Culture Crawl 1159 “Not The Bloody Kind”

Cast members Chad Sonka (Dr. Falke), Emily Secor (Adele), and Keely Futterer (Rosalinda) from the Cedar Rapids Opera’s upcoming production of Johann Strauss’s “Die Fledermaus” are in the studio with insights into this timeless comedic operetta. Shows are Friday, Jan 16, 7:30pm and Sunday, Jan 18, 2pm at Paramount Theatre in Cedar Rapids. 

For tickets and more info visit cropera.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.

Podcast (culturecrawl): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

This Week In Jazz January 4 thru January 10

Hey, Jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of brassmen Wild Bill Davison, Henry “Red” Allen, Dizzy Reese and Wendell Culley, singers Betty Roche and Johnny Adams, trombonist Vernon Brown, percussionist Chano Pozo, drummer Kenny Clarke and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Count Basie and His Orchestra’s “April in Paris” (1956), Jackie McLean’s “Bluesnik” (1961), George Benson’s “Breezin’” (1978), Woody Shaw’s “Lotus Flower” (1982), Arturo Sandoval’s “Swingin’” (1996), Louis Hayes’ “Crisis” (2021) and many others, Mondays thru Fridays and at noon on JAZZ MASTERS on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.

This Week In Jazz December 28 thru January 3

Hey, Jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of bassist Al McKibbon, drummers Nick Fatool and Lewis Nash, singers Susannah McCorkle and Arthur Prysock, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, pianist/saxophonist/conductor Gordon Goodwin and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Jean “Toots” Thielemans’ “Man Bites Harmonica!” (1957), Bobby Hutcherson ‘s “The Kicker” (1963), Joe Henderson’s “Relaxin’ at Camarillo” (1979), Carmen McRae’s “For Lady Day, Vol. 1” (1983), Chick Correa & Origin “Live at the Blue Note” (1998) and many others, Mondays thru Fridays and at noon on JAZZ MASTERS on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.

KCCK’s Featured Album for January 2026

The KCCK Featured Album for January is “Memories of Home” by John Scofield and Dave Holland. The two jazz masters have collaborated over the years, including work on projects by Herbie Hancock and Joe Henderson and the spirited quartet ScoLoHoFo co-led with Joe Lovano and Al Foster. The new disc is their very first duo album together. It reflects the live sets they’ve performed over the past few years, mixing new and revisited originals shaped by decades of shared musical language. “Memories of Home” is from ECM Records. Purchase

Producers’ Top 10s for 2025

KCCK’s music producers have chosen their 10 favorite jazz and blues releases for 2025.

  • Bob Stewart
  • Hollis Monroe
  • Ron Adkins
  • Bob DeForest
  • Amira Kellison

  • Bob Stewart: Monday-Friday 6 a.m. – 10 a.m.

    1) Wild Iris Brass Band “Way Up” (Ear Up)

    The sheer exuberance of the debut release from this Nashville-based New Orleans-informed brass band co-founded by saxophonist Jeff Coffin and trombonist Ray Mason makes it a toe-tapping, foot-stomping joy?

    2) Rin Seo Collective “City Suite” (Cellar)

    3) Joel Frahm “Lumination” (Anzic)

    4) Russ Anixter’s Hippie Big Band “What Is?” (Russ Anixter)

    5) Christian McBride Big Band “Without Further Ado Volume 1” (Mack Avenue)

    6) Poncho Sanchez “Live at the Belly Up Tavern” (Regime)

    7) Mike Conrad Trio “Pretzel Letters” (SkyDeck)

    8) Kate Wyatt Trio “Murmuration” (Cupfa)

    9) Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet “El Muki” (Saponegro)

    10) Chicago Jazz Orchestra featuring Bobby Broom “More Amor: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery” (CJO)

Hollis Monroe: Monday-Friday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

1) Javon Jackson “Javon and Nikki Go to the Movies” (Solid Jackson)

Javon and Nikki Go to the Movies is a delight! It’s a charming and soulful collaboration that bringing together the poetic eloquence of Nikki Giovanni and the masterful tenor saxophone stylings of Javon Jackson. The album is a delightful romp through some of the standards of the Great American Songbook, featuring songs famously associated with classic Hollywood movies. It also features three Jackson originals and one from the pen of Sonny Rollins. Jackson is accompanied by a stellar group of long- time associates, including pianist Jeremy Manasia, bassist David Williams and drummer McClenty Hunter. The group is also joined by Grammy-winning vocalist Nicole Zuraitis, who adds depth with her interpretations on three tracks.

