Noelridge Park and McGrath Amphitheatre will be the scene for great music again this year as KCCK’s Jazz Under the Stars returns for 2018.

Kevin “B.F.” Burt
One season highlight will certainly be a performance by 2018 International Blues Challenge winner Kevin “B.F.” Burt. Kevin’s talent is no secret here in the Corridor, but he took the annual Memphis competition by storm with a soulful rendition of “Eleanor Rigby” to beat out entrants from all over the world.
Coe professor and CR Municipal Band Director Steve Shanley directs an all-star big band who will accompany singers you’ve seen onstage and in sold-out cabaret shows.

Steve Shanley
Audience favorites The Funk Daddies return to Jazz Under the Stars after a 10-year absence, and The Jazz Standard, led by Cedar Rapids’ own Paul and Gail Williams, rounds out the series.

Funk Daddies
Music fans will also have the chance to add to their personal collections, as KCCK’s CD Sale will take place a the August 16th concert, thousands of CDs and vinyl records available for just a dollar a disc.
Here is the full concert schedule:
August 2 – The Jazz Standard (Paul & Gail Williams, Peter Hart, Dan Oline, Tim Crumley) at Noelridge Park
August 9 – Kevin “B.F.” Burt and the Corridor Blues All-Stars at Noelridge Park
August 16 – Funk Daddies at Noelridge Park
August 23 – Eastern Iowa All-Star Big Band with Singers (directed by Steve Shanley) at McGrath Amphitheatre.
All concerts begin at 7pm. In case of rain, listen to KCCK-FM for rain location or cancellation information.
Bring a picnic or enjoy one our terrific vendors:
Road Rooster


Major support for Jazz Under The Stars comes from
Additional support provided by Kirkwood Community College, Latta Harris CPA & Consultants,That Cellular Place, and West Music.
Each August KCCK sponsors four free Thursday night concerts in Cedar Rapids. The first three take place in Noelridge Park, the final one at the McGrath Ampitheatre.



Short List with host Bob Naujoks 
Jazz Profiles with host Nancy Wilson 

Jazz Night in America with host Christian McBride

The Black Art Jazz Collective’s mission statement celebrates African-American cultural and political icons. At the core is a modernism that conjure up the classic bands of Art Blakey and acoustic Miles Davis. But with contemporary soul-fueled solos and locked-in rhythms, the band is more likely to launch into a counterpoint riff or the spacious funk of hip-hop than the svelte lines of a classic walking bass. With their new CD, “Armor of Pride,” the Collective delivers strong original tunes and purposeful, form-hugging improvisation that keeps things looking forward rather than back. And with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt in ebullient form, and saxophonist Wayne Escoffery’s muscularity contrasting with the tenderness of James Burton III’s trombone, the focus never wavers or becomes diffuse.
Also this week, tenor saxophonist JD Allen delivers a beautiful and intensely interesting ballads album, “Love Stone”.
Keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer returns to the piano trio format with “On My Way to You”.
Harmonica ace Hendrick Meurkens pairs up with pianist Bill Cunliffe on “Cabin in the Sky.”