The University of Iowa Theatre program presents Oscar Wilde’s classic farce, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” June 15-25. A comedy set against the backdrop of the rigid social structures of Nineteenth Century Britain, the play is both social commentary but also set up many of the comedic rules and structures that we see in plays, TV, and movies to this day.
Best of all, all tickets are free! Details at www.iowasummerrep.com.
Short List with Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
Short List: Jazz Women – The Instrumentalists (Jennifer Leitham)
Jennifer Leitham
Jennifer Leitham is an outstanding bassist and has played with a host of top names in jazz: George Shearing, Woody Herman, Gerry Mulligan, Bill Watrous and Benny Carter. For the past few years she has had her own well reviewed trio. There is one unique thing about Jennifer, and that is she is a left-handed bass player. She is also a person who transitioned from being John to her more comfortable life as Jennifer.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
“Blue Note Records In 1967 – Part Two”
Craig travels back 50 years to continue his look at Blue Note Records during 1967. We’ll hear choice selections from Andrew Hill, The 3 Sounds, Bobby Hutcherson, Tyrone Washington, Jack Wilson, Larry Young, McCoy Tyner, and many others. Don’t miss this classic array of gems from the ever-changing jazz scene of the late 1960s!!
Night Lights (Classic Jazz) with David Brent Johnson
Monday, 10:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Corner the World) 
Night Lights, is a weekly one-hour jazz radio program hosted by David Brent Johnson, focusing on jazz from the 1945-1990 era—covering artists such as Jackie McLean, Charles Mingus, and Nina Simone and themes ranging from jazz recordings of spirituals to avant-garde interpretations of the Great American Songbook. Night Lights also features many lesser-known talents of post-1945 jazz. Every program is archived after broadcast for online listening. This week: “1961: New Jazz Frontier”.
www.indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/archives/2017
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 11:00 PM (follows Nightlights)
Paul Desmond: ‘The Sound of a Dry Martini’
Paul Desmond
Alto saxophonist Paul Desmond’s airy tone was just one aspect of his great artistry. He was a wholly original improviser whose unfailing lyricism, clear logic, and advanced harmonic sense produced some of the finest solos on record. Many of these solos were recorded during his long association with pianist Dave Brubeck. Their chemistry led to enormous success during the ’50s and ’60s, including one of the most popular jazz recordings of all-time — Desmond’s “Take Five.”
Wednesday Night Special
6:00 PM
Highlights from the 2016 Iowa City Jazz Festival: Edmar Castaneda Trio
Edmar Castaneda Trio at the 2016 Iowa City Jazz Festival
Edmar Castaneda, the Colombian harp player is arguably one of the most original players hailing from the Big Apple. Castaneda pursued jazz trumpet once moving to New York from Bogota; but, he soon realized that he wanted to apply the jazz techniques he had learned to his original instrument, the harp. The harp has been utilized in jazz improvisation before by players like Dorothy Ashby, Zeena Parkins, and a few others, but is definitely an outlier where jazz instruments are concerned
Edmar Castaneda currently has four albums out, the latest being released in 2015, “Edmar Castaneda World Ensemble: Live At the Jazz Standard.”
In 2012, Castaneda produced an album featuring Miguel Zenon, “Double Portion.” Castaneda uses an assortment of influences like joropo, Latin, tango, Brazilian, and flamenco vibes to create his music. He has comprised a talented trio, but you may be surprised what he accomplishes on his harp alone. He plays lead melodies, harmonizes, lays down bass lines, and even adds rhythmic depth to the trio.
Paquito D’Rivera, Edmar’s frequent collaborator, describes him as “an enormous talent. With his versatility and enchanting charisma, he has taken his harp out of the shadows, and become one of the most original musicians in the Big Apple.”
Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Thursday at 11:00 PM
Gary Burton Retires
Gary Burton
Gary Burton’s final stop on his farewell tour was at the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis, Indiana — Gary’s home state. The master vibraphonist has retired from music on his own terms and in the comfort of playing duets with his pianist of three decades, Makoto Ozone. This episode Jazz Night in America features music recorded at The Jazz Kitchen, Burton in conversation with WBGO’s Nate Chinen, and words from some his closest friends and colleagues.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM and Monday, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
“The Piano Artistry of Malcolm Earl ‘Mal’ Waldron” 
Craig examines the 50 year career of the brilliant pianist who began working in jazz in 1950. We’ll hear solo and group recordings under Mal’s name, as well as a number of classics featuring his piano work with John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Jackie McLean, and many others. Waldron was a true “jazz original”, who remains overlooked and underappreciated!
Tropical Heat (hosted by Kpoti Senam Accoh)
Sunday, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Featured Album: “Exchange” by The JuJu 
Nico Segal, the Social Experiment member formerly known as Donnie Trumpet, has a new band called The JuJu. The Chicago quartet is a jazzy instrumental outfit that features pianist Julian Reid, bassist and former Kids These Days member Lane Beckstrom, and Julian’s brother Everett on drums.Today, they’ve released their debut album, Exchange.The record features additional production from Chance the Rapper collaborator Nate Fox, who mixed and recorded the effort alongside Segal. Jamila Woods also features on a track called “We Good”.
“It’s not like we’re trying really hard to make a jazz album,” Segal explained to Noisey. “Yes, if we’re putting an iTunes description on it we’ll call it jazz, but it’s really nothing like anything we’ve ever made—all four of us.” He also added, “We tried bringing to light the fact that instruments can produce sounds that people, one, want to listen to and, two, can remember and sing forever in the same way that their favorite vocalist can do.”
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
For an incredible eight decades now, feisty vibraphonist and jazz icon Terry Gibbs has demonstrated the sheer joy of performing. In performance, he behaves like an exuberant fan of his own band, cheering them on, punctuating arrangements and solos with non-verbal interjections. His spirit was cultivated over the years, having played in significant jazz eras with the formative giants of the genre, including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman. The same spirit is in abundance on “92 Years Young: Jammin’ at the Gibbs House,” a collection of songs recorded live in Gibbs’ living room. Terry’s son, Gerry, leads the ensemble backing Terry, whose tone is impeccable and whose energy belies his senior status.
Drummer Louis Hayes, who turned 80-years-old this May, has performed over the years with such jazz titans as Cannonball Adderly, John Coltrane, Oscar Peterson and Freddie Hubbard. When he moved to New York in 1956 at age 19, he was introduced to the jazz world as the driving force in the legendary Horace Silver Quintet, in which he would spend three years, appearing on a string of classic Blue Note albums. Now for his label debut as a leader for the label, Hayes pays tribute to his former boss with “Serenade for Horace,” putting his own spin on a program of Silver compositions.
Also this week, Mats Holmquist leads the Latvian Radio Big Band, with special guests Dick Oatts and Randy Brecker, on “Big Band Minimalism”.
Japanese pianist and composer Yoko Miwa offers up her fifth disc as a leader, “Pathways”.
Pianist Theo Hill unveils his sophomore effort, “Promethean.”
Riverside Theatre Summer in Lower City Park opens June 9, with two plays. “Macbeth,” the well-known Shakespearean tragedy (which theatre folk do not refer to by title, because it’s supposed to be bad luck), is the first of two plays being staged. The setting and costumes for the show are inspired by World War I, including heavy wool greatcoats in an Iowa summer.
The other play, “Bomb-itty of Errors,” incorporates soul and hip-hop in a hilarious retelling of “The Comedy of Errors.”
Director Sean Lewis talks about keeping The Bard relevant in today’s society.
Details and tickets at www.riversidetheatre.org.
Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre performs “Speed Dating Tonight!” a new comic opera.
Composed by Michael Ching, who coincidentally recently moved to Ames, Iowa, it’s a series of vignettes set against the backdrop of… you guessed it, speed dating. Stage director Marina Bergenstock says Ching also worked with the production on some changes that make this a truly original show.
June 15-17 at the Peggy Whitworth Amphitheater at Brucemore. Tickets at www.brucemore.org. Or you can also visit Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre at www.cr-opera.org.
Wonder Woman and Captain Underpants with George Dorman, Denny Lynch and Phil Brown.
Short List with Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
Short List: Jazz Women – The Instrumentalists (Clora Bryant)
Clora Bryant
Clora Bryant is a long-lived, but obscure Los Angeles female trumpet player. Clora Bryant was born in Denton, Texas, Attended Prairie View College where she was an outstanding musician with the Prairie View Coeds big band. As a young woman, Clora Bryant moved to L.A. to be with her dad who was working in the shipyards during World War Two. She attended UCLA but also gigged on weekends. And then became part of the Central Avenue jazz scene. A couple of defining moments were discovering Dizzy Gillespie who became a mentor, and playing with Charlie Parker at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach. Bryant only had one opportunity to record, but that 1957 recording shows her abilities.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
“The Art of Miles Dewey Davis III — Studio Recordings 1969 – 1974, Part Two”
Craig continues his chronological examination of rarities and obscurities from Miles’ “fusion era” studio recordings. Last week we heard exceptional studio music from November, 1968 to August, 1969. This week, we take up our project again in August of 1969, and continue on into early 1970. I will again stress that this is arguably some of the most wondrous and incredible music to come out of the 20th century!! Join me for a truly ear-opening experience!
Night Lights (Classic Jazz) with David Brent Johnson
Monday, 10:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Corner the World) 
Night Lights, is a weekly one-hour jazz radio program hosted by David Brent Johnson, focusing on jazz from the 1945-1990 era—covering artists such as Jackie McLean, Charles Mingus, and Nina Simone and themes ranging from jazz recordings of spirituals to avant-garde interpretations of the Great American Songbook. Night Lights also features many lesser-known talents of post-1945 jazz. Every program is archived after broadcast for online listening. This week: “Ready For Freddie Redd”.
www.indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/archives/2017
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 11:00 PM (follows Nightlights)
Hoagy Carmichael: ‘Stardust Melodies‘ 
Hoagy Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. His best-known songs are now American standards, and include “Stardust,” “Georgia on My Mind,” and “Heart and Soul.” Carmichael’s career lasted four decades, and he penned hundreds of songs.