2) DredScott “Cali Mambo” (Rope-a-Dope)

3) Trilogy “The Slow Road” (Cellar)

4) Joe Alterman/Houston Person “Brisket for Breakfast” (Joe Alterman)

5) Mike Conrad “Pretzel Letters” (SkyDeck)

6) Nnenna  Freelon “Beneath the Sky” (Origin)

7) Ali Bello/The Charanga Syndicate “Ali Bello & the Charanga Syndicate” (Circle 9)

8) Ryan Middah “Tenor Madness (Ear UP)

9) Smulyan/Basile Quintet “Boss Baritones” (Steeplechase)

10) Rachael & Vilray “West of Broadway” (Concord)

Ron Adkins:: Monday-Friday 2-6 p.m. 

1) Russ Anixter’s Hippie Big Band  “What Is?”  (Russ Anixter)

This album immediately became my favorite of the year. It’s tricky business to arrange a recognizable pop or rock tune for the jazz canon. How does one take a song people know by heart and rework it into another genre (and still stay true to the spirit of the original)? Some succeed, many fail. Russ Anixter, however, succeeds brilliantly. He’s curated a set list that runs from sing along-able to deep cuts (my favorites are “Uncle John’s Band,” “Into the Mystic,” and “Heaven On Their Minds”). Anixter really knows how to unpack a song, turn it into a completely new piece of art, and a fresh listening experience.

2) 3 Cohens & the WDR Big Band  “Interaction” (Anzic)

3) Sharell Cassity  “Gratitude” (Sunnyside)

4) Rachel & Vilray  “West of Broadway” (Concord)

5) Mike Conrad “Pretzel Letters” (SkyDeck)

6) Greyboy Allstars “Grab Bag: 2007-2023” (Greyboy)

7) Michel Petrucciani  “Jazz Club Montmartre-CPH 1988” (Storyville)

8) Michael Dease  “Found in Space” (Origin)

9) Nanami Haruta “The Vibe” (Origin)

10) Daggerboard & the Eric Jekabson Orchestra “The Axes Volume II” (Wide Hive)

Bob DeForest:: Da Blues Saturday 6-10 p.m.

1) Kenny Wayne Shepherd & Bobby Rush “Young Fashioned Ways” (Thirty Tigers)

2) Buddy Guy “Ain’t Done with the Blues” (Silver Tone)

3) Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia “Help Yourself” (Gulf Coast Blues)

4) Mud Morganfield “Deep Mud” (Nola Blue)

5) Papa Chubby & Friends “I Love Freddie King” (Gulf Coast Blues)

6) Candace Ivory “New Southern Vintage” (Nola Blue)

7) John Primer “Grown in Mississippi” (Blues House)

8) Jimmy Vivino “Gonna Be 2 of Those Days” (SoNo Records)

9) Jon Cleary “The Bywater Sessions” (FHQ)

10) Curtis Salgado “Fine by Me” (Little Village)

Amira Kellison:: Thursday 6-8 p.m.

1) Russ Anixter/Hippie Big Band: “What Is?” (Russ Anixter)

A new found friend of the station in 2025, Russ Anixter brings a unique sound to jazz with his album “What Is?” — my favorite new album of 2025.

2) BeatleJazz: “Reunion” (Yama)

3) Samara Joy: “Portrait” (Verve)

4) Christ McBride/Big Band: “Without Further Ado, Vol. 1” (Mack Avenue)

5) Greg Murphy: “Snap Happy” (Whaling City Sound)

6) Ben Paterson: “Cookin’ In The Couve”(Cellar)

7) Thom Rotella: “Right Time Left” (High Note)

8) Ted Piltzecker: “Peace Vibes” (OA2)

9) Jim Mullen: “For Heavens Sake” (Stunt)

10) Poncho Sanchez: “Live at the Belly Up Tavern” (Regime)

New Music Monday for December 29, 2025

Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Masterful trio interplay reliant on deeply honed three-way communication and a refined sense of understatement make Fred Hesch’s third recording for ECM Records, “The Surrounding Green,” an essential entry into the piano trio canon. Hersch tackles a handful of 20th century compositions—spanning from standards to less frequented jazz tunes—as well as three originals, with Drew Gress on bass and Joey Baron on drums—two longstanding companions of Fred’s who have played with him on and off since the late ‘80s and early ’90 respectively.

Following their previous two Grammy nominated albums, vocalist Kurt Elling and guitarist Charlie Hunter return with “SuperBlue: Guilty Pleasures Vol. 2,” the latest installment in their creative partnership. The new release finds the pair continuing their bold, groove-driven approach to familiar songs, reinterpreted with grit and jazz-forward musicianship. With a powerhouse rhythm section and arrangements that blur genre lines, the duo transforms well-known tunes into something strikingly fresh.

