New book advocates for an all-electric society.
Clean Up Your Act 4-19-16
Iowa City Jazz Festival Lineup Released
The Iowa City Jazz Festival will take place July 1-3 on the UI Pentacrest. There will be music on four stages, Culinary Row, Kids FUN Zone, and Beverage Garden. All performances are free.
Here is the Main Stage schedule:
United Jazz Ensemble
Friday, July 1
- 5:00 United Jazz Ensemble
- 7:00 Akiko Tsuruga Trio featuring: Jeff Hamilton
- 9:00 Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom
Saturday, July 2
- 1:00 North Corridor Jazz All Stars
- 3:00 Phil Hey Quartet
- 5:00 Marquis Hill Blacktet
- 7:00 Vijay Iyer Trio
- 9:00 Poncho Sanchez and His Latin Jazz Band
Sunday, July 3
- 12:00 Damani Phillips Trio
- 2:00 Larry Fuller Trio
- 4:00 Edmar Castaneda Trio
- 6:00 Miguel Zenón Quartet
- 8:00 David Berkman Sextet
- 9:30 City of Iowa City’s Fireworks
The festival kicks off on Friday, July 1, at 5 p.m., with United Jazz Ensemble, featuring some of the most talented instrumentalists from Iowa City High and Iowa City West High, followed at 7 p.m. by Akiko Tsuruga, an organist whose music is inspired by her Japanese roots. The evening concludes with Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom starting at 9 p.m. Miller, who was named “Rising Star Drummer” and “Top 20 Jazz Drummer” in Downbeat magazine is a New York City-based drummer/teacher/ composer.
The second day of the Iowa City Jazz Festival begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 2, with the North Corridor All Stars, a group of rising high school jazz artists from the Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls and Waterloo area. This performance is followed at 3 p.m. by the bebop jazz sounds of the Phil Hey Quartet, from Saint Paul, Minn.. Marquis Hill Blacktet, led by the widely recognized trumpeter/composer, takes the main stage at 5 p.m. Born and raised in the south side of Chicago, Hill takes a lot of inspiration from the sounds of his city. In 2014, he won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition.
Saturday evening concludes with performances by American Jazz pianist Vijay Iyer and Mexican-American conga player Poncho Sanchez, both of who are regarded as two of the biggest names in jazz. Grammy nominated Iyer, the 2015 Jazz Artist of the year in Downbeat’s International Jazz Critics Poll, takes the stage with his trio at 7 p.m. to showcase his inventive and whimsical style of jazz. Grammy-awarded Poncho Sanchez headlines at 9 p.m. with his unique style inspired by the sounds of Afro-Cuban music and bebop. Sanchez is regarded as one of the top American percussionists of our time.
Sunday, July 3, launches the last day of the Iowa City Jazz Festival highlighting a wide array of artists starting at noon with The Damani Phillips Trio. Phillips is the Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies and African American music at the University of Iowa. The Larry Fuller Trio features the unmistakable talent of pianist Fuller at 2 p.m. followed by the dynamic sounds of Colombian harpist Edmar Castaneda in his Edmar Castaneda Trio at 4 p.m. The Miguel Zenon Quartet will showcase a fine blend of Latin American Folkloric music and jazz led by Grammy nominated saxophonist Zenon. The melodic sounds of American jazz pianist David Berkman will conclude the evening with a set at 8 p.m., followed by a full-blown fireworks display over the University of Iowa Pentacrest lawn.
For the complete schedule and full artist bios, please visit www.SummerOfTheArts.org
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This Week’s Shows: Week of March 28 – April 3
Short List with Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
The Short List: A Personal History of Jazz – Women in Jazz
Mary Lou Williams
In jazz it seems that women were either to be singers or ignored. In that male domain it was a rare event to see a woman playing an instrument alongside a man or in group of men. Simply said, female musicians who wanted to work in the jazz arena were discriminated against. This week’s Short List features several excellent female artists who prevailed: Mary Lou Williams, Marian McPartland, Marjorie Hyams and Lil Hardin Armstrong. There’s also a small tribute to those all-female orchestras of the 1940s.
