Iowa’s largest solar garden goes online.
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Culture Crawl 301 “Don’t Beat The Clock”
It’s a first for Tim Hankewich and Orchestra Iowa as they provide a live soundtrack to the classic movie “Casablanca,” one show only, Oct. 27 at the Paramount Theatre.
Tim says that this is particularly challenging for the conductor, as he is the only one of the seventy musicians who can see the time codes that keeps the music in sync with the movie. On the up side, he can now put on his resume that he has worked with Humphrey Bogart!
Tickets and information at www.orchestraiowa.org.
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Special Programs: Week of October 23 – October 28
The Short List with host Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
Cats On The Keys 4
Listen to the best jazz pianist you have never heard of – Ted Rosenthal. His resume includes performances with trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, saxophonist David Sanborn and trumpeter Art Farmer. He was the 1988 winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition and has fifteen albums to date. His talents as a composer offer inventive music and his performances allow him to “deconstruct” familiar melodies from the Great American Songbook.
Jazz Corner of the World with host Craig Kessler 
Monday, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM.
Mode Records, Part Two
Craig continues his look at the short-lived Hollywood jazz label from the year 1957. We’ll hear from a new batch of releases that spotlight artists like tenorman Warne Marsh, vibist Terry Gibbs, pianist Ronnie Ball, vocalist Joy Bryan, guitarist Al Viola, drummer Paul Togawa, and a number of other “west-coasters.” Some eye-popping jazz that continues to languish in obscurity. You’ll be glad you tuned in!
Jazz Profiles with host Nancy Wilson
Monday at 11:00 PM
Willie “The Lion” Smith: Stride Piano Master
A musician’s musician whose original approach to the keyboard has made him the envy of virtually every pianist in jazz. He was part of the Harlem stride scene perfected by pianists James P. Johnson and Thomas Fats Waller. This show features rare tape of Smith talking and playing.
Wednesday Night Special
6:00 PM
Jazz Under The Stars 2017: Ritmocano
Jazz Under The Stars closed out its 30th season of live outdoor concerts with the legendary James Dreier and Ritmocano. It was a show only the McGrath Amphitheatre could hope to contain. Dreier and his roster of veteran musicians charged up the night with infectious Latin rhythms and a high energy performance. Tune in to relive the finale of Jazz Under The Stars 2017!
Jazz Night in America with host Christian McBride
Thursday at 11:00 PM
Vijay Iyer and the Ojai Music Festival
There’s a long history between jazz and classical music, but it’s never been more sharply focused than it was at the 2017 Ojai Music Festival. That’s all because of this year’s music director: pianist Vijay Iyer. Next time, on Jazz Night in America, new music from Vijay’s acclaimed sextet, and the premiere of his first violin concerto — and we’ll also hear from some of his inspired collaborators, about how this dialogue is breaking down musical barriers.
Jazz Corner of the World with host Craig Kessler 
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM
The Art of Miles Davis: 1972 to 1974, Part 5
Craig proudly continues his chronological examination of rarities and obscurities from Miles’ “fusion era” studio recordings. This week, we conclude our project with more music from 1972 to 1974. Tune in for a truly ear-opening experience!!
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:
New Music Monday for October 23, 2017
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
While every great jazz musician knows the value of spontaneity, few understand the true value of being in the moment quite like Johnny O’Neal. A rising star in the early 1980s, O’Neal left New York after a mugging in 1986. Performing and recording in Atlanta, St. Louis, Montreal and his native Detroit, he experienced another setback after he was diagnosed HIV positive in 1998. Since returning to New York in 2010, however, both his life and his health have been on an upswing, cementing that long-promised star status at the age of 60. His new album, “In the Moment,” fully captures the elegant pianism and emotionally gripping voice that have made him such a beloved figure on the NYC jazz scene ever since his unparalleled comeback.
“Cerulean Canvas” is a departure from saxophonist Sherman Irby’s earlier projects. In addition to being the sixth release for his Black Warrior Records label, it’s his first leading his working quintet, Momentum. Sherman is also a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. It is there that he honed his arranging skills and has brought those skills to bear on his new CD. His work features a frontline of alto sax/trombone, something rarely seen in jazz. He has Vincent Gardner on trombone, Eric Reed on piano, Willie Jones, III on drums and Gerald Cannon on bass. Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis also makes an appearance on two of the tunes.
Also this week, clarinetist Anat Cohen leads a tentet on her latest disc, “Happy Song”.
Saxophonist Cory Weeds takes on the E
arth Wind & Fires songbook with “Let’s Groove”.
Trumpeter Bruce Harris makes his recor
ding debut on “Beginnings.”
Culture Crawl 299 “Demon Cheerleaders & The Gelatinous Cube”
The Iowa City Community Theatre presents “She Kills Monsters” Oct. 27 through Nov. 5. It’s the tale of a young woman’s journey to deal with tragedy against the backdrop of the role playing game “Dungeons & Dragons.”
Director Nate Sullivan, an avowed D&D’er himself, says the play combines stage combat, and special effects that include a half dozen monsters, but that the tech does not take away from the message of the play, which is the protagonist’s journey to deal with the death of her little sister.
Tickets and information at www.iowacitycommunitytheatre.com.
