The KCCK Featured CD for February is “Jazz Party” from Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra. For the better part of a decade, the acclaimed trombonist and composer has spent most Wednesday nights at the helm of this dynamic band’s residency at Snug Harbor in New Orleans. The ensemble features some of the Crescent City’s finest musicians including members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The U.J.O.’s second studio recording captures the quintessential New Orleans spirit and arrives just in time for this month’s Mardi Gras celebrations. “Jazz Party” is from Troubadour Jass Records. Purchase the CD.
KCCK’s Featured CD for February 2020
Talking Pictures 1-29-20
Parasite, Kissing Jessica Stein and The Turning with Hollis Monroe, Ron Adkins and Phil Brown.
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Culture Crawl 543 “The Penguins Were Unimpressed”
Orchestra Iowa’s Tim Hankewich went south for his holiday break. But farther south than most, Antarctica. He’s still on a bit of a high from his trip, and gives us some highlights, before telling the story behind the upcoming concert. It’s the first in a series of concerts celebrating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. Tim says Beethoven’s 7th Symphony is his personal favorite.
Also on the program is a Sibelius concerto featuring one of today’s pre-eminent violinists, Bella Hristova. He also describes the personal connection to Cedar Rapids this week’s guest concertmaster has.
Jan. 31 at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, Feb. 1 at the Paramount Theater. 7:30 both nights with a pre-concert talk an hour before downbeat. Tickets and more information at www.orchestraiowa.org.
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Special Programs for January 27 thru February 1
Short List with host Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturdays at 7 AM
Bob’s Baker’s Dozen: Horn Bands
A couple of “horn bands” – Blood, Sweat, & Tears and Chicago – are Bob Naujoks’ favorite rock stylists because of their strong brass counterpoints. David Clayton-Thomas was distinctive for B-S-&-T, as was bassist-vocalist Peter Cetera for Chicago.
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Mondays at 6:00 PM
John Coltrane in 1960
Craig travels back 60 years to look in on the recorded output of saxophonist John Coltrane in 1960. We’ll hear live material that features Coltrane in Miles’ band, as well as more studio material from Atlantic Records and Roulette Records.
The Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
Ritmocano at ICJF 2015
With the recent release of their latest album, Iowa Friends, Cuban Music, now is a great time to revisit Ritmocano’s standout performance at the Iowa City Jazz Festival. Led by master percussionist James Dreier, this hot Latin music ensemble features a who’s who of Eastern Iowa talent.
Jazz Night In America with Host Christian McBride
Thursdays at 11:00 PM
Wayne Shorter with the JACL
Legendary saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter joins the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for a deep listen to some of his greatest works. Host Christian McBride sits down the Shorter to discuss Shorter’s long and storied career, as well as stories behind his most memorable compositions.
Jazz Corner of the World with Host Craig Kessler
Saturdays at 12:00 Noon
Tribute to Jimmy Heath
Craig celebrates the life and legacy of the recently departed NEA Jazz Master, saxophonist Jimmy Heath. We’ll hear key selections from his numerous recording sessions as a leader (mostly for Riverside Records), as well as some sideman sessions for a variety of jazz giants like Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, J.J.Johnson, Milt Jackson, and many others. Tune in to experience the greatness of his sax work, his composing, and his arranging.
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:
Brain Scan by Brian Scanlon on Monday; Haymarket Station by Aaron Stroessner Quartet on Tuesday; One Note at a Time by the Erik Jekabson Sextet on Wednesday; Jazz Party by Delfeayo Marsalis Uptown Jazz Orchestra on Thursday; Ice Cream in Hell by Tinsley Ellis on Friday; The Juice Glove by G Love on Saturday; Nocturnal Animals (Disc 2) by Yelena Eckemoff on Sunday.
This Week In Jazz January 26 thru February 1
Hey, Jazz fans!!! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of violinist Stephane Grapelli, songwriters Jimmy Van Heusen & Jerome Kern, trumpeter/singer Hot Lips Page, trumpeter Roy Eldridge, pianist/vibist Buddy Montgomery and more!!! We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of “Anita O’Day Sings the Most” (1957), Hampton Hawes’ “Four!” (1958), “The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery” (1960), Cannonball Adderley & Bill Evans’ “Know What I Mean?” (1961), “Ahmad Jamal & Gary Burton – In Concert” (1981) 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 January 27, 2020
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
How do you make a comeback to a music scene that has gone through so many radical changes since your departure? The answer, as Christopher Hollyday has discovered, involves a combination of focus, perseverance, and the will to keep moving forward. In 1993, after releasing four well-regarded albums for the RCA/Novus label and touring the world for more than 200 nights a year, Novus closed for business. At age 23, the saxophonist went back to school, got married, moved to San Diego and taught school for 25 years. He started performing again in 2013 and recorded his first album in 26 years in 2018. “Dialogue” is the eagerly-awaited second chapter of Hollyday’s comeback.
Guitarist and composer Albare was born in Morocco and grew up in Israel and France. Although he studied at the musical conservatory in his hometown in Israel for two years starting at age 8, he was mostly self-taught. These days, as Albare has lost his central vision faculties due to a genetic illness, his playing is completely by ear. In 1972, he discovered the sound of Tom Jobim while watching Marcel Camus’ cult film, “Orpheus Negro.” The haunting melodies and unique compositions left a profound impression on the young guitarist and inspired Albare to study and play the melodic style for which he is now known. For his 12th album as a leader, “Albare Plays Jobim.”
Also this week, reedman Eric Alexander is backed by three of his favorite colleagues and the lush sounds of a string orchestra, bringing his lyrical side to the fore on “Eric Alexander with Strings”;
guitarist and New York native Frank Kohl, who is now a fixture on the Seattle jazz scene, unveils his fifth disc as a leader, “The Crossing”;
and pianist Aaron Diehl’s new CD, “The Vagabond,” is thoroughly a jazz recording with clear references made to his background and simultaneous career as a classical performer.
First Friday Jazz February 7
The Corridor Quintet – comprised of students from City High, West High, Cedar Falls, and Cedar Rapids Washington – will perform at First Friday Jazz at the Opus Concert Cafe Friday, February 7, 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 .
Talking Pictures 1-22-20
1917, Uncut Gems, Underwater with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Monica Schmidt.
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