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 6:00 PM
Charles Mingus: ‘Fables of Bass’ Part 1
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus was a big man and he played an instrument made for him, the bass, and in the process, remade it. Moving the bass down front, he conducted small groups and the occasional big band, playing hundreds of his own tunes — music that expanded jazz and the musicians who played it. On this show, part one of a two-part tribute to triple threat — bassist, composer, and bandleader — Charles Mingus.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“State of The Instrument — Part 5: The Bass”
In this, the 5th show from the new series of programs, Craig will spin a variety of discs that will include music from a number of current, powerful artists, that will throw the spotlight on to 4 different hip and happening bassists. We’ll hear tunes that will include bassists, Jon Hebert, Linda Oh, Hans Glawischnig, and Scott Colley. Great music for everyone, but particularly for those who have an interest in what’s happening on today’s jazz scene!
New Orleans Calling with George Ingmire
Tuesday at 6:00 PM
“Remebering Harold Battiste – Part 2”
Harold Battiste
Harold Battiste, who passed last year at the age of 83, was a true New Orleanian: he grew up in the Magnolia Projects, was educated at Dillard, and founded the first record label, All For One (A.K.A. AFO Records) owned by African American musicians. After decades in Los Angeles, he spent many years on the Jazz Studies faculty at the University of New Orleans. His 2010 autobiography Unfinished Blues: Memories of a New Orleans Music Man is required reading for any student of music history.
A composer, teacher, and mentor, Battiste was perhaps best known as a producer and arranger.
Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
Jason Moran: Monk at Town Hall
Jason Moran
Jason Moran defies the constraints of history itself in this celebration of “the first pianist who made me want to be a pianist.” Using archival footage, interviews, and live music, Moran re-imagines the classic Monk at Town Hall concert from 1959 to paint a portrait of one of the unique and influential musicians in jazz history. Backed by The Big Bandwagon, Moran performs his tribute to Thelonius Monk live at the Kennedy Center.
Wednesday Night Special
7:00 PM (Follows Jazz Night in America)
Jazz Masters at the Iowa City Jazz Festival: Charles Lloyd Quartet (2015)
Charles Lloyd at the 2015 Iowa City Jazz Festival
Charles Lloyd was born in Memphis, Tennessee and from an early age, he was immersed in that city’s rich musical life and was exposed to jazz. Beginning in his early teens, he was working as a sideman in the blues bands of B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Johnnie Ace, Bobbie “Blue” Bland, and others. His closest friend in high-school was trumpeter, Booker Little.
In the intervening sixty years, Lloyd has become a true giant of the jazz world, playing with Billy Higgins, Don Cherry, Bobby Hutcherson, Chico Hamilton, Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette and many more.
In 1970, Lloyd moved to California and entered a state of semi-retirement. He practically disappeared from the jazz scene, but can be heard on recordings with the Doors, Canned Heat, and the Beach Boys. Occasionally during the 1970s Lloyd played with The Beach Boys; both on their studio recordings and as a member of their touring band.
Upon his recovery from a near death experience in 1986, Lloyd decided to rededicate himself to music. He started performing occasionally in 1987 and 88. In 1989, Lloyd reestablished an active touring schedule and began recording for ECM Records. The ECM recordings showcased his sensitivity as a ballad player and composer. In 2014, Lloyd received the 2014 Monterey Jazz Festival Jazz Legend Award.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM and Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
“Booker Little Tribute Show”
Booker Little
Craig celebrates the birth date anniversary of star trumpeter and composer, BOOKER LITTLE, with a carefully chosen presentation of choice material from throughout his “too short” career. Little was destined to emerge as the next great trumpet master after the untimely death of Clifford Brown, but Booker’s own health problems cut his life short, as well. Sad stories, but a rich legacy left behind. Don’t miss it.
Tropical Heat with Kpoti Accoh
Sunday, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Featured Album: “Muzikr” by Carlou D 
http://www.last.fm/music/Carlou+D
Carlou D’s first global release is actually his follow-up to his Senegalese debut. He’s a child of the hip-hop generation having been in Positive Black Soul (arguably Africa’s biggest hip-hop band) before going solo. He’s an accomplished singer (and pretty fair guitar player) with a strong falsetto, with a mastery of several styles, including m’balax on “Il Touba,” and the softer ballad of “Goree,” where he’s given a helping hand by Youssou N’Dour, an imprimatur of greatness. The man’s hip-hop past breaks through in the rhythms of “Senegal” and also “Meun Nako Def.” What’s especially pleasing is the use of Senegalese percussion and kora among the instruments — the kora takes a stunning solo on “Yaaboyo” — keeping it all very rooted, and nowhere more so than on the percussion-heavy “Dieureudieufe Modou,” which even brings in a delicious little rap. Essentially, this is a showcase for Carlou D’s many talents. But as he’s extremely talented, it works exceedingly well.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:
New Music Monday for March 28, 2016
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Any chance that one has to hear a master musician in his or her preferred setting is a gift. For all the one-offs and ensemble-by-committee type of gigs that spring up, it is the reunion with familiar collaborators for a stint of a few nights that really becomes integral for the best performances. On his new recording, “At This Time,” Steve Kuhn found himself in just the right time and place to record a trio record that feels timeless and truly inspired. Kuhn, of course, has been one of jazz’s foremost pianists for over a half a century. He has been fortunate to accompany some of the most important voices of his generation, including John Coltrane, Sheila Jordan and Kenny Dorham, but it is his work in the trio setting that has been where he has made his name. His ensemble on the new disc, which features legendary bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Joey Baron, was happy to find itself in an extended engagement at Birdland in New York last September and found time to g et into the recording studio before heading to Europe on tour.
Contempor
ary jazz keyboardist and composer Peter Horvath is a Budapest, Hungary, native who came to the United States in 1983 to study at Berklee College in Boston. He has since recorded, performed and toured nationally and worldwide with a long line of world class artists, including jazz greats Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, Ernie Watts, Eddie Henderson, Charles McPherson and others. His new album, “Absolute Reality,” features some of today’s greats like Randy Brecker, Bob Mintzer, Victor Bailey and Lenny White. The original music fuses a variety of elements from hard hitting funk jazz with horns to pieces with Latin and straight-ahead jazz influences.
Also this week, Hristo Vitchev, referred to by the media as one of the newest and most innovative voices in modern jazz guitar, offers up his seventh set as a leader, “In Search of Wonders”.
Trombonist Ryan Keberle & Catharsis tap into various South American musical forms and cultures on “Azul Infinito”.
Percussionist Ed Fast & Conga Bop are joined by special guest guitarist Larry Coryell on their new one, “Do or Die.”
This Week’s Shows: Week of March 21 – 27
Short List with Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
The Short List: A Personal History of Jazz – Movies / TV
Movie Poster for Round Midnight
Producer Bob Naujoks concentrates on television and movie themes that are jazz based. The Peter Gunn theme by Henry Mancini is at the top of his TV list, but Hill Street Blues is not far behind. Imagine the jazz giants Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday in the same movie. They were, in 1947 in the film New Orleans. The picture was pedestrian, but their performances were not. Bio-flics like The Benny Goodman Story and The Five Pennies (that’s cornetist Red Nichols) had great music and weak stories. Better on both accounts was Round Midnight with Dexter Gordon.
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 6:00 PM
Bud Powell: Bebop Pianism
Bud Powell – Photo credit: Susanne Schapowalow
After being brutally beaten by police at age 21, Powell spent the rest of his short life fighting mental illness, until his death in 1966. His music revealed his constant state of struggle. Known to improvise like one possessed, Powell’s right hand could race through the upper registers of the keyboard with astounding clarity while his left hand grounded the lines with irregularly spaced dissonant bass chords. Bud Powell created a ferocious body of music that shattered the limits of bebop and influenced all that followed him.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“Pianist Lennie Tristano”
Craig celebrates the birth date anniversary of pioneering pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher, Leonard Joseph “Lennie” Tristano. We’ll hear an array of amazing examples of his artistry from throughout his distinguished career…including solo piano works, as well as recordings in the company of many of his famed students (Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Ronnie Ball, and others). A unique stylist, to be sure!
New Orleans Calling with George Ingmire
Tuesday at 6:00 PM
“Remebering Harold Battiste – Part 1”
Harold Battiste
Harold Battiste, who passed last year at the age of 83, was a true New Orleanian: he grew up in the Magnolia Projects, was educated at Dillard, and founded the first record label, All For One (A.K.A. AFO Records) owned by African American musicians. After decades in Los Angeles, he spent many years on the Jazz Studies faculty at the University of New Orleans. His 2010 autobiography Unfinished Blues: Memories of a New Orleans Music Man is required reading for any student of music history.
A composer, teacher, and mentor, Battiste was perhaps best known as a producer and arranger.
Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
The Panama Jazz Festival: Danilo Pérez
Stateside, Danilo Pérez is a highly respected pianist in the jazz world. In his homeland of Panama, he’s a national icon, and not just for his artistry: He sees jazz as a vehicle for social change. The Panama Jazz Festival he founded, for instance, doesn’t just feature major international acts — it brings students from all sorts of backgrounds to share the stage. Jazz Night In America goes to Panama City to take in festival performances by Perez, John Patitucci and a rising star violinist named Joshue Ashby, and finds out how music can change lives in Panama.
Wednesday Night Special
7:00 PM (Follows Jazz Night in America)
Jazz Masters at the Iowa City Jazz Festival: Tom Harrell Colors of a Dream (2014)
Tom Harrell Colors of a Dream at the 2014 Iowa City Jazz Festival
Praised by Newsweek for his pure melodic genius, Tom Harrell is widely recognized as one of the most creative and dynamic jazz instrumentalists and composers of our time. While Harrell is a master of the jazz idiom, he constantly seeks new challenges and influences. With a discography of over 260 recordings and a career that spans more than four decades, Harrell has managed to stay fresh and current as he continues to actively record and tour around the world. In the last two years, Harrell has begun to develop new projects, often involving some or all of the quintet members. The TRIP quartet is a piano-less group that was formed last year after Harrell was commissioned to write new music by Dave Douglas. COLORS OF A DREAM, Harrell’s latest creation, takes the piano-less concept one step further with this sextet featuring alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw, Grammy Award winning bassist-vocalist Esperanza Spalding and quintet members Wayne Escoffery (tenor sax), Ugonna Okegwo (bass), and Johnathan Blake (drums).
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM and Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
“State of The Instrument — Part 5: The Bass”
Linda Oh
In this, the 5th show from the new series of programs, Craig will spin a variety of discs that will include music from a number of current, powerful artists, that will throw the spotlight on to 4 different hip and happening bassists. We’ll hear tunes that will include bassists, Jon Hebert, Linda Oh, Hans Glawischnig, and Scott Colley. Great music for everyone, but particularly for those who have an interest in what’s happening on today’s jazz scene!
Tropical Heat with Kpoti Accoh
Sunday, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Featured Album: “Alegria de Viver” by Leny Andrade & Roni Ben-Hur 
http://jazztimes.com/articles/170287-alegria-de-viver-leny-andrade-roni-ben-hur
Described in the New York Times as both the ‘Sarah Vaughan and the Ella Fitzgerald of Brazil’, vocal legend Leny Andrade’s intimate duo with elite NYC guitarist Roni Ben-Hur is a soul stirring collection of beloved sambas, bossa novas and boleros which have never before been recorded by this great artist.
Alegria de Viver (Joy of Living), her new CD for Motema, is a revelation, sure to please any fan of Brazilian music. ‘I chose the repertoire’, says Andrade. ‘I’d never recorded these songs. Fantastic! I did a perfect list!’ The song list includes music by some of the greatest Brazilian composers and includes Andrade’s first recording of the Antonio Jobim classic ‘Dindi’. Her perfect list of songs is mirrored by the perfect choice for instrumental support – guitarist Roni Ben-Hur who joined her in the studio in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in January, 2014. Says Ben Hur, ‘It was very casual. We were in one small room sitting next to each other. It was all under Leny’s leadership’. The resulting release is a high mark in the style of timeless, classic Brazilian music.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at: