New Music Monday for February 27, 2017

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

In many ways, Charles Mingus and Gerry Mulligan couldn’t have been more different. One was notoriously fiery and confrontational; the other understated, the epitome of cool. But one thing the two jazz icons did share—beyond their influential shaping of the music’s low end—was their singularity of vision, a wholly unique perspective that in different ways redirected the trajectory of jazz through their own individual conceptions—with complete disregard for the naysayers. With that in mind, both Mulligan and Mingus would no doubt approve of the reimagining that Mark Masters has made of their compositions on “Blue Skylight.” The eleven pieces are vivid acts of recomposition, each vividly rendered and finely tailored to fit the gifted and distinctive players of the Mark Masters Ensemble.

 

 

Mandolinist and singer Chris Thiele and pianist Brad Mehldau first performed together in 2011 as part of Mehldau’s residency at London’s Wigmore Hall. The Guardian said of the performance, “Mehldau struck up his signature rocking chord vamp over which lightly struck motifs swell to sensuous extended melodies. Thile kept cajoling him with percussive snaps, flying runs, and chords strummed fast enough to sound as seamless as a purring string section, inducing Mehldau…to bat back the playful provocation with stinging rejoinders.” Longtime admirers of each other’s work, the pair first toured as a duo in 2013. At the end of 2015, they played a two-night stand at New York’s Bowery Ballroom before going into to the studio to record “Chris Thiele & Brad Mehldau,” a new CD featuring a mix of covers and original songs.

 

 

                          
Also this week, Steve Khan continues to expand the potential of the guitar in the context of Latin music with the third in a series of discs, “Backlog”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pianist Ben Markley with guest trumpeter Terell Stafford showcases the work of pianist and composer Cedar Walton through new arrangements for big band on “Clockwise: the Music of Cedar Walton”.

 

 

 

 

 

Trombonist Nick Finzer offers up the third disc with his quintet, “Hear & Now.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Culture Crawl 234 “The First Sign of Spring”

for many is “Prairie Preview,” a free event presented by the Bur Oak Land Trust of Johnson County, March 9 at 6:30 pm. You can browse a variety of exhibits on the theme of nature and conservation, and hear a talk by UI professor Steve Hendryx called “Wild Bees of Iowa: Hidden Diversity in the Service of Conservation.”

Executive Director Tammy Wright also reminds us that the land trust has a variety of volunteer opportunities and work days throughout the spring and summer for any person or group interested in nature preservation.

Learn more at www.BurOakLandTrust.org.

Clean Up Your Act 3-28-17

The 1,000 Acres Pollinator Initiative looks to help restore butterfly and bee populations.

Culture Crawl 233 “Musical Omnivores”

Jeff Collier, CEO of Orchestra Iowa, stops by to talk about “Faithfully,” A symphonic tribute to the music of Journey, FEb. 25 & 26. Jeff says that while accompanying “pop” music may not be the most challenging thing a classically-trained musician will do, many symphony players enjoy a variety of music. They enjoyed these tunes on the radio just like the rest of us, and getting to play them can be a treat.

Jeff also talks about the Branford Marsalis appearing with the orchestra, March 10 at Hancher, and March 11 at the Paramount.

Branford’s concert will be the culmination of a full week of jazz-related events, beginning with KCCK’s Corridor Jazz Project on March 6.

Information at www.artsiowa.com.

Talking Pictures 2-23-17

The Great Wall and Rings with Hollis Monroe, Denny Lynch and Phil Brown.

Special Programs: Week of February 20 – 26

Short List with Bob Naujoks   

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

Corridor Jazz (Al Naylor)

Al Naylor

On The Short List this week trumpeter Al Naylor is the subject. He has been a steady influence on jazz education for nearly three decades leading the jazz programs at the Linn Mar Schools, Kirkwood Community College and as an trumpet instructor at Coe College. He has played with the top regional bands in the area, including the Orquesta de Jazz y Alto Maiz, Rod Pierson’s Big Band, the CR Jazz Band and his own I-380 Express. He came out of Jefferson (Iowa) High School, which had one of the first so-called stage bands in the state in the mid-1960s. In 2011 he produced his first album titled Legacy.  

 

Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler

Monday, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM

“Julius Watkins and The French Horn in Jazz”                 

Craig presents music from the extraordinary French horn player and educator, JULIUS WATKINS.  We’ll hear amazing examples of his work leading his own groups, and also with him alongside of some of the greatest jazz artists of all time….John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Johnny Griffin, Randy Weston, Charlie Rouse, Miles Davis, and others.  We’ll also hear from several other horn players, such as Tom Varner, John Clark, and Gunther Schuller!   

 

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: “Soul Eyes: The Early Mal Waldron Songbook”. http://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/archives/2017/1/

 

Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson    

Monday at 11:00 PM (follows Nightlights)

Erroll Garner: ‘The Joy of a Genius’

Erroll Garner

Erroll Garner was one of the most original, intuitive, and purely exciting pianists to emerge during the modern jazz era. Although he is perhaps best known as the composer of “Misty,” Garner’s significance as a jazz innovator easily rivals his status as a successful songwriter. His approaches to melody, harmony, and especially rhythm are as fresh and inventive today as when he first introduced them in the mid ’40s. Interviewees include Steve Allen, Linton Garner, Martha Glaser, John Levy, Marian McPartland, and Dr. Billy Taylor.   

 

Wednesday Night Special               

6:00 PM   

Jazz Legends at the Iowa City Jazz Festival: Dr. Lonnie Smith

Dr. Lonnie Smith at the 2013 Iowa City Jazz Festival

Hammond B-3 organist, Dr. Lonnie Smith, started with guitarist, George Benson in 1967, followed by recording with alto saxophonist, David Fathead Newman, alto sax legend Lou Donaldson and his own solo Blue Note LPs. The Doctor is right up there with Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, and Charles Earland as one of THE all-time best Hammond organ players in jazz! Dr. Smith wears his trademark turban when he plays. Jazz Times magazine recently described Lonnie as “a riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a turban!”

