Culture Crawl 438 “Dennis Knows Every Verse”

Miera Kim and Carey Bostian of Red Cedar Chamber Music welcome back the founders of Red Cedar, Jan Boland and John Dowdall for a series of concerts entitled (appropriately) “Founders Return.”

The program will consist of some favorites from Jan and John’s years at Red Cedar, plus a few surprises, including a piece set to T.S. Eliot’s poem “Macavity, The Mystery Cat,” from the collection that inspired the famous musical. Coincidentally, “Macavity” also happens to be Dennis’s favorite poem!

Main concerts April 6th in Cedar Raids and April 7th in Iowa City, with a variety of outreach events around Eastern Iowa. Full schedule at www.redcedar.org.

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Culture Crawl 437 “Joyful Noises”

The biggest fundraiser of the year for Family Promise of Linn County, which supports homeless families, is “Joyful Noises,” a music event that brings together folk, classical, and jazz musicians. Event director Kay Galli and Family Promise board chair Tammy Stines say the event will be a fun variety, including the father-daughter duo of Steve and Vivian Shanley, the Schultz String Quartet, the Iowa Accordian Club, Jonny Lipford, and more.

And emceed by KCCK’s Ron Adkins.

Saturday, April 6 at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids. Doors open at 6 for refreshments and a silent auction. Music begins at 7. No admission charge, just a free-will offering at the door. Visit www.familypromiseoflinncounty.org for more information.

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Clean Up Your Act 4-16-19

The NRDC says flooding in Iowa and Nebraska has climate change’s fingerprints all over it.

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Talking Pictures 3-27-19

Captain Marvel and Us with Hollis Monroe, Denny Lynch and Monica Schmidt.

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Culture Crawl 436 “It’s a Spectaculathon!”

“The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon” works all 209 Brothers Grimm fables into one 2-hour show, coming up at RHCR Theatre in Cedar Rapids as a part of their Youth Theatre series. The cast of 20 young people race through familiar tales like Cinderella and Snow White, to bizarre and obscure stories like The Girl Without Hands and The Devil’s Grandmother.

Director Jeremy Eble and cast members Lauren Ulveling and Chase Ralston give Dennis the highlights.

April 5-7 and 12-13. Information and tickets at www.rhcrtheatre.com.

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This Week In Jazz March 24th thru March 30th

This Week In Jazz:

Hey, Jazz fans!!!

Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of vocalists King Pleasure, Frankie Laine, Astrud Gilberto, Stacey Kent and the Divine Ms. Sarah Vaughan, saxmen Ben Webster, James Moody, and Matt Catingub, and Lanny Morgan, bassists Steve LaSpina, Victor Bailey, Larry Gales and more!!! We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Duke Ellington’s Seattle Concert (1952), Kenny Dorham’s “Afro-Cuban” (1955), Cannonball Adderley’s “Them Dirty Blues” (1960), and many more throughout the week and Mondays thru Fridays at noon on our ‘JAZZ MASTERS’ program on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.

Special Programs for March 25 thru March 30

Short List with host Bob Naujoks

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

Galloping Guitars: Larry Koonse

Larry Koonse considers himself a “late bloomer” in the jazz world, even though he has performed and recorded with hundreds of artists. For several years, he collaborated with saxman John Dankworth and his wife Cleo Laine, and has enjoyed a long association with the Billy Childs Chamber Sextet.

Jazz Corner of the World with host Craig Kessler

Mondays at 6:00 PM

Great Bands of the 1970’s – Keith Jarrett

Craig revisits a key cog in the music of the 1970’s. We’ll hear records led by Jarrett on Atlantic, ECM, Impulse!, and Columbia labels. We’ll hear Jarrett’s “American Quartet,” the “European Quartet,” solos, duos, and in other settings. It’s hard to imagine jazz in the 1970’s without the exciting new sounds and ideas from this firebrand pianist, saxophonist, percussionist, and composer.

Wednesday Night Special

Wednesdays at 6:00 PM

Roswell Rudd’s Trombone Tribe at the IC Jazz Festival

Virtuoso Roswell Rudd and his Trombone Tribe took the Iowa City Jazz Festival on a guided tour of jazz. Since the beginning, the trombone has been the backbone of the jazz band, and the UI Pentacrest crowd was treated to every style from every hotspot, all performed with Rudd’s infectious energy.

Jazz Night in America with host Christian McBride

Thursdays at 11:00 PM

Allison Miller’s “Melodic Drumming”

Allison Miller skillfully demonstrates the concept of “melodic drumming” — using her drums and cymbals – also a Duke Ellington tune, and a new piece of technology. Featured is Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom, recorded live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.

Jazz Corner of the World with host Craig Kessler

Saturdays at Noon

CTI Records in 1970

Craig looks back 49 years at Creed Taylor’s famous jazz label. We’ll hear classics from Freddie Hubbard, Bill Evans, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joe Farrell, Stanley Turrentine, Hubert Laws, and others.

KCCK’s Midnight CD

The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:

http://www.kcck.org/midnight-cd/

New Music Monday for March 25, 2019

Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.

One of the most acclaimed trombonists of his generation, Steve Davis has been a member of some of jazz’s premiere ensembles: Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Chick Corea’s Origins, the Jackie McLean Sextet, Benny Golson’s New Jazztet, the Christian McBride Big Band, and the all-star collective One for All. He graduated from the Hartt School’s Jackie McLean Institute at the University of Hartford, studying under Mr. McLean, and has now been on the faculty there since 1991. The sextet members on his new CD, “Correlations,” all have ties to McLean. Pianist Xavier Davis, bassist Dezron Douglas and saxophonist Wayne Escoffery all studied directly with McLean. Trumpeter Josh Bruneau and drummer Jonathan Barber both entered the program later, with all of them benefiting from the tutelage of the trombonist.

In his impressive career, vibraphonist and drummer Chuck Redd has performed alongside many legendary musicians—Charlie Byrd, Mel Torme, Dizzy Gillespie, and Monty Alexander among them. Noted by the Washington Post for his “melodic sparkle,” and praised by Jazz Times for his “exquisite” work on the vibes, Redd now releases his sixth album as a leader, “Groove City.” He’s joined by a stellar cast of players: John DiMartino on piano, Nicki Parrott on bass, Lewis Nash on drums, and Jerry Weldon on tenor sax.

Also this week, U.K. musicians Claire Martin and Jim Mullen offer up “Bumpin’: Celebrating Wes Montgomery,” paying homage to the iconic guitarist with classic Montgomery melodies and some of the standards he was known to play;

Drummer Alvin Queen pays tribute to band mate and friend Oscar Peterson with “OP”

and pianist/composer David Berkman explores the rich orchestral colors possible in his three-woodwind sextet on “Six of One.”