an effort to replace trees lost in the derecho.
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This Week In Jazz November 15 thru November 21
Hey, Jazz fans!!! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of vocalists June Christy, Sheila Jordan and Diana Krall, cornetist/composer W.C. Handy, singer/composer Johnny Mercer, guitarist Skeeter Best and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Kenny Drew’s “Walkin’ and Talkin'” (1955), Lee Morgan’s “Candy” (1957), Miles Davis’ “Sketches of Spain” (1959), Phineas Newborn, Jr.’s “A World of Piano!” (1961), Don Cherry’s “Multikulti” (1989) 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 November 16 thru November 22
Short List with host Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturdays at 7 AM
Licorice Stick 2: Jimmy Dorsey
The great clarinetist, alto saxophonist and orchestra leader was easily in the same class as the other two renowned Swing Era clarinetists, Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw. Jimmy Dorsey’s band was well-known and had a string of popular hits in the late 193os and early 1940s. The band also had an alter-ego as a fine jazz orchestra.
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Mondays at 6:00 PM
The Diverse Career of Jack DeJohnette
Craig celebrates the 60-year career of drummer, pianist, and composer Jack DeJohnette by spinning sparkling material from his 40-plus releases under his own name, as well as “side-man” material with Jackie McLean, Charles Lloyd, Joe Henderson, Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, and many others!
The Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
Melissa Aldana at the Iowa City Jazz Festival
This month, KCCK’s Wednesday Night Special features members of the jazz supergroup, Artemis, and their standout gigs at the Iowa City Jazz Festival. This week, it’s saxophonist Melissa Aldana from her 2014 main stage gig.
Jazz Night In America with host Christian McBride
Thursdays at 11:00 PM
Stefon Harris: A Lesson in Empathy
Jazz Night In America shares a pre-COVID gig with master vibraphonist Stefon Harris. He and his band, Blackout, stretched out at an intimate New York club date. McBride and Harris also discuss why the bandstand is such a sacred space for musicians, and also what Harris describe as his ongoing quest for “the proliferation of empathy from the bandstand to the boardroom.”
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Saturdays at 12:00 Noon
More Early Art Pepper
In early September, Craig delivered a look at the first 10 years of Pepper’s stellar career (1943 to 1953). This week, Craig looks at more good stuff from Pepper’s 1950s material – covering 1950 to 1956. We’ll hear excellent examples of Pepper’s saxophone artistry, with jazz luminaries Stan Kenton, Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, Warne Marsh, Marty Paich, Hoagy Carmichael, and many others!
KCCK’s Midnight CD
Every Night at Midnight
Each night, KCCK gives you the chance to hear a new CD played start-to-finish.
Rah! Rah! by the Claire Daly Band on Monday; Surfboard by the Brandi Disterheft Trio with George Coleman on Tuesday; Waiting to Continue by the Marshall Gilkes Trio on Wednesday; Who Are You? by Joel Ross on Thursday; The New World Blues by Alastair Greene on Friday; Unemployed Highly Annoyed by Jeremiah Johnson on Saturday; Live to Tape by Alex Wintz on Sunday