Wednesday Night Special
6:00 PM
Highlights from the 2016 Iowa City Jazz Festival: Larry Fuller Trio
Larry Fuller Trio at the 2016 Iowa City Jazz Festival
In anticipation of the 2017 Iowa City Jazz Festival June 30 – July 2, we revisit one of the many wonderful Main Stage performances from last year’s festival.
Larry Fuller is a world-class jazz pianist known to “swing like a beast”. Now based in New York City, Fuller began his professional musical career at age 13 in Toledo, Ohio. In his early 20’s, Fuller’s undeniable talent earned him the position of musical director and pianist for Grammy-nominated vocalist Ernestine Anderson. He then joined renowned drummer Jeff Hamilton’s Trio before gaining the honor of manning the keys as the legendary Ray Brown Trio’s final pianist. Of Fuller, Ray Brown said: “He brings vitality! He swings hard and I like that”.
Today, Fuller leads his own trio, receiving consistent praise for his versatile performances. His recently released self-titled album (with bassist Hassan Shakur and drummer Gregory Hutchinson) has garnered much critical and fan-based acclaim.
“In his amazing gossamer piano solos he sprinkles stardust on whatever song he plays, you hold your breath in wonder.” – The New York Times
Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Thursday at 11:00 PM
Don Cheadle as Miles Davis
Three Miles Ahead
It was once said that Miles Davis is to jazz like Hemingway is to the American novel, like Picasso is to art. But he was more than just a jazz celebrity, he was an icon of style, of artistry, and of blackness. Jazz Night in America explores some iconic interpretations of Miles Davis – on the silver screen, the page, and on the bandstand with the actor Don Cheadle, writer Quincy Troupe and trumpeter, Keyon Harrold.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM and Monday, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
“Blue Note Records In 1967 – Part Two”
Craig travels back 50 years to continue his look at Blue Note Records during 1967. We’ll hear choice selections from Andrew Hill, The 3 Sounds, Bobby Hutcherson, Tyrone Washington, Jack Wilson, Larry Young, McCoy Tyner, and many others. Don’t miss this classic array of gems from the ever-changing jazz scene of the late 1960s!!
Tropical Heat (hosted by Kpoti Senam Accoh)
Sunday, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Featured Album: “Ethiopiques, Vol. 21: Emahoy (Piano Solo)“ by Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou 
Guèbrou was born as Yewubdar Gebru in Addis Ababa to a wealthy family, at six she was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland, where she studied violin. In 1933, she returned to Ethiopia. During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War she and her family were prisoners of war and were sent by the Italians, to the prison camp on the Italian island of Asinara and later to Mercogliano near Naples. After the war Guèbrou studied under the Polish violinist Alexander Kontorowicz in Cairo. Kontorowicz and Guèbrou returned to Ethiopia where Kontorowicz was appointed as musical director of the band of the Imperial Body Guard. Guèbrou was employed as an administrative assistant.
http://www.allmusic.com/album/ethiopiques-vol-21-ethiopia-song-mw0000352649
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Pearl Django fo
rmed twenty three years ago and very quickly came to forefront of the Northwest Gypsy jazz scene, as well as America’s Gypsy jazz scene, where they have remained ever since. The band’s newest CD, “With Friends Like These,” their thirteenth in all, celebrates the return, if only for one year, of founding member Neil Andersson. It also shows off both the playing and writing of the skillful guitarist and new member, Tim Lerch. The disc contains thirteen original tracks, with contributions from all the members.
Through the richly textured arrangement of longtime collaborator Nick Lane and a stellar ensemble of Los Angeles’ finest, veteran guitarist and composer Tom Rizzo presents “Day and Night,” a swinging and wide-ranging recording of interesting standards and provocative originals. From Ornette Coleman to Wayne Shorter to Cole Porter, Rizzo’s supple guitar lines provide a central voice to a wide array of sonic moods. Along with Rizzo’s quartet is a 6-piece horn section featuring saxophonist Bob Shepard, trumpeter Bob Summers and Mr. Lane on trombone.
Also this week, rising young guitarist Alex Wintz, a frequent collaborator with Etienne Charles, Ben Williams, Roxy Coss and Nick Finzer, debuts as a leader with “LifeCycle”.
The University of Central Florida’s Flying Horse Big Band, directed by Jeff Rupert, welcomes tenor saxophonist, composer and arranger Harry Allen as “Big Man on Campus”.
Special EFX,
led by guitarist Chieli Minucci, unveil “Deep as the Night.”