Dr. Smith insists that the organ is a tough instrument to play, but a listener wouldn’t know it based on the complete effortlessness with which he plays. “Right from the beginning I was able to play and I didn’t even know how. I learned how to work the stops and that was it; everything else came naturally.

Lonnie’s trio features guitarist and composer Jonathan Kreisberg, who at age 16, started at the New World School of the Arts, following by winning a scholarship to the University of Miami, where he held the guitar chair in the acclaimed Concert Jazz Band, touring Brazil. In addition to his performing with Lonnie, Jonathan has worked with Lee Konitz, Greg Tardy, Lenny White, Jane Monheit, Bill Stewart and Larry Grenadier. Kreisberg is known for his extraordinarily clean articulation, remarkable sax-like fluency, harmonic daring and rhythmically assured burn.

Drummer, Jamire Williams completes the Trio. Williams is a fiery drummer, who says, “I am not a jazz drummer! I’m a drummer that plays jazz really really really really good!” He also has performed with the Robert Glasper Trio and Kenny Garrett’s quartet, among other contemporary groups.

 

Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride

Thursday at 11:00 PM

“Cecile and Sullivan”

Cécile McLorin Salvant and Sullivan Fortner

Tracing back to the earliest forms of jazz, the piano voice duo achieved a level of communication that created musical intimacy. Even if there wasn’t a romance, it was a love affair of voice and piano.  Jazz Night in America spends the hour with the distinct chemistry between pianist Sullivan Fortner and singer Cécile McLorin Salvant. Get to know the charming duo on stage at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola and beside a piano in a Harlem brownstone.          

 

Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler     

Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM and Monday, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM

“The State of The Instrument — Current Jazz Organists”                  

In this installment of “the state of the instrument series”, Craig uncovers the exciting music of some of today’s top jazz organists…. Pat Bianchi, Joey DeFrancesco, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and Mike LeDonne!             

 

 

Tropical Heat (hosted by Kpoti Senam Accoh)

Sunday, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Featured Album: “Sturm und Drang” by Nils Wogram        

Nils Wogram (born November 7, 1972 in Braunschweig, Germany) is a jazz trombonist, composer and bandleader. He counts as one of the most important jazz musicians in Europe. He began classical study at the age of fifteen. He was a member in the National German Youth Big Band, participated in classical competitions and formed his own bands at the age of 16. In 1992 he received a scholarship for the New School of New York City and stayed until 1994. During this time he released his debut album “New York Conversations” (1994) with his own Nils Wogram Quintett.   

http://nilswogram.com/discography/nostalgia-trio/sturm-und-drang

 

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 February 20, 2017

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

 

At age 14, pianist and composer Emily Bear enjoys arranging, orchestrating and performing in a diverse collection of styles. Having made her professional debut at the Ravinia Festival at 5-years-old, she has since performed at many of the world’s most well-known venues including Carnegie Hall, The White House, Lincoln Center and the Monteux Jazz Festival, among others. At age 6, Emily was the youngest ever to receive the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, and orchestras all over the world have performed her original compositions. Last year, she was the recipient of the ASCAP Herb Alpert Jazz Composer of the Year Award. She offers up a batch of her original tunes on her new CD, “Into the Blue.”

 

 

Without the great Eddie Palmieri, not only Latin jazz but jazz itself would not be what it is today. Certainly if you ask Charlie Sepulveda you will hear an echo of that belief. Playing in one of Palmieri’s bands was like going to school, and if you made the grade then you graduated to the University of Palmieri. It’s been that way for many extraordinary musicians over the years. While not many folks were paying attention, Sepulveda graduated from that school years ago. The trumpet genius had cut his teeth with Hilton Ruiz, but Palmieri polished the diamond in the rough. And what more honorable way of saying thank you to his maestro than with “Mr. EP: a Tribute to Eddie Palmieri,” a set featuring a mix of Palmieri’s tunes and Sepulveda originals, with Eddie himself playing piano on a few.

 

Also this week, with his newly-formed band The People, organ great Joey DeFrancesco expresses his viewpoints on current world events with uplifting compositions and emotional tributes on “Project Freedom”.  

 

 

 

 

 

Trumpeter Carol Morgan and her quartet, featuring Matt Wilson, Joel Frahm and Martin Wind, delve into “Post Cool Vol. 1: the Night Shift”.

 

 

 

 

 

Pianist Art Hirahara unveils a new batch of original compositions on his fourth disc as a leader, “Central Line.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Culture Crawl 232 “F Minor, For Those Scoring At Home”

Miera Kim and Carey Bostian with Red Cedar Chamber Music present “Hussite Fantasy.” The program includes two pieces commissioned expressly to celebrate Czech heritage in Cedar Rapids.

The title piece, “Hussite Fantasy” was commissioned in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the First Presbyterian Church in Ely. Composer Phillip Warton, a Decorah native, comes home to perform int he program.

Cedar Rapids composer Jerry Owen wrote “Concertant Over Czech Folk Songs” in tribute to Coe music professor Alma Turachek, who spent her summers in Europe documenting and preserving traditional Czech melodies.

Two main concerts, Saturday February 25th, pm at First Presbyterian Church in Iowa City, and and Sunday, February 26th at 3pm at the National Czech & Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids. Plus outreach concerts in Central City, Williamsburg, Marion, and the historic Czech Church in Ely where “Hussite Fantasy” debuted.

Full schedule and ticket into at www.redcedar.org.