Hey, Jazz fans!!! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of drummers Sid Catlett, Jimmy Cobb and Jeff “Tain” Watts, vocalists Anita Baker, Irene Kral and Lizz Wright, keyboardists Horace Parlan and Russell Ferrante, trumpeter Ray Anthony and more!!! We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Miles Davis’ “Birth of the Cool” (1949), “Sonny Rollins w/ The Modern Jazz Quartet” (1953), “Clifford Brown with Strings” (1955), “Larry Young in Paris: The ORTF Recordings” (1965), Joe Lovano “Quartets at the Village Vanguard” (1995), Greg Osby’s “St. Louis Shoes” (2003) and many others throughout the week and Mondays thru Fridays at noon on our ‘ MASTERS’ program on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.
This Week In Jazz January 17 thru January 23
New Music Monday for January 18, 2021
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
At only 30-years-old, pianist Emmet Cohen—the winner of the American Pianists Association’s 2019 Cole Porter Fellowship—has made a name for himself performing and recording with jazz masters Jimmy Cobb, Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Tootie Heath and George Coleman, among others. On his new album, “Future Stride,” Cohen revisits jazz’s earliest forms through a progressive lens. The disc features bassist Russell Hall, drummer Kyle Poole, trumpeter Marquis Hill and saxophonist Melissa Aldana.
Cory Weeds delivers a blistering set of Italian-themed tunes backed up by one of the pre-eminent organ bands in jazz today on “O Sole Mio!” The results speak for themselves: swinging bop lines, crackling rhythm section accompaniment and interaction, and an ensemble sound that underscores the values of swing and groove. A carefully selected set of compositions celebrates, through reinvention and interpretation, some great Italian music as well as compositions taken from the rich history of contributions that Italian-Americans have brought to jazz and the Great American Songbook. Cory is joined in this endeavor by saxophonist Eric Alexander, organist Mike LeDonne, guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Joe Farnsworth.
Also this week, Posi-Tone Records offers up another group of “New Faces,” an ensemble of emerging artists providing a vision into a brighter tomorrow;
guitarist Charlie Apicella and his trio pay tribute to some of the classic 1950s and ‘60s guitar albums from Charlie’s collection on “Classic Guitar”;
and The Grasso-Ravita Jazz Ensemble, led by guitarist Skip Grasso and bassist Phil Ravita, presents a program of original compositions on “Jagged Spaces.”
Special Programs for January 18 thru January 23
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 its look at jazz tunes that became popular hits. This week, host Bob Naujoks visits songs that scored high on the pop charts Tune in to hear songs and stories from Herb Alpert and “Taste Of Honey,” Ray Anthony and “Peter Gunn,” Peggy Lee’s “Fever,” Dick Hyman and “Three-Penny Opera,” and Cannonball Adderley’s cover of “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.”
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Mondays at 6:00 PM
Tribute to Stanley Cowell
Craig celebrates the wonderful career of one of his favorite figures in jazz – Stanley Cowell – who has recently passed at the age of 79. In this first of two shows, we’ll hear great records featuring Cowell as a side man … performances with Bobby Hutcherson, Sonny Fortune, Max Roach, Art Pepper, Gary Bartz, and many more.
The Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
Chris Vadala at Kirkwood
KCCK’s Bob Stewart hosts a night with woodwind legend Chris Vadala. He joined the Kirkwood Jazz Ensemble and the CR Jazz Big Band for two outstanding sets of standards and Vadala’s own originals. Vadala, who passed away this week in 2019, jammed with hundreds of jazz greats. He was Chuck Mangione’s saxman for many years, including on the classic Feel So Good album.
Jazz Night in America with host Christian McBride
Thursdays at 11:00 PM
More Bucket List Newport
Host Christian McBride returns to Rhode Island for more from the Newport Jazz Festival archives. Featured are some real gems, including performances from Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan in her prime, Cannonball Adderley, and later-years sets from Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Saturdays at 12:00 Noon
Pacific Jazz 1962 & 1963
The end of the 1950s signaled the quick fade of West Coast jazz’s popularity. In a pre-emptive move, Pacific Jazz Records made a surprising “right turn,” and began recording artists that would later be considered purveyors of the ‘new’ genre of “soul jazz,” featuring organists, guitarists, and new styles of modern jazz. Craig spins groovy tunes from the likes of Joe Pass, Groove Holmes, Carmell Jones, Curtis Amy, and a flock of other great players. It’s gonna be great!
KCCK’s Midnight CD
Every Night at Midnight
Each night, KCCK gives you the chance to hear a new CD played start-to-finish.
Love, Dad by the Larry Newcomb Quartet on Monday; The Astoria Suite by David Detweiler on Tuesday; Bud Powell in the 21st Century by Ethan Iverson on Wednesday; Flash of the Spirit by Santi Debriano on Thursday; Legacy by A Band Called Sam on Friday; Heart on the Line by Vanessa Collier on Saturday; More Than Another Day by Lisa Hilton on Sunday
Culture Crawl 613 “Hang With Them Just Fine”
Mirrorbox Theatre has 40 readings of brand-new plays scheduled for 2021, as what started as a temporary response to the pandemic has become an important outreach for Mirrorbox and the entire Iowa performing community.
Mirrorbox Director Cavan Hallman reflects on year of “Out The Box” and previews “Best Life,” a time-twisting new script, premiering Jan. 15.
Details at www.mirrorboxtheatre.com.
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Talking Pictures 1-13-21
The Midnight Sky (Netflix 2020) and The Sherlock Holmes Collection (Matt Frewer) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Ron Adkins.
Podcast (talkingpics): Play in new window | Download
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This Week In Jazz January 10 thru January 16
Hey, Jazz fans!!! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of drummers Max Roach, Osie Johnson, Grady Tate and Gene Krupa, trombonists Melba Liston, Willie Denis and Bob Enevoldsen, singer Allen Toussant, guitarist Joe Pass and more!!! We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Benny Goodman’s Carnegie Hall Concert (1938), Gene Ammons All Star Sessions with Sonny Stitt (1951), The Modern Jazz Quartet’s “Pyramid” (1960), Pharaoh Sanders’ “Thembi” (1971), Weather Report Live in Tokyo (1972), Melvin Sparks’ “This Is It!” (2004) and many others throughout the week and Mondays thru Fridays at noon on our ‘MASTERS’ program on Jazz 88.3 KCCK!!!
New Music Monday for January 11, 2021
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
The effects of the bebop revolution in jazz music are still being felt and explored. Of the half dozen true pioneers of the movement, pianist Bud Powell has remained somewhat in the shadows, although his work has become a major touchstone for true devotees of the music and a principal influence for most of jazz’s most explorative pianists. Powell’s brilliant original compositions are essential, infinitely listenable but also strangely tricky. And the composer neglected to perform them much after their original recordings. Pianist and historian Ethan Iverson provides a fantastic validation of Powell’s compositional genius on his new recording, “Bud Powell in the 21st Century,” a reworking of a number of Powell’s pieces for big band.
“Flash of the Spirit” is the dynamic new album from renowned bassist, guitarist and composer Santi Debriano. As an ethnomusicology graduate student at Wesleyan University, Debriano read Robert Farris Thompson’s “Flash of the Spirit.” For Debriano, the book provoked a revelatory question: To what extent have African traditions and customs been retained by contemporary Black cultures throughout the Americas? The record is exactly how a musician like Debriano reconciles the dilemma of feeling tied to several worlds and artistic traditions at once. Because it shows everyone in all of those communities—from Brooklyn to his place of residence, Staten Island, to the Black communities of Panama—Debriano’s essence. It is the flash of his spirit.
Also this week, guitarist Larry Newcomb is joined by his bassist son Jake on “Love, Dad”;
saxophonist, composer and educator David Detweiler, who’s on the jazz faculty at Florida State University, releases his third album as a leader, “The Astoria Suite”;
and “More Than Another Day” is the latest offering from composer and pianist Lisa Hilton, featuring her longstanding band mates Rudy Royston and Luques Curtis.
Special Programs for January 11 thru January 15
Short List with host Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturdays at 7 AM
The Short List: “The Hits”
The Short List continues its look at jazz tunes that became popular hits. This week, host Bob Naujoks visits songs that scored high on the pop charts and have become party of Great American Songbook. Tune in to hear songs and stories from Al Hirt’s “Java,” Al Hibbler’s “Unchained Melody,” Ray Charles’s “Busted,” Ramsey Lewis’s “The ‘In’ Crowd,” and Bobby Darin’s “Beyond the Sea.”
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Mondays at 6:00 PM
Gary Peacock with the Standards Trio
To celebrate more of the astonishing career of Gary Peacock, Craig will give us a delightful sampling of Jarrett’s trio with Gary Peacock on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums (spanning 26 years, from 1983 to 2009). Don’t miss it!
The Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
Jazz in the Stacks: The Music of Pat Metheny
Join drummer Dennis McPartland and a hand-picked band of Eastern Iowa’s best musicians at the Cedar Rapids Public Library’s Whipple Auditorium for the 2016 Jazz In The Stacks. McPartland, along with Joe Perea, Ian Draves, Denny Redmond, Peter Hart, and Dan Towey present the Music of Pat Metheny. Narrated by KCCK’s Ron Adkins, it’s a full night of stories and songs from the Pat Metheny songbook.
Jazz Night in America with host Christian McBride
Thursdays at 11:00 PM
Newport’s Legendary Early Years
Host Christian McBride takes us back in time to the early years of the Newport Jazz Festival. We’ll hear the history of how Rhode Island became a destination for great jazz. We also get to listen back to some legendary sets, hand-picked by McBride himself, from the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Clifford Brown with Max Roach, and Horace Silver.
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Saturdays at 12:00 Noon
Tribute to Stanley Cowell
Craig celebrates the wonderful career of one of his favorite figures in jazz – Stanley Cowell – who has recently passed at the age of 79. In this first of two shows, we’ll hear great records featuring Cowell as a side man … performances with Bobby Hutcherson, Sonny Fortune, Max Roach, Art Pepper, Gary Bartz, and many more.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
Every Night at Midnight
Each night, KCCK gives you the chance to hear a new CD played start-to-finish.
Roots – Tales of the Urban Yoda by Joe Bowden on Monday; Bridges by Jesse Ryan on Tuesday; Talking Drums by Bobby Wiens on Wednesday; 49th Parallel by the Neil Swainson Quintet on Thursday; Mississippi Suitcase by Peter Parcek on Friday; Can’t Change It by The Mystix on Saturday; The Planets: Reimagined by the Jeremy Levy Jazz Orchestra on Sunday