Johnson County government expands its solar energy production.
Clean Up Your Act 1-10-17
Special Holiday Music Thursday!
You’re not going t
o want to miss a very special holiday treat Thursday, December 8 at 7:30 PM! Big Mo will be bringing his tuba and playing some holiday tunes live in the studio!
Talking Pictures 12-8-16
Manchester by the Sea, Moonlight and Toni Erdmann with Hollis Monroe, Denny Lynch and Monica Schmidt.
This Week’s Shows: Week of December 5 – 11
Short List with Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
The Short List: International Jazz Stars (Jan Garbarek)
Jan Garbarek
This week it is off to the frozen north in Europe and the cool music of saxophonist Jan Garbarek. His mixture of Norwegian folk music, Indian harmonies and edgy avant-garde sounds have made his somewhat of a world music practitioner bordering on “new age” music. Virtually all of his recordings are on the far-seeing ECM label, and his best known work is from the popular album of 1977 with pianist Keith Jarrett — My Song. He has even recorded with a Gregorian choir.
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 6:00 PM
Miles Davis, Part 1: Miles’ Styles
Miles Davis
Trumpeter Miles Davis dominated jazz for much of the latter half of the twentieth century. While his trumpet sound is instantly recognizable, he refused to be boxed in any one style, consistently developing fresh musical shapes and structures. Miles’s powerful influence did not end with his death in 1991; his restless spirit continues to intrigue and inspire artists of all kinds.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“Tribute To Mose Allison”
Craig pays tribute to the recently departed jazz and blues master, Mose John Allison, Jr. (11/11/27 to 11/15/16), with a tasty sampling of goodies from Allison’s 150+ original compositions. We’ll hear him as a sideman with Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, and Stan Getz, as well as a leader on records from Prestige, Blue Note, Columbia, and several other record labels. Mose created a unique blend of jazz and blues, and wrote many songs that have become popular standards in both genres. And, of course, Mose was a master jazz pianist (and an accomplished trumpeter). Don’t miss Craig’s loving tribute to this artistic genius, whose songs will live forever!
New Orleans Calling with George Ingmire
Tuesday at 6:00 PM
Rhythm Pilgrimage
Ben Schenck
Ben Schenck arrived in New Orleans in 1988 with a clarinet, a bicycle, and $100 in his pocket, on a pilgrimage to live within the music of the city. And over three decades his fascination with New Orleans and Caribbean rhythms combined with his forays into music from Eastern Europe and beyond, creating a mix of styles that’s still rooted in New Orleans jazz. In this episode of New Orleans Calling, Ben sits down on his porch with our host George Ingmire, and demonstrates these fascinating and related rhythms from around the world — followed by a special exclusive live performance, of Ben’s Panorama Jazz Band recorded at the historic Basin Street Station.
Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
Jimmy Greene’s “Beautiful Life”
Jimmy Greene with a picture (insert) of his daughter Ana Márquez-Greene
Jimmy Greene is an award winning saxophonist and educator; he is Assistant Professor of Music and Co-Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, CT. In addition to his recordings and appearances as a leader, Greene appears on 75 albums as a sideman, and has toured and/or recorded with Horace Silver, Tom Harrell, Freddie Hubbard, Harry Connick, Jr., Avishai Cohen, Kenny Barron, Lewis Nash, Steve Turre, the New Jazz Composers Octet and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, among many others. His album, Beautiful Life, is a celebration of the life of his 6-year-old daughter, Ana Márquez-Greene, whose life was tragically taken, along with 19 other children and 6 educators, on December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Wednesday Night Special
7:00 PM (Follows Jazz Night in America)
KCCK’s Christmas Channel Preview Show! 
If you like holiday jazz, have we got a station for you! Join us this week for an hour-long preview of KCCK’s Christmas Channel! It’s a dedicated program stream of the coolest holiday jazz ever recorded, all commercial free. The perfect background for office parties, family gatherings, or just a quiet night around the Yule Log.