                               

Also this week, 15 year veteran of the Western Canada music scene drummer Neil Gray’s “In the Streets” is a bebop/hardbop love letter to Vancouver; saxophonist Chad LB runs the gamut of styles, from classical and jazz standards to classic rock and doo-wop, on “The Shadow of Your Smile”; and contemporary jazz supergroup JazzFunkSoul, featuring keyboardist Jeff Lorber, saxophonist Everette Harp and guitarist Paul Jackson, Jr., unveil their latest project, “Simpatico.”

This Week’s Shows December 29 thru January 4

Eric Dolphy – Out There | Releases | DiscogsJazz Corner of the World (Encore)

Mondays at 6:00pm

Eric Dolphy on Prestige

Craig presents a variety of impressive and unique modern jazz gems from the 18 Prestige sessions featuring the award-winning clarinetist, alto saxophonist, flautist, bandleader, and composer Eric Dolphy, who continues to receive tributes from around the world. He’ll always remain an important inspiration in jazz, and in all musical genres!

 

 

 

 

 

KCCK’s Best of 2025 Live  (December 31)

Beginning at 1:00pm

Join KCCK as we listen back to incredible live performances from 2025, as selected by our listeners. From 1:00pm until Midnight, we’ll hear rising stars and living legends play the best in jazz, blues, funk, and soul from KCCK’s 50th Anniversary Year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Prophetic Herbie Nichols - WikipediaJazz Corner of the World

Saturdays at 12:00 noon

Herbie Nichols’s Birth Date Anniversary

Craig presents some top-notch material from Herbie Nichols, born January 3, 1919, whom Craig considers one of jazz music’s superior composers and pianists. We’ll hear Herbie’s work for Blue Note, Bethlehem, Savoy, and several other labels. Herbie Nichols is certainly one of jazz’s most tragically overlooked geniuses.

 

 

 

KCCK’s Midnight CD   (December 22 – December 28)

 Every Night at Midnight

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

Cortadito by The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective on Monday; Speaking of Gravity by Andrew Carroll on Tuesday; No Midnight CD on Wednesday; Memories of Home by John Scofield & Dave Holland on Thursday; Not Holding Back! by Kyle Rowland on Friday; Have Mercy! by Sean McDonald on Saturday; Cat & the Hounds by Colin Hancock’s Jazz Hounds featuring Catherine Russell on Sunday.

Top 88 for 2025

The Yellowjackets’ “Fasten Up” was the Number-1 album in KCCK’s Top 88 jazz releases of 2025. Conrad Herwig “Reflections: Facing South” was Number-88. Following is the list of everything else in between.

