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

Brian and Marty – A Match Made Under the Stars

Marty and Brian Stoll make a great couple. Their love and respect for each other is evident when you talk to them. They joke with one another, they truly enjoy each other’s company, and they have many interests in common.

KCCK is one of those common interests. They’ve been KCCK members for 10 years, but their association with 88.3 goes back even farther – at least 20 years and scores of Jazz Under the Stars concerts.

“We started dating in 2009,” says Marty, “and as we got to know each other we realized that we’d been going to the same shows but had never met.”

It’s pretty much a given that you’ll find them at Noelridge Park on Thursdays in August. “It’s rare that we’ve missed a concert in four or five years,” says Brian.

“Jazz Under the Stars is what grew our commonality to each other. Every time we crossed paths, it was at a music event.”

Brian is the owner of Illuminate Digital LLC, a firm that provides digital consulting services to small and medium-sized businesses. Marty is an attorney at Shuttleworth & Ingersoll PLC, specializing in business and real estate. “She’s my lawyer,” Brian chuckles.

Does that mean she’s the smarter one of the two? “I keep telling him that,” laughs Marty.

Like all other aspects of their lives, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way the Stolls listen to KCCK and their reasons why. “Before COVID, I listened every morning as I was getting ready for work,” says Marty. “Now, I listen while I work at home. It’s music that I love, that is something enjoyable.” As an attorney, it’s nice, she says, to listen to something “relaxing and not too distracting.”

Marty and Brian believe that the value of KCCK has increased with the pandemic. “It’s now a resource for me to listen and relax and help me deal with the stress,” says Marty. “We, as listeners, have a say in not only the music played but also some of the events put on by KCCK.”

Brian agrees. “KCCK is more important than ever now because it gives us something to listen to that isn’t determined by soundbites. This station is a valuable resource to hear music that is slowly fading away. And it’s important we listen to this music because it’s a part of our cultural history.”

KCCK appreciates the generous support of the Stolls. Friends like Marty and Brian make it possible for KCCK to continue its mission. It’s easy for anyone to feel as they do, they both agree. “Donate to KCCK,” says Marty.

And when the pandemic lifts, “Go to a KCCK event,” says Brian. “You get to meet the staff first-hand, and you get to see a great performance.”

Better yet, says Marty, “Invite your friends along. Bring a bottle of wine. Bring your dog. Relax to a great live show. KCCK is beyond a listening experience and more of a life experience.”

Talking Pictures 1-27-2021

The Empty Man (2020) and The Vampire Lovers (1970) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Ron Adkins.

Podcast (talkingpics): Play in new window | Download

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Culture Crawl 615 “Special Secret Techniques”

Kimberlee Rocca is an artist who works in paper, fiber, foil and metal whose work is included in collections at the University of Iowa Museum of Art and UIHC.

She brings a new show to Gilded Pear Gallery Jan. 29 – Feb. 27, titled “Picking Up The Pieces.” Kimberlee and Gallery Director Lauren Tucci are our guests.

Visual Reception Feb. 5. Reserve your spot or book a private gallery tour at www.gildedpeargallery.com.

Podcast (culturecrawl): Play in new window | Download

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This Week In Jazz January 24 thru January 30


Hey, Jazz fans!!! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of songwriters Jerome Kern and Jimmy Van Heusen, saxmen Jimmy Forrest, Tubby Hayes, Benny Golson and Bob Mintzer, violinist Stephane Grappelli, composer Antonio Carlos Jobim and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Hampton Hawes’ “Four!” (1958), Nat Adderley’s “Work Song” (1960), The Modern Jazz Quartet’s “Lonely Woman” (1962), Horace Silver’s “Song for My Father” (1964), Grant Green’s “Green Is Beautiful” (1970), Branford Marsalis’ “Renaissance” (1987) and many more throughout the week and Mondays thru Fridays at noon on our ‘MASTERS’ program on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.

New Music Monday for January 25, 2021

     Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Quincy Davis is a professor of jazz drums at the University of North Texas and continues to keep a busy performance profile. He lived in New York for 10 years where he performed with and recorded with many luminaries of jazz including Frank Wess, Hank Jones, Tom Harrell, Clark Terry, Kurt Elling, Ernestine Anderson and many more. Quincy’s sophomore release, “Q Vision,” is about seeing things from many different perspectives at the same time. He’s joined by Peter Bernstein, JD Allen, Warren Wolf and Ugonna Okegwo, among others, in septet, quintet and trio configurations.

 

 

 

 

     “The Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful” is the second release from the Jeff Benedict Big Big Band. A diverse collection of compositions and arrangements ranging from the straight-ahead to New Orleans second-line, the recording reflects the influences of Quincy Jones, Pat Metheny, Michael Brecker, Cannonball Adderly and Phil Woods. The disc features four original compositions by Benedict and five of his arrangements. The theme that binds the selections together is a “throwback” to the 1970s—when big band was frequently heard in TV and movie scores, and many of which were written by big-band jazz musicians like Jones and Pat Williams.

 

 

 

 

                               

Also this week, pianist Bob James and trumpeter Till Bronner are together “On Vacation”;

 

 

 

 

 

 

                   

Harpist Motoshi Kosako, bassist Michael Manring and percussionist Chris Garcia team up as KoMaGo Trio on “Foxing Hour”;

 

 

 

 

 

           

      and Le Coq Records presents “The Jazz All Stars Vol. 1,” featuring John Patitucci, Alex Acuna, Bill Cunliffe, Terell Stafford, Michael Dease, among others.