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Clean Up Your Act 11-14-17
Fertilizer might be causing less plant diversity in Iowa.
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Special Programs: Week of October 16 — October 21
The Short List with host Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
Ramsey Lewis had a monster hit in the 1960’s with “The In-Crowd.” It shouldered aside both the Beatles and Barbra Streisand from the charts. The Gospel-Funk groove launched Lewis into a long, successful career that included, among other things, a stint as a disc jockey. Now in his 80’s, he still performs live a couple of times a month.
Jazz Corner of the World with host Craig Kessler
Monday, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM.
Thelonious Monk Centennial Celebration, Part Two
Craig continues the birthday party with still more fabulous live recordings from Monk’s astonishing career. We’ll once again hear some popular favorites, as well as some obscure gems that should cause some jaws to drop! Looking forward to having you along!
Jazz Profiles with host Nancy Wilson
Monday at 11:00 PM
Count Basie: The Man and His Music, Part Two
The story picks up with the death of Benny Moten and the genesis of Count Basie’s first band at the Reno Club in Kansas City. Broadcasts on experimental station W9XBY bring Lester Young and others to Kansas City to see the band they had heard on the radio. Thanks to the addition of Young and the All-American rhythm section, the Basie band bursts onto the national scene. Basie comes to New York with an uncertain reception and then breaks through with his first record contract with Decca. This installment covers a period that marks the both the pinnacle of success for Basie’s Kansas City style and also some setbacks, including the death of tenor man Herschel Evans, the recording ban of the early 1940s, and the advent of World War II.
Wednesday Night Special
6:00 PM
Jazz Under The Stars 2017: 10 of Soul
The crowd came to Noelridge Park to groove on Week Three of Jazz Under the Stars 2017. They were not disappointed. 10 of Soul laid down some serious jazz, soul, and funk that got hundreds of people dancing! Based out of the Quad Cities, this 10-ish piece band played the gamut – from classic soul to smooth groove and everything in between. Crank up the volume and be prepared for a serious dose of get-down!
Jazz Night in America with host Christian McBride
Thursday at 11:00 PM
Abdullah Ibrahim
Jazz Night in America dives into a piece of South African jazz history with pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. Also known by the nickname “Dollar Brand,” Abdullah Ibrahim is the composer symphonic works, choral works, film scores and — in his early 80s — is still very active with his band touring the world. This episode’s concert comes from Town Hall in New York City on 2017 South Africa Freedom Day. In addition to his own compositions, Ibrahim revisits music from his years in the Jazz Epistles (1960), a short lived, legendary South African bebop band.
Jazz Corner of the World with host Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM
Mode Records, Part Two
Craig continues his look at the short-lived Hollywood jazz label from the year 1957. We’ll hear from a new batch of releases that spotlight artists like tenorman Warne Marsh, vibist Terry Gibbs, pianist Ronnie Ball, vocalist Joy Bryan, guitarist Al Viola, drummer Paul Togawa, and a number of other “west-coasters.” Some eye-popping jazz that continues to languish in obscurity. You’ll be glad you tuned in!
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:
New Music Monday for October 16, 2017
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
With his Caribbean heritage, classical training and a unique rhythmic and melodic approach to jazz improvisation, Nestor Torres’ talkative and mellifluous flute sound remains in a class all by itself. Now, with his 15th album release, “Jazz Flute Traditions,” the Latin Grammy Award-winner shows his deep respect and knowledge for the traditions of jazz and Latin jazz in its purest forms. The disc pays homage to legendary pioneers like Herbie Mann and Eric Dolphy, as well as Torres’ idol and mentor, Hubert Laws. The tribute expands further, from Frank Wes and Moe Koffman, who were playing the instrument when it was still showing up in the ‘miscellaneous’ categories of major 1950’s jazz polls, to revolutionaries such as Yusef Lateef and Esy Morales.
Drums from Martinique and Cuba mingle with rhythms of Turkey and Bulgaria in the jazz world of percussionist and composer Julian Gerstin on his new CD, “The One Who Makes You Happy.” Living in Martinique for two years, Julian studied the unusual tanbou drum, played with both hands and one foot. To bring this instrument home, he composes music that combines rhythmic drive with lyrical melodies and jazz inventiveness. He draws also on his experience traveling and working with musicians from Cuba, Brazil, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Egypt. To bring these compositions to life, Julian has assembled creative like-minded musicians. Clarinetist Anna Patton has a grounding in Bulgarian and Macedonian music as well as jazz. Trumpeter Don Anderson is a salsa veteran while pianist Eugene Uman has worked extensively in Columbia. Bassist Wes Brown has spanned the history of jazz styles, working with giants from Earl Hines to Wadada Leo Smith.
Also this week, saxophonist Vincent Herring offers up a tonic to help calm the turbulence of modern life with “Hard Times,” featuring a core quartet of pianist Cyrus Chestnut, drummer Carl Allen and bassist Yasushi Nakamura, with special guests Steve Turre on trombone and guitarist Russell Malone; Toronto-based pianist Teri Parker debuts with her trio on “In the Past”.
French horn ace Ken Wiley presents a dozen moody, atmospheric themes on “Urban Horn Project.”