Iowa and Illinois are seeing increased interest in cover crops.
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Talking Pictures 2-3-21
Raised by Wolves (HBO Max) and The Leftovers (HBO) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Scott Chrisman.
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Clean Up Your Act 2-23-21
The Doomsday Clock remains close to midnight due in part to climate change.
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Kirkwood Board of Trustees to meet February 11, 2021
The regular meeting of the Kirkwood Board of Trustees will take place February 11, 2021. Time, place, and meeting agenda can be found at this link.
KCCK’s Featured Album for February 2021
The KCCK Featured Album for February is “Bud Powell in the 21st Century” by Ethan Iverson. Of the half dozen true pioneers of the bebop movement, pianist Bud Powell has remained somewhat in the shadows. His brilliant original compositions are essential, infinitely listenable but also strangely tricky. Pianist and historian Iverson provides a fantastic validation of Powell’s compositional genius on his new recording, a reworking of a number of Powell’s pieces. He has stylishly recreated the legend’s works for a grand big band to perform on a festival stage in Italy. “Bud Powell in the 21st Century” is on Sunnyside Records. Purchase the album.
New Music Monday for February 1, 2021
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
After last year’s successful big band outing, guitarist Dave Stryker is back with his hard-driving, deep-grooving B3 organ group on his new recording, “Baker’s Circle.” With the addition of cutting-edge tenor player Walter Smith III, the disc features Stryker originals, a couple of covers and a tip of the hat to his former boss Stanley Turrentine. The title of the disc is a reference to David Baker. Says Stryker, “Composer and educator David Baker was in my corner from the time I met him at jazz camp when I was 17 till he hired me to take over as guitar professor at Indiana University a few years ago. I used to see him standing outside the Music School on a circular drive waiting for his wife to pick him up. I named the song (and CD) in his memory.”
“Cartoon Bebop,” the newest release by composer/arranger Dan Bonsanti’s band, the 14 Jazz Orchestra, is a swinging contemporary take on jazz compositions by modern masters. Bonsanti is a sax player who performed with big bands like The Stan Kenton Orchestra, Jaco Pastorius’ Word of Mouth Orchestra, and Doc Severinsen. He also wrote charts for The Jaco Pastorius Big Band and the Atlantean Driftwood Band. The compositions on the album represent a variety of styles, with compositions by Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Airto Moreira and others, including two tunes by Bonasanti.
Also this week, trombonist and composer Clifton Anderson returns with his fourth solo album, “Been Down This Road Before”;
saxophonist Tivon Pennicot, a member of singer Gregory Porter’s band, is a triple threat on his sophomore release “Spirit Garden,” showcasing his illuminated orchestrations, creative compositions and masterful performance;
and “The VJE: Very Live!” features the Verve Jazz Ensemble in a live set recorded just before the pandemic shut down performances everywhere.
This Week In Jazz January 31 thru February 6
Hey, Jazz fans!!! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of saxmen Sonny Stitt, Stan Getz and Sadao Watanabe, pianist Joe Sample, trumpeter Snooky Young, singer Dennis Rowland and more!!! We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Lee Morgan’s “Candy” (1957), Charles Mingus’ “Blues & Roots” (1959), Brother Jack McDuff’s “The Honeydripper” (1961), Ahmad Jamal Trio’s “The Awakening” (1970), Joe Pass & Co.’s “Live at Yoshi’s” (1992) and many more throughout the week and Mondays thru Fridays at noon on our ‘MASTERS’ program on Jazz 88.3 KCCK!!!
Special Programs for February 1 thru February 6
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 to explore great jazz tunes in the popular mind. Join host Bob Naujoks as he spotlights jazz tunes that also scored high on the pop charts. Hear the songs and stories of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” Natalie & Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable,” Al Jarreau’s “We’re In This Love Together,” B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone,” and Moe Koffman’s “Swingin’ Shepherd Blues.
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Mondays at 6:00 PM
More Jazz In The Movies
Craig gives us another fun look at a variety of styles of jazz music used in some great films. We’ll hear classics from “Paris Blues,” “A Milanese Story,” “Satan In High Heels,” “The Man with The Golden Arm,” “No Sun In Venice,” “Mickey One,” and others. We can already smell the popcorn!
The Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
Carmen Bradford at the ICJF
This month, the Wednesday Night Special celebrates African-Americans who continue to raise jazz to the level of high art. First up is singer Carmen Bradford and her 2011 appearance at the Iowa City Jazz Festival. Bradford was hired in 1983 by Count Basie for his Orchestra, and she graced every one of its performances until 1991. Her powerful, resonant voice certainly electrified the Pentacrest crowd in Iowa City!
Jazz Night in America with host Christian McBride
Thursdays at 11:00 PM
Discovering Billy Lester
Host Christian McBride introduces us to pianist Billy Lester, who McBride describes as a treasure “hidden in plain sight for 50 years right outside Manhattan.” Lester shares not only his phenomenal piano virtuosity, but also his thoughts on the arts and the courage it takes to be an artist.
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Saturdays at 12:00 Noon
4 More Who Recently Left Us
In this show, Craig pays tribute to four more jazz artists who have moved on to that “big stage” in the afterworld – Candido Camero Guerra (aka Candido), pianist Frank Kimbrough, baritone sax and tubist Howard Lewis Johnson, and Junior Mance. Each of these artists were, in their unique ways, pioneers in jazz and they left behind a treasure in their recorded legacies.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
Every Night at Midnight
Each night, KCCK gives you the chance to hear a new CD played start-to-finish.
On Vacation by Till Bronner & Bob James on Monday; The Jazz All Stars, Vol. 1 by the Le Coq All Stars on Tuesday; The Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful by the Jeff Benedict Big Big Band on Wednesday; Q Vision by Quincy Davis on Thursday; You Ain’t Unlucky by Veronica Lewis on Friday; Firebreather by Skylar Rogers on Saturday; Foxing Hour by the KoMaGa Trio on Sunday