Find the Christmas Channel on KCCK’s app for IOS and Android. Also at KCCKJazz2.org, and 88.3-2 on your HD Radio.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM and Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
“Savoy Records”
Craig presents an exciting overview of SAVOY RECORDS, one of the more important pioneering record labels dedicated to presenting “bebop” and the modern jazz of the 1940s and 50s. We’ll hear from a number of jazz greats, including Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Curtis Fuller, Hank Mobley, Milt Jackson, Art Pepper, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Miles Davis, and others. Essential material!
Tropical Heat (hosted by Kpoti Senam Accoh)
Sunday, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Featured Album: TBD
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:
New Music Monday for December 5, 2016
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
In 1976, bassist/
composer/arranger/vocalist Gabriel Espinosa came to the United States from his home in Merida, Mexico, to study at Central College in Pella, where he received his B.A. in music. After picking up another degree at Berklee College of Music in Boston and his Master’s degree at North Texas, Gabriel returned to Central in 1996 to become Director of Jazz Studies, a post he holds to this day. For his new CD, “Songs of Bacharach and Manzanero,” Gabriel explores the common ground between two prolific and influential composers who came to prominence during the ‘60s in their respective countries—Burt Bacharach in the U.S. and Armando Manzanero in Mexico. With six-time Grammy Award-nominated singer Tierney Sutton handling the five familiar Bacharach tracks and Espinosa himself singing the Spanish lyrics of five tunes by his fellow countryman, this alluring concept album is brimming with the kind of sophisticated harmonies, unexpected chord progressions and changing meters that mark both acclaimed composers’ work, while also being unabashedly romantic at its core.
Walt Disney loved jazz and paid great attention to the writing of the music accompanying his heroes’ adventures. Dedicated teams wrote and performed these essential songs, several of which were nominated for or won Academy Awards, and many jazz and pop stars have covered them over the years, including Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis and Linda Ronstadt. A selection of these classic tunes are given the big band jazz treatment on the new disc “Disney Loves Jazz,” featuring artists such as Gregory Porter, Melody Gardot, Stacey Kent and Jamie Cullum. Arranged and directed by Rob Mounsey, the CD celebrates the heritage of Disney music from beloved films such as “Cinderella,” “The Jungle Book,” “Lady and the Tramp” and more.
Also this week, Canadian pianist Will Bonness, a one-time member of Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau Band, unveils his second release as a leader, “Halcyon”.
One of Chicago’s most impressive reedman, saxophonist Mark Colby, features tunes from the soundtrack of his life on “All or Nothing At All”.
Pianist Ma
rtin Bejerano, a 14-year veteran of drummer Roy Haynes’ band, offers up his third release as a leader, “Trio Miami.”
Culture Crawl 215 “Christmas By The Numbers”
15 years, a 14-piece orchestra, 8 singer-dancers, 10 shows in 9 cities, and a brand new Holiday CD. Iowa’s Own Pianist and Steinway artist Jim McDonough, is in the midst of his annual “Holiday Grande” tour.
It’s an original holiday show that is touring Iowa through Dec. 18. Local shows include Anamosa and Monticello Dec. 3 & 4, and the Paramount in Cedar Rapids Dec. 11.
Jim also has a brand new CD this year, also called Holiday Grande, which features orchestra and singers, and includes some songs not in the show.
Tickets and CDs at www.pianofavorites.com.
Kirkwood Board of Trustees to meet December 8, 2016
The regular meeting of the Kirkwood Board of Trustees will take place December 8, 2016.
Time, place, and meeting agenda can be found at this link.
Culture Crawl 214 “Dancers Only Have to Learn It Once”
That jolly elf Tim Hankewich from Orchestra Iowa is in to talk about the Orchestra’s holiday concerts.
The musicians are extra busy this year as they have to learn to entirely different versions of “The Nutcracker,” as they accompany the Joffrey Ballet at Hancher then turn right around THE NEXT NIGHT and perform with the Quad Cities Ballet at the Paramount on Dec. 5 and at the Adler Theatre Dec. 10.
Then it’s back to the Paramount Dec. 17-18 for the Orchestra’s annual Holiday Spectacular, once again featuring several brand new arrangements by Tim himself, and special appearances by Alisabeth Von Presley, the Mighty Wurlitzer, CR Concert Chorale, Discovery Chorus, and much more.
It’s not Christmas unless you spend some of it with the Orchestra. Tickets and info at www.orchestraiowa.org.