Corridor Jazz Guest DJs – Kennedy

Declan Green, Rufaro Muskwe, and Dylan Sines represented Kennedy Jazz Band One for our Guest DJ series. They had some pretty good stories, including why Declan and Rufaro are known as the “High-Five” guys!

 

Playlist:

  1. “All The Things You Are” – Charlie Parker
  2. “And Then I Knew” – Pat Metheny Group
  3. “Summertime” – Chet Baker
  4. “A Taste of Honey” – Paul Desmond
  5. “Conspiracy Theory” – U.S. Army Blues Jazz Ensemble
  6. “Moanin'” – Charles Mingus
  7. “Softly, As In a Morning Sunrise” – Artie Shaw Orchestra
  8. “Bye Bye Blackbird” – Kennedy Jazz Band One feat. Desmond Cervantez

 

Extra cuts we would have played if there had been time:

  • “T.O.P. Adjacent” – Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band
  • “Detroit” – Marcus Miller

Podcast (specials): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Culture Crawl 560 “I Know The Host”

The History Center of Cedar Rapids offers games and activities for the family on their website. They are also planning a virtual version of the popular program, “Grown Up Show and Tell,” hosted by Dennis Green.

Watch your email and social media for details, or visit www.historycenter.org.

Podcast (culturecrawl): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Corridor Jazz Guest DJs – Solon

Alan Colton and Noah McLaughlin are this year’s guest DJs from the Solon Jazz Orchestra. They played some jazz tunes they find meaningful, with a special shoutout to their director, Mr. Cervantez, aka Mr. C, and some memories of guest artist Josh Duffee’s memorable performance at the Corridor Jazz Project concert

Playlist:

  1. “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” – Kevin Mahogany
  2. “The Chicken” – Pee Wee Ellis
  3. “Dr. Feelgood” – Aretha Franklin
  4. “Fire and Brimstone” – Trombone Shorty
  5. “Whirly Bird” – Count Basie
  6. “Bye Bye Blackbird” – Miles Davis
  7. “Stella By Starlight” – Miles Davis
  8. “Smile” – Nat King Cole
  9. “Sofukan” – Snarky Puppy
  10. “Sing Sing Sing” – The Solon Jazz Orchestra reat. Josh Duffee

Podcast (specials): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

This Week In Jazz April 5th thru April 11th

Hey, Jazz fans!!! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of drummers Stan Levey, Art Taylor, Pete Laroca and Steve Gadd, percussionist Mongo Santa Maria, pianists Andre Previn, Claude Bolling and Victor Feldman, saxophonists Charlie Rouse, Stanley Turrentine, Gerry Mulligan and Pat LaBarbera,guitarists Gene Bertoncini and John Pizzarelli, vocalist Carmen McRae and more!!! We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of  Bud Powell’s “Inner Fire” (1953), Art Blakey’s “The Jazz Messengers” (1956), Johnny Griffin’s “A Blowing Session” (1957), Dizzy Gillespie’s “Birk’s Works” (1957), Freddie Hubbard’s “Hub Cap” (1961), Joe Henderson’s “In ‘N Out” (1964), Miles Davis’ “Black Beauty” (1970), John Hicks Trio’s “East Side Blues” (1988) Chick Corea’s “Past, Presents and Futures” (2001) and many others through and out the week and Mondays thru Fridays at noon on our ‘JAZZ MASTERS’ program on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.

Big Thrill for Big Mo!

John Heim, KCCK’s Big Mo, often receives praise and positive feedback from listeners. These days more than usual, as homebound music fans turn to the radio for an entertainment fix. But he has never gotten a phone call quite the one he received on April 3.

John was in the midst of his “Beaker Street Hour” when the phone rang. Which wasn’t unusual, as the show is a popular part of his Friday Blues program. But imagine John’s shock when the caller identified himself as Clyde Clifford, the DJ who hosted that original Beaker Street show!

If you’re not familiar with Beaker Street, it is largely credited as the very first underground radio show on AM radio, airing on KAAY-AM in Little Rock, AR from 1966-1972. KAAY was a “clear channel” station, which meant its frequency was protected from interference and could be heard across huge swaths of the country, particularly at night. 

The station’s coverage area extended into Montana and Wyoming in the U.S., and could even be heard in Cuba. And the underground rock it featured was a far cry from the normal Top 40 radio fare.

For teenagers like John Heim, growing up in rural Nebraska, the show was their first exposure to artists like Santana, Bob Dylan, Deep Purple, Joni Mitchell, and many more. Hearing that music was one of the things that caused John to become a musician (and later a music teacher) himself.

“The music (Clifford) brought to me at a formative age shaped my life forever,” John says. “He had so much to do with me being a musician and later a broadcaster.”

Many area musicians credit Clifford’s show for sparking their interest in learning music. Jim Dreier, one of the founders of Orquesta Alto Maiz, says that Beaker Street was where he first heard Carlos Santana, leading him on a lifelong path of studying and playing Latin music. Dreier, Ed English, Steve Grismore, the late John Shultz, Dan Bernstein, and Dan Hummel would come back to their roots and begin performing classic rock staples under the moniker “The Beaker Brothers” in 2008. The nostalgia and popularity of that band inspired John to begin doing his own Beaker Street tribute show on the radio.

It was Ed English who brought the KCCK show to Clyde’s attention. “Trish (Clyde’s wife) and I have been Facbook friends for a while,” Ed said. “I noticed she was online Friday night. I sent her a message, just to let her know John was on and she asked for the studio line number.”

John and Clyde talked for nearly an hour, and Clyde spun several stories from the KAAY heyday, including the origin of Clifford’s air name. “(The real) Clyde Clifford was the comptroller, who signed everyone’s checks,” John said.

Before signing off, Clifford told John that Big Mo was capturing the Beaker Street sound, but perhaps more importantly, his wife Trish gave The Beaker Hour her seal of approval.

“Big Mo, you are amazing in your ability to recreate the feel of Beaker Street,” she said in a post to the Beaker Street Facebook page. “We were both impressed and it was fun to get to relax and listen to Beaker Street together.” 

Something the two never got to do when Clyde was the host.

Catch The Beaker Hour every Friday at 9pm during The Friday Blues on KCCK. We know Clyde Clifford will be!

Special Programs for April 6 thru April 11

Short List with host Bob Naujoks   

Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturdays at 7 AM

Vocal Short List: Judy Wexler

Los Angeles-based Judy Wexler came to jazz after a successful career doing plays and musicals. She found her place in a jazz series at a local club. Since then, Wexler has recorded five albums, including 2019’s “Crowded Heart.” She admittedly likes songs outside the Great American Songbook.

 

 

Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler

Mondays at 6:00 PM

West Coast Jazz 4 – Verve, Capitol & Other Labels

Craig continues his in-depth look at several other record labels that are associated with “West Coast Jazz,” such as Jazz West, Atlantic, Hi-Fi, Andex, Decca, GNP, and others.  We’ll hear from Stan Getz, Jimmy Giuffre, June Christy, Lyle Murphy, Richie Kamuca, Bill Holman, and a host of others.

 

 

The Wednesday Night Special

Wednesdays at 6:00 PM

Corridor Jazz Concert 2019

Our celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month continues with more amazing student jazz! This week, we revisit the 2019 Corridor Jazz Concert. Musicians from the Corridor’s high school jazz ensembles were partnered with guest professionals. They rehearsed a chart, recorded that song for a CD, and performed together live before an enthusiastic audience. This concert is the culmination of what many student musicians consider the apex of the their high school career.

 

 

Jazz Night In America with Host Christian McBride

Thursdays at 11:00 PM

Chick Corea Back In Boston

Jazz Night in America caught up with Chick Corea during a gig at Scullers in Boston – just across the river from Chelsea, Massachusetts, where he was born and raised. Corea was on tour with a new trio he calls Vigilette, with Carlitos Del Puerto on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums.

