Christopher’s Very Happy Band will perform at First Friday Jazz at the Opus Concert Cafe Friday, March 6, at 5 p.m. The first set will be broadcast live on KCCK. The First Friday Jazz Series features an eclectic mix of jazz, Latin, contemporary music and more in an intimate, upscale environment. For a $12 cover, enjoy live music and drink specials at the Opus Concert Café bar the first Friday of every month. Purchase tickets .
First Friday Jazz March 6
Transmitter Drive Progress Update – YOU DID IT!
YOU DID IT!!
Thanks to everyone who contributed to KCCK’s Transmitter Fund! Over 200 donors have joined together to help us purchase a new transmitter, and we have reached the goal! Everyone who listens to Iowa’s Jazz Station can be proud of how our community joined together to fulfill this need.
We’ll place the order for the new equipment this week. Watch here for updates, pictures and videos once the equipment arrives!
Special Programs for February 17 thru February 22
Short List with host Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturdays at 7 AM
Bob’s Baker’s Dozen: Victor Borge
The joyful music and comedic performances of pianist Victor Borge deflated the pomposity of classical music with jokes, physical humor and hilarious melodic interplay. Four years after escaping the Nazi invasion, Borge he had his own radio show and appeared in a movie with Frank Sinatra. He performed with major orchestras regularly, right up to his death at age 90 in 2000.
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Mondays at 6:00 PM
The Piano Artistry of Mal Waldron – The Early Years, Part 1
Craig travels back to the early and mid-fifties to look in on the artistry of pianist and composer Mal Waldron. We’ll begin with some classic Charles Mingus, as well as some early Jackie McLean, Gene Ammons, Teddy Charles, John Coltrane, and others. Amazing material that is not to be missed!!
The Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
Rene Marie at ICJF 2018
KCCK’s Wednesday Night Special continues its celebration of Black History Month with an amazing live set from singer Rene Marie & Experiment In Truth. Rene Marie’s professional career didn’t begin until age 42, when her then-husband demanded she either quit singing or leave. She left, and has never looked back. Her critically-acclaimed live shows (featuring many of her original songs) are packed with energy and thoughtful soul. She was a huge hit at the Iowa City Jazz Festival in 2018.
Jazz Night In America with Host Christian McBride
Thursdays at 11:00 PM
Nels Cline’s Lovers (For Philadelphia)
Guitarist Nels Cline brings his new band, Lovers, to the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, to debut his most recent project. Music by Philadelphia-based composers make up the core of the set. And, as Cline described, the audience was treated to music that was “sweet, but with some darker, realistic overtones.”
Michel LeGrand
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Saturdays at 12:00 Noon
Saluting Michel LeGrand, Ethel Ennis, Ken Nordine, & Ed Bickert
Craig takes a loving look at four artists that we lost in 2019….band leader Michel LeGrand, vocalist Ethel Ennis, wordsmith Ken Nordine, and guitarist Ed Bickert.
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:
Reality Check by Theo Hill on Monday; Incontre by Massimo Biolcati on Tuesday; Chimes of Freedom by Lynne Arriale Trio on Wednesday; The Music of Wayne Shorter (Disc 1) by Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis on Thursday; Drive On by Tas Cru on Friday; Rise Up by Harper & Midwest Kind on Saturday; Acustico by Negroni’s Trio on Sunday.
This Week In Jazz February 16 thru February 22
Hey, Jazz fans!!! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of trumpeters Charlie Spivak, Lew Soloff and Warren Vache, drummers Walter Johnson, Frank Isola Joe Labarbera and Joe Farnsworth, vocalists Nina Simone, Irma Thomas and Nancy Wilson, pianist/composer Tad Dameron and more!!! We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Bessie Smith’s “Downhearted Blues” (1923), Kenny Dorham Septet’s “Blue Spring” (1959), Wynton Kelly’s “Kelly Blue” (1959), Stan Getz’ “Stan the Man” (1961, Cannonball Adderley/Bill Evans’ “Know What I Mean?” (1961), Pete Christlieb & Bob Cooper’s “Mosaic – Live” (1991) and many others through and out the week and Mondays thru Fridays at noon on our ‘JAZZ MASTERS’ program on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.
New Music Monday for February 17, 2020
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify 
Baltimore pianist Lafayette Harris Jr. is known for an energetic sense of rhythmic vitality, a tasty, full bodied musical approach to the keyboard, and a sensibility drenched in the blues. A staple at the Lenox Lounge in Harlem for a number of years as well as a member of various aggregations led by Max Roach, Harris’ new recording, “You Can’t Lose with the Blues,” reflects this experience as well as a myriad of influences, from boogie-woogie legend Sammy Price to Kenny Barron and Barry Harris, all of whom encouraged Lafayette as an up-and-coming player. Bassist Peter Washington brings a forceful sense of rhythm and lyrically rounded solos for the date and drummer Lewis Nash keeps the rhythms swinging strongly and as steady as a Swiss watch.
It’s a delight to hear three supremely talented musicians find common ground, especially considering it’s their first recording together. Pianist Tim Ray, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington have diverse styles, backgrounds and experiences. Ray is currently Tony Bennett’s musical director and a longtime road companion to Lyle Lovett. Patitucci initially made a name for himself with Chick Corea and has spent the better part of the last two decades with Wayne Shorter. Carrington, also with Shorter and a myriad of other great jazz artists, is at the vanguard of today’s drum corps. They come together on “Excursions and Adventures,” a powerful inaugural recording session for this trio that often transcends description with its gorgeous fidelity, colorful arrangements, and fabulous, nuanced performances.
Also this week, the exhilarating and exuberant Canadian trombonist Audrey Ochoa introduces strings into her previous configuration of horn, piano, bass and drums for “Frankenhorn,” a mix of chamber music with contemporary and Latin jazz;
The Airmen of Note from the United States Air Force celebrate their 70th anniversary with “Air Power.”
and with a sound reminiscent of small group swing from the ‘30s and ‘40s, violinist Jonathan Ng aims to get feet tapping with his sophomore release, “The Sphynx”.
Talking Pictures 2-12-20
The Two Popes and Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey plus post-Oscar thoughts with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Monica Schmidt.
Podcast (talkingpics): Play in new window | Download
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Culture Crawl 546 “Framed So You Can See The Grocery List”
Gilded Pear Gallery is bringing in the big guns for their next show, “Collector Showcase.” It will feature some of the best-known names in art history with connections to Cedar Rapids, including pieces by Grant Wood, Mauricio Lasansky, Conger Metcalf, Bertha Jaques, and Marvin Cone.
The Cone piece is the first time his work has been offered for sale locally in many years. And some of the Metcalf pieces include personal notes and reminders scrawled on the back. Including a grocery list!
Opening reception February 21 at 5pm at the Gallery. More information at www.gildedpeargallery.com.
Podcast (culturecrawl): Play in new window | Download
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This Week In Jazz February 9 thru February 15
Tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of bassist Walter Page, singer Roberta Flack, pianist Sir Roland Hannah, drummers Chick Webb Walter “Baby Sweets” Perkins and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of “Chet Baker Sings” (1954), Sonny Rollins’ “Freedom Suite” (1958), Art Blakey’s “Free for All” (1964), VanguardJazz Orchestra’s “Monday Night Live at the Vanguard” (2008) and many others through and out the week and Mondays thru Fridays at noon on our ‘JAZZ MASTERS’ program on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.