Hey, Jazz fans!!! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of singers Frank Sinatra, Joe Williams, Bob Dorough and Diane Schuur, pianists Phineas Newborn, Jr. and John Hicks, organist Jimmy Smith, trumpeters Bob Scobey, Jack Purvis and Donald Byrd and more!!! We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Sonny Stitt’s “Kaleidascope” (1950), Sonny Rollins & the MJQ (1951), Bill Evans’ “Everybody Digs Bill Evans” (1958), Milt Jackson and Wes Montgomery’s “Bags Meets Wes” (1961), Sathima Bea Benjamin’s “Southern Touch” (1989), Louie Bellson & His Big Band “Live from New York” (1993) and many others through and out the week and Mondays thru Fridays at noon on our ‘JAZZ MASTERS’ program on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.
This Week In Jazz December 15 thru December 20
Culture Crawl 530 “Lynne Will Probably Be There”
Lynne Rothrock presents her 17th Christmas Cabaret, Dec. 12-14 at Whipple Auditorium at the Cedar Rapids Public Library. Lynne, Julia Andrews, and Greg Kanz tell Dennis that the show harkens back to the musical variety shows of our youth, with music and comedy presented by an ensemble that is just as much family as colleagues.
Also featuring special guests Emma Drtina, Dan Schwartz, and Marita May, and even cookies and hot chocolate at intermission!
Tickets at www.lynnerothrock.com.
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Special Programs for December 9 thru December 14
Short List with host Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturdays at 7 AM
Basses Loaded: Ron Carter
Comfortable as both a sideman and leader, Ron Carter’s prolific career includes appearances on over 2,200 recordings – the most of any bassist. He was a member of the Miles Davis Quintet, appearing on Seven Steps to Heaven and E.S.P. He won the jazz instrumental Grammy in 1993, and another in 1998 for his work on the film, Round Midnight. He remains today the most sought-after and celebrated bassists in jazz.
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Mondays at 6:00 PM
Jazz Scene in 1949, Part 2
Craig recently looked back at jazz in 1949, and with so many more interesting recordings waiting to be heard, he decided to give you an additional 1949 show with oh-so-many more goodies! We’ll hear from more of the greats … Art Tatum, Anita O’Day, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lennie Tristano, and many more! Exciting material, to be sure!
The Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
KCCK’s Christmas Channel
Stoke the yule log and pour yourself a mug of hot chocolate! This month, the Wednesday Night Special features KCCK’s Christmas Channel. It’s a commercial-free playlist of the greatest holiday jazz ever recorded. You can also find it all season long at kcck.org/jazz2.
Jazz Night In America with Host Christian McBride
Thursdays at 11:00 PM
Jazzmeia Horn Breaks Out
Host Christian McBride hails singer Jazzmeia Horn as, “a singer of ironclad capability, creative drive, and irrepressible panache.” Horn, with a first prize at the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and two albums to her credit, has emerged as the breakout new talent in a formidable jazz-vocal tradition. Hear her story, and her music, this week.
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Saturdays at 12:00 Noon
Verve Records in 1959
Craig journeys back 60 years to look in on many of the classiest jazz records ever made … Verve Records in 1959. We’ll hear from jazz greats Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Hodges, Sonny Stitt, Mel Torme, Ben Webster, Oscar Peterson, and many others. Don’t miss this one!!
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:
Play on Words by Andy Ballantyne on Monday; Vinyl Tap by Spyro Gyra on Tuesday; Baritone Madness by Baritone Madness on Wednesday; Relaxin’ With Nick (Disc 1) by Nicholas Payton Trio on Thursday; Yours Truly, Me … by Alex Lopez on Friday; Heart of Memphis by Michele D’Amour & the Love Dealers on Saturday; Shoulder to Shoulder: Centennial Tribute to Women’s Suffrage by Karrin Allyson on Sunday.
New Music Monday for December 9, 2019
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
August 29, 2020 will mark the centennial of one of jazz’s most iconic figures, Charlie Parker. The celebration gets off to a jubilant swinging start with an alto saxophone summit bringing together three of modern jazz’s most acclaimed voices: Vincent Herring, Bobby Watson and Gary Bartz. The soul-stirring “Bird at 100” traces a direct lineage from Parker’s birthplace in Kansas City to the stage of Smoke Jazz Club in New York, where these influential acolytes look back from the vantage point of jazz in 2019, with a combination of reverence, respect and adventure. The program offers a buoyant mix of classic Parker tunes, familiar standards once recorded by Bird, and new compositions written in honor of the master.
While jazz interpretations of classic tunes by the Allman Brothers Band might come off as a surprise to some, the genre always held great inspiration for the band and its members. In referring to the band’s drummer Jai Johanny Johanson, Greg Allman once recalled, “Jaimoe turned all of us on to so much neat stuff. He gave us a proper education about jazz and got us into Miles Davis and John Coltrane. ‘Kind of Blue’ was always on the turntable—Duane really got his head around that album—and he also seriously dug Coltrane’s ‘My Favorite Things.’” Now comes “Big Band of Brothers: A Jazz Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band,” released in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the band’s debut album. Joining the Big Band of Brothers on the 10-song set are singers Marc Broussard and Ruthie Foster, guitarist Jack Pearson and trombonist Wycliffe Gordon.
Also this week, singer and songwriter Carmen Lundy pays tribute to her vocal influences, the “Modern Ancestors” who left behind a legacy and defined the sound and spirit of jazz;
and the Lionel Hampton Big Band featuring Jason Marsalis are captured live in California for the new CD, “Live at Rossmoor.”
Grammy-nominated Cuban pianist, vocalist and composer Roberto Fonseca delves into the music of his homeland with his ninth release, “Yesun”;
Culture Crawl 529 “Live From The Loft”
The Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale is in the midst of its 60th anniversary celebration. Director Gerry Kreitzer says that the holiday concert will feature a stunning work by John Rutter, “Magnificat,” Dec. 14 at St. Paul’s Methodist in Cedar Rapids.
Gerry also previews the rest of the 60th anniversary season, which will include an all-Beethoven concert to celebrate the masters 250th birthday, and a concert featuring compositions from Cedar Rapids-born composers.
Information on tickets and also how to join the Chorale, if you’d like to pick up the songbook (no matter how long it’s been since your last choral experience) at www.crchorale.org.
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Talking Pictures 12-4-19
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and Knives Out with Hollis Monroe, Denny Lynch and Monica Schmidt.
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Culture Crawl 528 “It’s A Carol Christmas!”
Singer/Songwriter Carol Montag has been starring in Christmas shows in the Cedar Rapids area for many years, both as a part of the group Tribute, and now doing her own show.
“A Carol Christmas” is coming up Dec. 14 & 15 at CSPS in Cedar Rapids. Joining Carol will be Cameron Sullenberger, musical director and founder of Revival Theatre Company, on piano and vocals, Matt Butler on cello and vocals, and Jeremiah de la Pena on percussion. She promises some new takes on old favorites, along with some holiday tunes that may be new to you.
Tickets remain for the Dec. 15 show at www.legionarts.org.
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Culture Crawl 527 “Spoilers for a 200-Year Old Story”
Orchestra Iowa and Ballet Quad Cities team up once again this year for “The Nutcracker,” Dec. 7 at 2:30 and 7:30 at the Paramount Theatre. Music Director Tim Hankewich says that even though the Tchaikovsky’s music doesn’t change, the dancers and choreography do, presenting unique challenges and opportunities for both dancers and musicians.
Tim also tells the story of how the ballet, not one of Tchaikovsky’s important works during his life, became a modern holiday tradition.
Info and tickets at www.orchestraiowa.org.
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