 

 

Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler 

Saturdays at 12:00 Noon

West Coast Jazz 5 – Chico Hamilton & Fred Katz

Craig takes a close look at the Pacific Jazz recordings of drummer Chico Hamilton and cellist Fred Katz. We’ll hear unique offerings from a variety of bands led by these two masters. Some great material that will raise your eyebrows!

 

 

 

KCCK’s Midnight CD

Every Night at Midnight

Each night, KCCK gives you the chance to hear a new CD played start-to-finish. Tune in at Midnight for: 

Iron Starlet by Connie Han on Monday; Simplicity by Pearl Django on Tuesday; Carl Saunders, Jazz Guitar by Carl Saunders on Wednesday; Mabern Plays Mabern  by Harold Mabern on Thursday; Blue Sky by The Reverend Shawn Amos & the Brotherhood on Friday; Harlem by King Solomon Hicks on Saturday; Secrets are the Best Stories by Kurt Elling on Sunday. 

New Music Monday for April 6, 2020

    Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify 
 Snorre Kirk—the composer, bandleader and drummer—has long since made his mark on listeners in Scandinavia and further south. He was 16 when he went from Norway to Helsingor in Denmark. The relocated Norwegian, an exquisitely flexible musician with a keen eye for tradition, sits behind the kit with some of the finest musicians on the Scandinavian jazz scene as well as prominent international players. As a composer, Snorre caters his writing specifically to the individual soloists, thereby creating a unique sound. On “Tangerine Rhapsody,” he collaborates with American tenor saxophonist Stephen Riley and Snorre’s regular team featuring pianist Magnus Hjort and bassist Anders Fjelsted.

 

 

Trumpeter/composer Thomas Marriott has covered a lot of ground over his eleven releases as a leader, most recently the lush balladry of his disc of last year. For “Trumpet Ship,” Marriot goes for the exuberant, highly intuitive, propelling joy that defines a jam session. The session includes three of the more electric and empathetic players in jazz—pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Mark Whitfield, Jr.—all long-time collaborators with Marriott, recorded on an off-day in Seattle while on a tour of the Northwest. The quartet’s spirit and chemistry shine through a set of five Marriott originals along with tunes from Jerome Kern and Gil Evans.

 

 

                  
Also this week, “Sounds for Sculpture: The Awakening” features vibraphonist Christian Tamnburr’s compositions inspired by the iconic bronze sculptures of Seward Johnson, which can be seen around the world in places like Times Square, the Chicago Pier, and the National Harbor in D.C.;

 

 

 

             

Chicago-based pianist and composer Lara Driscoll debuts with “Woven Dreams,” with the trio she led while a graduate student at Montreal’s McGill University;

 

 

 

             

      and guitarist John Stein, who is about to retire from his decades-long teaching career at his alma mater Berklee in order to play music full time, unveils his 15th recording, “Watershed.”

 

 

Corridor Jazz Guest DJs – Washington

Lewis Kleman and Emily Kelly are seniors at Cedar Rapids Washington and three-year members of the top jazz band, the Revolutionists. They got their start in jazz at KCCK’s Jazz Band Camp in middle school. Dave Sharp of Indian Hills Community College was their combo director, and they still remember things he told them all those years ago.

Emily and Lewis credit the tight-knit community within the Revs for making their high school experience fun and memorable.

Their music selections range from big band to modern funk and mainstream tunes.

Playlist:

  1. “C.B. Express – Count Basie
  2. “Dancing Under Latin Skies” – Tito Purente
  3. “New Ground” – Tommy Igoe and the Birdland Big Band
  4. “Broasted or Fried” – Willie Bobo
  5. “Lingus” – Snarky Puppy
  6. “How Deep Is The Ocean?” – Bill Evans Trio
  7. “Blue Monk” – Thelonious Monk
  8. “Willis” – Cedar Rapids Washington Revolutionists feat. Nolan Schroeder 

Podcast (specials): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS