Short List with Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
The Short List: Vocal Short List 14 (Claire Martin)
Claire Martin
On the Short List this week is an English jazz singer who has been called “one of the four or five finest female jazz vocalists on the planet.” Claire Martin certainly is England’s finest jazz singer and she has 18 albums, world tours and numerous awards to prove it. But the proof is really in the hearing and Claire Martin’s soft-edged, throaty alto voice is a pleasure to experience. Martin is also a recipient of the Order of the British Empire, a prestigious honor from the Queen herself.
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 6:00 PM
Tommy Flanagan: Poet of Piano
Tommy Flanagan
Tommy Flanagan’s soft-spoken manner reflected his quietly understated playing. Known for his style and technique, he was one of bebop’s most important pianists. Born into the fertile Detroit jazz scene, he played with Milt Jackson, Kenny Burrell, and Thad and Elvin Jones. In 1956, Flanagan moved to New York and became a highly sought studio musician. His devotion as an accompanist resulted in his being somewhat underrated as a soloist, though he was honored with Denmark’s prestigious Jazzpar prize.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“The State of The Instrument – Part 9…Jazz Flute”
Craig presents music from eight current jazz flautists. We’ll hear interesting selections from Ali Ryerson, Charles Lloyd, Jane Bunnett, Bennie Maupin, Jamie Baum, James Newton, Nicole Mitchell, and Jeremy Steig.
New Orleans Calling with George Ingmire
Tuesday at 6:00 PM
Aint Misbehavin: Leroy Jones
Leroy Jones
Leroy Jones started out his career playing trumpet in his parents’ garage in New Orleans — and he played so loud it caught the attention of jazz legend Danny Barker, who lived in the neighborhood. Since then his journey has taken him to the Superbowl Halftime show and around the world — and now all the way back to us for an intimate interview and performance at the historic Basin St Station.
Harry Connick Jr said “No one could touch him. For young musicians like me, he was exciting, intimidating. For the older ones, he was the keeper of the flame. But Leroy did more than keep the flame. He started a forest fire…”
Leroy grew up in the same neighborhood as famous musicians Danny Barker, Dave “Fatman” Williams, and Ernest Cagnolatti.
Leroy was mentored by Danny Barker, forming the Fairview Baptist Church Marching Band, which also included Lucien Barbarin, Big Al Carson, Anthony “Tuba Fats” Lacen, Herlin Riley, Gregg Stafford, Joseph Torregano, and many others. This was followed by the Hurricane Brass Band.
The Leroy Jones Quintet played a special show for New Orleans Calling at the historic Basin St Station this spring, and we featured tracks on our Live from Basin St Station segment in this episode.
Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
Late Night at Jazz at Lincoln Center 
There’s a scene and community that’s developed around after hours at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, the club environment that’s part of Jazz at Lincoln Center. It involves listening sessions and hangs late into the night, and the mutual experience of being young and eager (and talented). Jazz Night in America wanted to know what drives these guys, posing as a fly on the wall as they listen to records, and catching some of them as they get a rare opportunity to present their own music at Dizzy’s.
Wednesday Night Special
7:00 PM (Follows Jazz Night in America)
Best of the 2015 Iowa City Jazz Festival: Rudresh Mahanthappa Bird Calls
Rudresh Mahanthappa Bird Calls at the 2015 Iowa City Jazz Festival
As we are looking ahead to the 2016 Iowa City Jazz Festival (July 1-3), we revisit some of the best performances from the main stage at last year’s festival.
Few musicians share the ability of saxophonist/composer Rudresh Mahanthappa to embody the expansive possibilities of his music with his culture. What has materialized is a sound that hybridizes progressive jazz and South Indian classical music in a fluid and forward-looking form that reflects Mahanthappa’s own experience growing up a second-generation Indian-American. The manifestations of that trajectory include the latest version of his quartet setting, currently named Gamak.
Mahanthappa has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, and commissions from the Rockefeller Foundation MAP Fund, Chamber Music America and the American Composers Forum. He has been named alto saxophonist of the year for three years running in Downbeat Magazine’s International Critics Polls (2011-2013) and for five years running by the Jazz Journalists’ Association (2009-2013). In April 2013, he received a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, one of the most prominent arts awards in the world.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM and Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
“Birth Date Anniversary Celebration For Sheldon “Shelly” MANNE”
Shelly Manne
Craig celebrates the birthday of extraordinary drummer and percussionist SHELLY MANNE (6/11/20 to 9/26/84) by spinning a tasty collection of tunes from throughout the lengthy career of this jazz master. We’ll hear selections from Manne’s early days (30s and 40s) with Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Kenton, as well as a host of (mostly) “west coast jazz” recordings from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Essential listening!!
Tropical Heat with Kpoti Accoh
Sunday, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Featured Album: “Best of Keziah Jones” by Keziah Jones
Keziah Jones
http://www.allmusic.com/album/best-of-keziah-jones-mw0000365813
A Nigerian-born rocker heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Fela Kuti, Keziah Jones gained popularity in England and France with singles like “Rhythm Is Love” and “Beautiful Emile.” Jones was sent to a boarding school in London when he was eight, and he started busking in the London Underground when he was in his teens. He gigged up a storm in Covent Garden and Portobello Road, which led to his discovery by manager Phil Pickett. One bassist (Phil “Soul” Sewell), one drummer (Richie Stevens), and many gigs later, Jones found himself with his first album, Blufunk Is a Fact!, in 1992. Several more albums ensued over the next 15 years (African Space Craft, Liquid Sunshine, and Black Orpheus among them), fixing Jones as one of the more prominent blues-rock musicians on the European music scene in the late ’90s and early 2000s. ~ Margaret Reges
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:
http://www.kcck.org/midnight-cd/
The North Corridor All-Star Big Band, a newer addition to the festival, will be joining the lineup again this year. This group is similar to a group the IC jazz festival is very familiar with, the United Jazz Ensemble. The group is comprised of some of the most skilled high school jazz musicians from the North end of the Creative Corridor, Cedar Rapids to Cedar Falls. Coe College music professor Steve Shanley directs this band as they perform for the fifth time at the Iowa City Jazz Festival. This is a group of talented students you truly will not want to miss, especially if you enjoy swinging! The North Corridor Jazz All Stars take the stage Saturday, July 2, at 1 p.m.