Click here for a printable version of KCCK’s Top 88 for 2025

  1. Yellowjackets “Fasten Up” (Mack Avenue)
  2. Russ Anixter Hippie Big Band “What Is?” (Russ Anixter)
  3. Artemis “Arboresque”  (Blue Note)
  4. Paquito D’Rivera “La Fleur de Cayenne” (Sunnyside)
  5. Judy Wexler “No Wonder” (Jewel City Jazz)
  6. Airmen of Note “The 2024 Jazz Heritage Series” (U.S. Air Force)
  7. John Clayton & Mulgrew Miller “Talk to Me About Mulgrew” (ArtistShare)
  8. Rachel Therrien “Mi Hogar II” (Lula World)
  9. Rachael & Vilray “West of Broadway” (Concord)
  10. Mike Clark & Mike Zilber “Standard Deviations” (Sunnyside)
  11. Sharel Cassity “Gratitude” (Sunnyside)
  12. Michel Petrucciani Trio “Jazz Club Montmarte”—CPH 1988” (Storyville)
  13. Kandace Springs “Lady in Satin” (SRP)
  14. Neal Miner “Invisibility” (Cellar)
  15. Michael Dease “City Life” (Origin)
  16. Igmar Thomas Revive Big Band “Like a Tree It Grows” (Soulspazm)
  17. Peter and Will Anderson “The Best of Berlin” (Arbors)
  18. Holly Cole “Dark Moon” (Rumpus Room)
  19. Scott Hamilton “Looking Back” (Stunt)
  20. Erik Jekabson “Breakthrough” (Wide Hive)
  21. Brad Mehldau “Ride Into the Sun” (Nonesuch)
  22. Giacomo Smith “Manouche” (Stunt)
  23. Nnenna Freelon “Beneath the Skin” (Origin)
  24. Albare “Eclecticity” (Alfi)
  25. BeatleJazz “Reunion” (Yama)
  26. George Cables “I Hear Echoes” (High Note)
  27. Bruce Harris & Ehud Asherie “Thank You, Barry Harris” (Arbors)
  28. Terri Lyne Carrington & Christie Dashiell “We Insist 2025” (Candid)
  29. Nanami Haruta “The Vibe” (Origin)
  30. Willie Morris “Unbound Inner”(Posi-Tone)
  31. Sean Nelson New London Big Band “Don’t Stop Now” (Sean Nelson)
  32. Jeremy Pelt  “Woven” (High Note)
  33. Dee Dee Bridgewater & Bill Charlap “Elemental” (Mack Avenue)
  34. Carl Allen “Tippin” (Cellar)
  35. Richard Baratta “Looking Back” (Savant)
  36. Ron Blake “Scratch Band” (7ten33)
  37. Christian McBride Big Band “Without Further Ado Vol. 1 (Mack Avenue)
  38. Nicole Glover “Memories, Dreams, Reflections” (Savant)
  39. Harold Lopez-Nussa “Nueva Timba” (Blue Note)
  40. Diego Rivera “West Circle” (Posi-Tone)
  41. Jim Snidero “Bird Feathers” (Savant)
  42. Ben Sidran “Are We There Yet” (Bonsai)
  43. Russ Spiegel “Nity Gritty” (Russtone)
  44. Isaiah J. Thompson “The Book of Isaiah: Modern Jazz Ministry” (Mack Avenue)
  45. “Ali Bello & the Charanga Syndicate”  (Circle)
  46. Jim Mullen “For Heave Sake” (Stunt)
  47. Triology “The Slow Road” (Cellar)
  48. Queen Esther “Things are Looking Up” (Queen Esther)
  49. Tom Rotella “Right Time Left” (High Note)
  50. WDR Big Band “Bluegrass” (MCG Jazz)
  51. Jacob Wutzke “You Better Bet” (Cellar)
  52. Cyrus Chestnut “Rhythm, Melody and Harmony” (High Note)
  53. The Dam Jawn featuring Dick Oatts “Forward!” (Cellar)
  54. Lorraine Feather “The Green World” (Relarion)
  55. Mike Freeman ZonaVibe “Circles in a Yellow Room” (VOF)
  56. Jackson Potter “Small Things” (Shifting Paradigm)
  57. Steve Smith & Vital Information “New Perspective” (Drum Legacy)
  58. Blue Moods “Force & Grace” (Posi-Tone)
  59. The Empress “Square One” (Cellar)
  60. Bob James and Dave Koz “Just Us” (Just Koz)
  61. Josh Lawrence “Still We Dream” (Posi-Tone)
  62. Anais Reno “Lady of the Lavender Mist” (Club44)
  63. Greg Murphy “Snap Happy” (Whaling City Sound)
  64. Poncho Sanchez & his Latin Jazz Band “Live at the Belly Up Tavern” (Regime)
  65. Wild Iris Brass Band “Way Up” (Ear Up)
  66. The Chicago Jazz Orchestra featured Bobby Broom “More Amor: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery” (CJO)
  67. Mike Conrad Trio “Pretzel Letters” (SkyDeck)
  68. Caili O’Doherty “Bluer Than Blue: Celebrating Lil Hardin Armstrong” (Outside In)
  69. Jim Witzel “Very Early: Remembering Bill Evans” (Joplin & Sweeney)
  70. Renee Rosnes “Crossing Paths” (Smoke Sessions)
  71. Greg Abate Quartet “Positive Energy” (Summit)
  72. George Coleman “George Coleman with Strings” (HighNote)
  73. Claire Martin “Almost in Your Arms” (Stunt)
  74. The Reid Hoyson Project “In Your Dreams” (Reid Hoyson)
  75. Ryan Middagh Jazz Orchestra “Tenor Madness” (Ear Up)
  76. Joshua Redman “Words Fall Short” (Blue Note)
  77. Cory Weeds and Jerry Weldon “Cory Weeds Meets Jerry Weldon” (Cellar)
  78. Kate Wyatt Trio “Murmurations” (Cupfa)
  79. James Zito “Zito’s Jump” (James Zito)
  80. Ledisi “for Dinah” (Candid)
  81. Andy Baker “From Here, From There” (Calligram)
  82. Daggerboard with the Erik Jekabson Orchestra “Axes Volume II” (Wide Hive)
  83. John Ellis “Heroes” (Blue Room Music)
  84. Eric Scott Reed “Out Late” (Smoke Sessions)
  85. M.T.B. “Solid Jackson” (Criss Cross)
  86. Samara Joy “Portrait” (Verve)
  87. Behn Gillece “Pivot Point” (Posi-Tone)
  88. Conrad Herwig “Reflections: Facing South” (Savant)

Listen to the Top 88 here on Spotify: