New Music Monday for August 22, 2016
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
There’s an old saying that a great jazz musician never plays a song the same way once. That could certainly be said of Jerry Bergonzi. He is an intellectual artist of uncompromising integrity and a bold, original composer. On his new disc, “Spotlight on Standards,” he returns to the organ-tenor trio format after a long hiatus from it. From the opening track, Cy Coleman’s “Witchcraft,” with its hypnotic organ vamp and bewitching chord substitutions Jerry gives the first eight bars, you know this isn’t going to be your parents’ organ-tenor gig. Bergonzi and his discmates, Ranato Chicco on organ and Andrea Michelutti on drums, take these standards down new harmonic paths and use them as a launching pad for fertile and impressive improvisation. The playing is always intense and distinctive, fresh and spontaneous.
Since 2002, vocalist Sara Gazarek and pianist Josh Nelson have nurtured an uncommonly strong musical bond. It’s no mere happenstance that Nelson played as a band member on all four of Gazarek’s albums, and she, in turn, sang on two of Nelson’s own recording projects. But over the past 18 months, this Los Angeles-based pair has taken their collaboration to a new level, touring extensively as a duo and developing a diverse repertoire that showcases their combined artistic maturation. Gazarek and Nelson recorded their new CD, “Dream in the Blue,” as a tribute to their extraordinary relationship. As Gazarek puts it, “We’ve spent the last decade and more writing together, arranging, recording, making silly videos; essentially growing up together, personally and musically.”
Also this week, Scott Tixier, whose violin playing has been lauded 
by many important and highly respected musicians, including Jean-Luc Ponty and Pat Metheny, unveils his second recording and his first in four years, “Cosmic Adventures”.
Venezuel
an pianist and composer Silvano Monasterios’ working trio is augmented with the great clarinetist Anat Cohen, saxman Troy Roberts and the colorful percussionist Roberto Quintero on “Partly Sunny”.
Identical twin saxophonists Dwayne and Dwight Bosman of St. Louis, who’ve shared stages with Hugh Masekela, Lester Bowie, Roy Ayers and Branford Marsalis, release their second hard bop affair, “When Lions Roar.”
Talking Pictures 8-18-16
Nerve, Mohanjodaro, Pete’s Dragon, Florence Foster Jenkins with Hollis Monroe, Denny Lynch and Phil Brown.
This Week’s Shows: Week of August 15 – 21
Short List with Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
The Short List: Cats On The Keys 3 (Jimmy Rowles)
Jimmy Rowles
Jimmy Rowles who had a long career as a supreme accompanist and sideman. He accepted the complement that he was a “musician’s musician.” To some that is faint praise, but Rowles was the most desired collaborator with such great jazz vocalists as Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan and Tony Bennett. He also played in the bands of Benny Carter, Woody Herman and Benny Goodman, and as a partner with saxophonists Lester Young and Stan Getz. His tune “The Peacocks” is a jazz standard.
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 6:00 PM
Ellis Larkins: The Patient Pianist 
Pianist Ellis Larkins’ elegant playing style was described as a rainbow of interwoven musical textures. His layered technique created a warm and intimate palette of sound that brought out the full artistic potential of his partners in jazz — Coleman Hawkins and Ella Fitzgerald among them.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“The Music of Herbie Hancock — 1968 to 1969”
Craig looks at the evolution of this important artist during the critical years of 1968 and 1969. We’ll hear high art from Herbie on his own recordings of the period (“Speak Like A Child”; “The Prisoner”: and “Fat Albert Rotunda”), as well as stunning keyboard work with groups led by Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Joe Henderson, Miles Davis, and others!
New Orleans Calling with George Ingmire
Tuesday at 6:00 PM
Champion Jack Dupree: Freedom (Part 2 of 2) 
This is the second episode of our two-episode look at New Orleans boogie-woogie piano player Champion Jack Dupree.
In the first episode, we spent some time tracking down his music and his fascinating history — his childhood, his boxing career, his recording career, and his departure for Europe. In this episode we pick up where we left off, with Jack returning to New Orleans after more than 30 years. And through interviews with Jack and people who knew him, we found a theme running through his entire life — the search for freedom, for himself and for all of us.
This is a very special look at a very special story. The recording excerpted at the beginning of this show is from May 5, 1991, at the Music Heritage Stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and features Allison Miner as an interviewer. The Music and Heritage Stage featured mostly interviews with some performance — Jack also did another longer performance at the Economy Hall Stage later that day. Blues guitarist Kenn Lending, who was interviewed for this episode, met Champion Jack Dupree in the 1970s, and worked with him until Jack’s death in 1992, performing at over 1,000 concerts in 34 countries. He lives in Copenhagen, Denmark, and still plays music, performed alongside Jack at both sets.
Kalamu ya Salaam, interviewed in this episode, is a poet, scholar, and filmmaker in New Orleans, who has written about Champion Jack Dupree.
Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
Hip Hop + Jazz = Revive Big Band
Revive Big Band
What would it sound like if someone bridged the gap between big band jazz and classic hip-hop anthems? Between Art Blakey and A Tribe Called Quest; between Freddie Hubbard and J. Dilla? One answer is offered by trumpeter Igmar Thomas, the founder and musical director of the Revive Big Band. Between originals, standard jazz repertoire and orchestrations of contemporary classics, Thomas aligns a multi-generational ensemble with a black music tradition that leads to the present day.
Wednesday Night Special
7:00 PM (Follows Jazz Night in America)
First Friday Jazz: TELLURIC at Opus Concert Café (Encore Broadcast)
Telluric
A telluric current (from Latin tellūs, “earth”), or Earth current, is an electric current which moves underground or through the sea. Telluric currents result from both natural causes and human activity, and the discrete currents interact in a complex pattern.
Telluric is a new group of young lions, all recent graduates of the University of Northern Iowa where they studied under professors Dr. Bob Washut and Chris Merz. They write their own music and present it in a style that is both modern and accessible; a rare combination.
Telluric is:
Nolan Schroeder—sax
Chris Jensen—drums
Elvis Phillips—guitar
Joel Conrad—bass
The First Friday Jazz Series features an eclectic mix of jazz, Latin and contemporary music the first Friday of every month. Doors at Opus open at 4:30 p.m. with live music from 5-7 p.m.
If you can’t be there in person, the first set of each performance of the series is broadcast live on KCCK. The Opus Concert Cafe is operated by Orchestra Iowa. More information at:
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM and Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
“Contemporary Records and Good Time Jazz Records In 1956” 
Craig journeys back 60 years to look in on some of the recording sessions during 1956, for Lester Koenig’s two important jazz record labels. CONTEMPORARY RECORDS was one of the top two record labels documenting the music of the West Coast Jazz movement, and GOOD TIME JAZZ RECORDS documented the traditional Dixieland styles of the San Francisco jazz scene. We’ll hear from top jazz artists like Hampton Hawes, Howard Rumsey, Kid Ory, Don Ewell, Shelly Manne, Bay City Jazz Band, Curtis Counce, Buddy Collette, and many others! Don’t miss out on the FUN!
Tropical Heat (hosted by Kpoti Senam Accoh)
Sunday, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Featured Album: “Faya” by Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate 
http://store.cumbancha.com/album/faya
An example of how opposites attract, Faya features the U.S.-born/England-based Driscoll and the Guinea–born Kouyate. Although one spoke French and the other English, the two came together at a festival in 2010 and quickly realized they were kindred spirits who shared a love of hip-hop and reggae. Driscoll acquits himself well throughout with his spitfire raps, soulful singing, and rhythmic acoustic guitar. But the revelation is Kouyate, who not only sings in French and his native Susu but also plays kora (a nylon-string African harp) through an arsenal of effects with such innovation that he’s drawn comparisons to Jimi Hendrix (“Tanama”). On an album filled with socially conscious themes, the two skillfully weave together ideas that are detailed but broad. “Passport,” for example, speaks of both the fragmentation of the African continent and the chilly reception African visitors often receive in the U.S. Elsewhere the music moves from gritty African rock (“Zion” and the standout “Faya”) to reggae (the “Faya” remix, “Birnakely”) to hip-hop (“Wonamati” and “New York”).
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:
Talking Pictures 8-11-16
Suicide Squad with Hollis Monroe, Denny Lynch and Scott Chrisman
New Music Monday for August 15, 2016
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Jazz is often portr
ayed as an art form defined by blazing young artists. It’s true that many jazz masters reach a mid-career plateau marked by small variations on a mature style. But there’s also a vanguard of players and composers who continue to refine and expand the art form in middle age and beyond. In that category is pianist Fred Hersch, who is marking his 60th year with an astonishing creative surge. His new recording, “Sunday Night at the Vanguard,” stands as the most profound and enthralling trio statement yet by an improviser whose bands have embodied the enduring relevance of the piano-bass-and-drums format for three decades. Featuring the exquisitely interactive bassist John Hebert and extraordinarily sensitive drummer Eric McPherson, the trio was recorded at the storied venue that’s become Hersch’s second home.
Trombonist and composer Steve Turre shows off his full spectrum of sounds on his latest disc, “Colors for the Masters.” The program is evenly split between jazz standards and originals that carry the torch for the tradition, offering a dazzling array of hues played in tribute to and alongside some of the elders that have inspired Turre. While he has shared the stage with pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jimmy Cobb over the years in various bands and all-star configurations, “ I’ve never had them play my music to hear what their mastery would bring to it,” Turre explains. “I wanted to hear how their interpretations would open up new avenues of expression to me.” On four tunes, the band is joined by saxophonist Javon Jackson, like Turre an alumni of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.
Also this week, Jane Bunnett marks the 25th anniversary of her landmark 1991 album, “Spirits of Havana,” the first major collaboration of North American and Cuban musicians, with a deluxe reissue including previously unreleased material.
New York trombonist/composer Michael Davis features a handful of renowned trombone virtuosi, including Michael Dease, Conrad Herwig, Bob McChesney, Bill Reichenbach and Marshall Gilkes, in his “Hip-Bone Big Band”.
Pianist Anton
io Ciacca and his quintet present “Volare, the Italian American Songbook.”