Special Programs for June 28 thru July 3

Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler 

Mondays at 6:00 PM

Tribute To Chick Corea, Part 6

Tune in for some essential Chick Corea listening as Craig spins some favorite selections that span the mid through late 70s and early 80s. There’s more from Chick’s group Return To Forever, material from the My Spanish Heart band, duet recordings with Herbie Hancock, and a batch of other special features.

 

 

 

 

The Wednesday Night Special

Wednesdays at 6:00 PM

The Anat Cohen Quartet

Anat Cohen ups the “cool factor” of jazz clarinet. She takes the instrument, and her music, into some delightfully unexpected places. Whether she’s jamming on straight-ahead Post-Bop or on some rich, multi-layered Brazilian or worldbeat grooves, Cohen delights and engages her audiences. Just like she did at 2014’s Iowa City Jazz Festival.

 

 

 

Jazz Night in America with host Christian McBride

Thursdays at 11:00 PM

The Big Blind

Take a seat with host Christian McBride, and step into the world of 1950s Chicago and The Big Blind, a jazz radio drama with guest host and vocalist Kurt Elling. Hear selections from the world premiere 2019 performance from the Rose Theater.

 

 

 

Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler 

Saturdays at 12:00 Noon

The Jazz Corner of the World is pre-empted for the live broadcast of the 2021 Iowa City Jazz Festival. Tune in to KCCK all day for the best in live jazz!

 

 

 

KCCK’s Midnight CD

Every Night at Midnight

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

Soundview by Bruce Harris on Monday; Upstream by Alex Sipiagin on Tuesday; It’s All Your Fault by Mike LeDonne on Wednesday; Westward Bound! by Harold Land on Thursday; Hardware by Billy Gibbons on Friday; Back From the Edge by Mark Cameron on Saturday; Jazz Motif by the Jill McCarron Trio on Sunday

This Week In Jazz June 27 thru July 3


Hey, Jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays composers Richard Rodgers and Frank Loesser, singer Lena Horne, pianists Elmo Hope and Ahmad Jamal, trumpeter Pete Candoli, bassist Stanley Clarke and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Lester Young’s “Blue Lester” (1944), Hampton Hawes Trio, Vol. 1 (1955), Dave Brubeck Quartet’s “Time Out” (1959), Lee Morgan’s “The Gigalo” (1965), Keith Jarrett’s “Standards Live “1985), The James Moody and Hank Jones Quartet’s “Our Delight” (2006) and many others Mondays thru Fridays at noon on our JAZZ MASTERS ‘program on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.

New Music Monday for June 28, 2021

     Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
The Joel Frahm Trio is a new band featuring Joel on reeds, Dan Loomis on bass and Ernesto Cervini on drums. “The Bright Side” is their debut recording and is the culmination of a musical partnership that has developed over the course of many tours and recording sessions spanning the last decade. The trio was born at a masterclass at the University of Toronto, as an offshoot of Cervini’s band Turboprop. In the ensuing years, Loomis and Cervini took the reins and began booking gigs for the ensemble, and on their first European tour a repertoire began to take shape, comprised almost entirely of recently penned original songs by each member of the band.

 

 

 

 

 

     On Willie Jones III’s new album, the drummer honors the undeniable contributions made by some of the towering figures the music world has lost in recent years. The world lost Roy Hargrove and Ndugu Chancler in 2018, then Larry Willis and Jimmy Heath, in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Through “Fallen Heroes,” Jones celebrates his personal history with his musical heroes and the impact of each. To document this celebration of music and spirit, Jones convened long-time colleagues who shared the stage with many of these masters alongside Jones throughout the years: trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, saxophonists Sherman Irby and Justin Robinson, trombonist Steve Davis, pianist George Cables and bassist Gerald Cannon.

 

 

 

 

                       

Also this week, fretless electric bass master Charnett Moffett delivers a love letter to humanity with his new trio/quartet album, “New Love”;

 

 

 

 

 

              

pianist and composer George Cables offers up a new trio recording, “Too Close for Comfort,” with bassist Essiet Essiet and drummer Victor Lewis;

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

      and the acclaimed Grammy-nominated guitarist Julian Lage showcases his remarkable songcraft and adventurous sense of improvisation on “Squint.”

 

 

 

 

Talking Pictures 6-23-21

The Unholy (2021) and The Hero (2017) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Scott Chrisman.

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Clean Up Your Act 7-13-21

Plans for the Releaf Cedar Rapids effort to restore the city’s tree canopy are continuing.

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This Week In Jazz June 20 thru June 26


Hey, Jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of bassists Milt Hinton, Jamil Nasser and Reggie Workman, composer/pianists Lalo Schifrin, George Russell, and Arturo O’Farrill, singer Helen Humes, drummer Marvin “Snitty” Smith and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Sonny Rollins’ “Saxophone Colossus” (1956), Erroll Garner’s “A Night at the Movies” (1964), Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt “Live at the Left Bank” (1973), James Williams’ “Magical Trio 1” (1987), Idit Shner “Live at the Jazz Station” (2019) and many others Mondays thru Fridays at noon on our JAZZ MASTERS ‘program on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.

New Music Monday for June 21, 2021

     Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Harold Land was a legendary hard bop tenor saxophonist who developed his playing with the Max Roach/Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style. He moved to Los Angeles in 1955 where led his own bands and co-led ensembles with Bobby Hutcherson, Blue Mitchell and Red Mitchell. Over his career he was a sideman for Bill Evans, Ella Fitzgerald, Freddie Hubbard, Thelonious Monk and countless others. A new album, “Westward Bound,” contains previously unissued live recordings by Mr. Land from the Penthouse in Seattle from 1962-1965 with stellar musicians including Hampton Hawes, Philly Joe Jones, Buddy Montgomery and Carmell Jones. It was originally aired as part of a weekly broadcast from the venue.

 

     Mike LeDonne belongs to an elite group of musicians—those who have mastered the piano and the organ while creating original voices for each. On his new CD, “It’s All Your Fault,” two groups are featured. Mike’s Groover Quartet with Eric Alexander, Peter Bernstein and Joe Farnsworth have played and recorded together for twenty years and counting. They had no difficulty integrating their sound into an all-star big band put together by Mike and his preferred arranger and conductor, Dennis Mackrel. The disc was recorded at the famed Van Gelder Studios using the original Hammond C-3 organ that Jimmy Smith and others used for their recordings.

 

 

 

 

                              

Also this week, trumpeter Bruce Harris’ sophomore release, “Soundview,” is the first in a series of recordings celebrating Black bandleaders, produced by award-winning trumpeter Jeremy Pelt;

 

 

 

 

 

 

                

Jill McCarron Trio with Will Anderson Incorporates such influences as diverse as Gospel music and music of Brazil on her new album “Jazz Motif;”

 

 

 

 

 

     

and trumpeter Alex Sipiagin conducts his attention “Upstream” on his new release.

 

 

 

 

Special Programs for June 21 thru June 26

Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler 

Mondays at 6:00 PM

Strata-East Record Label, Part 1

In this first show of several presentations, Craig hones in on special releases from the 55-plus titles issued on the legendary Strata-East record label, co-founded by trumpeter Charles Tolliver and pianist Stanley Cowell. We’ll hear from a variety of unique jazz recordings that have become highly sought-after discs on today’s collector’s markets!

 

 

The Wednesday Night Special

Wednesdays at 6:00 PM

The Vincent Herring Quartet

Reedman Vincent Herring’s career has taken him all over the world, where he’s shared stages with many of jazz’s royalty. When not gigging Art Blakey, Horace Silver, or Jack DeJohnette, he was fronting his own landmark quartet. On the Wednesday Night Special, we listen back to this quartet’s 2018 appearance at the Iowa City Jazz Festival.

 

 

 

Jazz Night in America with host Christian McBride

Thursdays at 11:00 PM

Like Father, Like Son

It’s a family affair, as father and son saxophonists Mike and Julian Lee play, solo and together, and talk about their growth, trials, and joys of carrying on the family legacy through their love of music and each other.

 

 

 

Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler 

Saturdays at 12:00 Noon

Tribute To Chick Corea, Part 6

Tune in for some essential Chick Corea listening as Craig spins some favorite selections that span the mid through late 70s and early 80s. There’s more from Chick’s group Return To Forever, material from the My Spanish Heart band, duet recordings with Herbie Hancock, and a batch of other special features.

 

 

 

KCCK’s Midnight CD

Every Night at Midnight

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

Folk Element Trio by the Adam Moezinia Trio on Monday; Transmigration by Makram Aboul Hosn on Tuesday; Expectation & Experience by Shawn Maxwell on Wednesday; Continuous by the Miguel de Armas Quartet on Thursday; Little Black Flies by Eddie 9V on Friday; Blues Without Borders by Debbie Bond on Saturday; Time Traveler by Nnenna Freelon on Sunday