Patrick DuLaney is in the studio as Crooked Path Classics and University of Northern Iowa Presents William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” DuLaney, Co-Artistic Director of Crooked Path Theatre and director of this production, says this show will make you slow down in fast-paced world. It’s “As You Like It,” August 28 through September 6 at the James Theatre.
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.
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Russ Anixter is an arranger, orchestrator, and bandleader whose music exists at the intersection of jazz, rock, free improvisation, and orchestral craft. A graduate of Manhattan School of Music, where he studied jazz composition with Manny Albam and Rich DeRosa, Anixter further developed his orchestral expertise through more than three decades as a Broadway music copyist. His Hippie Big Band is built around a close circle of long-time collaborators who emerged from the pandemic together. On the new CD, “What Next?”, they transform familiar rock, funk, fusion, and jam-band repertoire into music defined by orchestration, groove, humor, and improvisation.
“Legacy Dances” is the highly anticipated twelfth release from four-time Grammy-nominated vibraphonist and composer Stefon Harris. Marking the 20th anniversary of his groundbreaking Blackout ensemble, this fifth collaborative album delivers an unapologetically authentic mix of modern jazz rooted in African rhythms, R&B, and electronic soul. This landmark project also features some of the final studio recordings of the late Casey Benjamin who tragically passed away just two months after the recording sessions, the iconic saxophonist, vocalist, and vocoder specialist who co-founded Blackout and helped anchor the Robert Glasper Experiment.
Also this week, saxophonist and composer Ardeshir Pourkeramati makes his debut as a bandleader, “Introducing…,” a straight-ahead album rooted in the harp bop tradition; pianist and composer Miki Yamanaka’s stellar trio is joined by one of the leading voices on saxophone of her generation, Nicole Glover, on “Breathe”; and “Nostalgia” is the new album from bassist and composer Tony Grey, featuring legendary pianist Bob James.
Join host Hollis Monroe as he presents a listen to the jazz masters who left their indelible mark on America’s music. Hollis celebrates anniversary recordings, birthdays of jazz geniuses legendary and obscure, and immortal charts that have become signature tunes.
Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00pm
Airto Moreira at the Iowa City Jazz Festival
Legendary Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira has been a driving force in Latin jazz and jazz fusion since his collaborations with Miles Davis, Weather Report, and Return to Forever. In 2016, he brought his new band, Eyedentity, to the Iowa City Jazz Festival for a powerful set of originals and old favorites.
Jazz Masters with Hollis Monroe
Saturdays from 12 noon to 4:00pm
Hollis Monroe spotlights the legendary, and lesser-known, jazz artists who have changed the way the world listens to jazz. Join Hollis as he spins signature tunes and hidden gems, celebrates artist birthdays, and commemorates the anniversary of landmark recordings.
KCCK’s Midnight CD (August 24 – August 30)
Every Night at Midnight
KCCK features a new album every night, played start-to-finish.
Naptown Soul by Rob Dixon on Monday; A Supreme Blue by Nicholas Payton & Butcher Brown on Tuesday; Rhombus by Goldings, Bernstein & Stewart on Wednesday; Kuon Ganjo by Mike Clark on Thursday; Sinners & Saints by the Cedar County Cobras on Friday; Live on 11/11 by Joanna Connor on Saturday; Parallel 49 by Jae Sinnett on Sunday.
Hey, Jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of singers Jimmy Rushing and Cecile McLorin Salvant, composer/pianist/conductor Leonard Bernstein, saxmen Lester Young, Buster Williams, Med Flory, Wayne Shorter and Branford Marsalis, pianist Kenny Drew, bassists Leonard Gaskin, Charles Fambrough, and Peter Washington, guitarist Pat Martino and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversary of Jimmy Smith’s “The Sermon” (1957) and many others, Mondays thru Fridays and at noon on JAZZ MASTERS on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.
The fourth and final week of this summer’s Jazz Under The Stars series put on by KCCK is upon us. This week features headlining group, Vandello, with the Chase Beightler Trio (Coe College) opening. In the studio is Vandello lead vocalist, Meg Adam.
It’s JUTS week four, Thursday 8/27, 6:30pm at Noelridge Park in Cedar Rapids. In addition to a fun night of music, this 2026 JUTS finale will also serve as the retirement party for KCCK’s very own George Dorman. More information at kcck.org/news/juts/.
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.
Orchestra Iowa’s Brucemorchestra is back and Tim Hankewich returns to the studio with the details. It’s Saturday, August 29 on the grounds of the Brucemore Mansion. The event begins at 7pm with additional tickets available for a reception preceding the show at 5:30pm.
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.
“Fast Charlie” (2023 Not Rated Netflix Action/Thriller) and “In the Hand of Dante” (2025 R Netflix Thriller/Crime) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Scott Chrisman.
Listen to this week’s playlist on 
Jazz Masters with Hollis Monroe
Jazz Masters with Hollis Monroe