“Tales of Hemingway” continues this season’s spotlight on women performers and composers with “My Name is Amanda Todd” by Jocelyn Morlock, inspired by a real-life tragedy brought on by cyber-bullying. The title song on the program is a Grammy-winning work by Cedar Rapids native Michael Daugherty, featuring cellist Zuill Bailey, who performed the piece on the CD that won the award!
Tim did not know Michael was from Cedar Rapids at the time he came to Orchestra Iowa, and tells the story of his shock when he bumped into the world-renown composer at KCCK’s Jazz Under the Stars.
On February 23, Orchestra Iowa presents a tribute to David Bowie, featuring a full rock band.
The week that we recorded the Corridor Jazz Project sessions was (we think) the last time that students actually went to school for a full week!
Take 5 minutes of your snow day and watch Prairie High School Jazz One, in its first year under the direction of Charles Oldenkamp, performing “The Sweetest Sounds,” with guest soloist Tye Male, saxophone.
Tye is Community Groups Pastor at New Covenant Bible Church, where he can also be heard occasionally on sax, and also regularly performs with the CR Jazz Big Band.
The Mt. Vernon Swingin’ STANGS version of “Harlem Nocturne” is straight out of a 60’s cop show.
Featured guest artist is Laura Saylor, trading solos with Mt. Vernon’s Lily Cripe.
Special thanks to drummer Tim Crumley, who stepped in at the last minute when the band’s drummer couldn’t get back in time from an overseas trip, to save the session!
Thelma Carpenter’s roots were in the Big Band Era, and her resume included stints with Teddy Wilson, Coleman Hawkins, and Count Basie. She became an attraction in New York nightclubs and later found work in films and on Broadway. She broke the color line in radio in 1945, becoming the first African-American singer as a permanent cast member on Eddie Cantor’s program.
Jazz Corner of the World with host Craig Kessler
Mondays at 6:00 PM
Chronological Andrew Hill, Part Two
Craig continues his listen back to the artistry of pianist and composer, Andrew Hill. This week, he picks up with a January 8, 1964 session that became the Blue Note release “Judgement!”, then moves on to Hill’s mid-1960’s recordings.
Wednesday Night Special
Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
Jarrett Purdy Project at the Opus Concert Café
Pianist and bandleader Jarrett Purdy unites talented musicians from the jazz programs of the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa into a tight, cohesive group. They brought their repertoire of both contemporary and traditional styles to the Opus Concert Café. It was a show full of energy and original sound.
.
Jazz Night in America with host Christian McBride
Thursdays at 11:00 PM
Crosscurrents
“Virtuosity” might best describe the bridge between David Holland and Zakir Hussain. But there’s also a deep cultural foundation behind their musical dialogue, which forms the beating heart of a project called Crosscurrents.
Jazz Corner of the World with host Craig Kessler
Saturdays at Noon
Herbie Nichols Centennial Celebration
Craig celebrates the 100th birthday of one of the all-time jazz greats – pianist and composer Herbie Nichols. Hear selections from recordings that Herbie made for Blue Note, Savoy, and Bethlehem Records, as well as some modern-day artists re-interpreting a variety of Herbie’s compositions.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:
Today’s featured Corridor Jazz video is Xavier High School Jazz Band One’s swinging take on “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” with Blake Shaw lending his bass and voice to the effort. The tune begins with a little duet featuring Blake and Xavier’s Ben Trachta, with a tasty sax solo from Sean Deegan in the middle. Directed by Kelli Swehla.
Over the past ten years, Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom has established itself as one of the most consistently inventive and hardest working bands in modern jazz. Fronted by the extraordinary drummer and composer Allison Miller and featuring violinist Jenny Scheinman, cornetist Kirk Knuffke, clarinetist Ben Goldberg, bassist Todd Sickafoose and pianist Myra Melford, the sextet has been embraced by both fans and music cognoscenti alike, regularly performing sold out shows and garnering critical praise around the world. The Wall Street Journal declared, “Boom Tic Boom has a razor-sharp precision that recalls classic drummer-led ensembles of 50 years ago—the music of Art Blakey, Art Taylor and Max Roach come to mind—but Ms. Miller’s band works from a diverse sonic palette that is unmistakably contemporary.” Their new CD, “Glitter Wolf,” was inspired by the collective need for community and self-acceptance in an incredibly unpredictable time.
Joe Lovano, widely acknowledged as one of the great tenor saxophonists of our time, has been a presence on ECM Records since 1981, appearing on key recordings with Paul Motian, Steve Kuhn, John Abercrombie and Marc Johnson. “Trio Tapestry,” introducing a new group with pianist Marilyn Crispell and drummer Carmen Castaldi, is his first as a leader for the label. An album of focused intensity and expressive beauty, it features a program of eleven new compositions that Joe calls “some of the most intimate and personal music I’ve recorded so far.” It draws upon Lovano’s history and development as a player who has addressed both jazz tradition and exploratory improvisation.
Also this week, trumpeter Ralph Alessi’s third recording for ECM, “Imaginary Friends,” presents him fronting his longtime working quintet in its first recording since 2010;
Downbeat Rising Star vibraphonist Behn Gillece investigates the parallax of perspectives created by the individual approaches of introversion and extroversion which comprise the “Parallel Universe”;
and saxophonist Ken Fowser is supported by an all-star group, including organist Brian Charette, guitarist Ed Cherry, trombonist Steve Davis and trumpeter Joe Magnarelli on “Right On Time.”
Short List with host Bob Naujoks 
Wednesday Night Special
Jazz Corner of the World with host Craig Kessler
Listen to this week’s playlist on 
