This Week’s Shows – Week of August 31
Short List with Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
Jazz and the Spoken Word: Dan Jaffe w Mike Melvoin / Rich Herstek w Pierre Hurel
“Jazz and the Spoke
n Word” Short List series is about a small group of writers and musicians who have worked to blend the rhythm of jazz with the rhythm of poetry and the spoken word. The series reveals some of the best attempts at combining the two art forms during the past 90 years. On The Short List this week we’ll hear more from writer Dan Jaffee and pianist Mike Melvoin as they explore the jazz music and ambience of Kansas City through poetry. Then a poetic fling by a man whose career was in advertising and promotion, Rich Herstek. His deep rich voice is pared up with the Julliard trained French pianist, Pierre Hurel, to great effect.
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 6:00 PM
Remembering Max Roach, Rhythmic Innovator 
An innovative drummer, bandleader, composer, and educator, Max Roach is a musical renaissance man. He was Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie’s drummer of choice as they developed bebop in the ’40s, and his innovations forever changed the way drums are played. In the ’50s he co-led (with trumpeter Clifford Brown) one of the seminal groups of jazz, bringing bebop to new levels of sophistication. In the ’60s, he created a range of compositions reflecting the struggle for civil rights.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“Celebration of The Music Of Charles Christopher Parker, Jr.”
Craig celebrates Bird’s birthday (8/29) by playing from a variety of records that feature music from the most important soloist in the history of modern jazz. We’ll hear music from Bird’s years in Kansas City in the early 1940s, through his early demise in 1955.
New Orleans Calling with George Ingmire
Tuesday at 6:00 PM
Remembering Katrina – 10 Years Later 
Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans on August 29, 2005 and changed countless lives forever. One of the remarkable stories from that fateful day and its aftermath was the loss and ultimate resurrection of New Orleans Public Radio Station WWOZ. Host George Ingmire shares this tale of how hundreds of people including WWOZ staff, volunteers, listeners, friends and community activists came together to help reclaim the airwaves for this public institution.
Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
Up and Down the Mississippi with Bill Frisell 
For the past two years, guitarist Bill Frisell has curated Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Roots of Americana series. For the final performance of the series, he takes us back to the Mississippi River Delta, the great incubator of American music, with a performance entitled Up and Down the Mississippi, Traveling Highway 61. Frisell explores music from New Orleans jazz to Delta blues and Bob Dylan to Bix Beiderbecke.
Wednesday Night Special
7:00 PM (Follows Jazz Night in America)
Christopher’s Very Happy Band at Opus Concert Café 
Christopher’s Very Happy Band is led by saxophonist Chris Merz, Professor of Jazz Studies and Director of Jazz Band I at the University of Northern Iowa. Chris has toured four continents with Dave Brubeck and other members of the Brubeck family and played lead alto saxophone with several East Coast groups, including the Cecil Bridgewater Big Band, the New England Jazz Ensemble, and the Jeff Holmes Big Band. Locally, Chris has led the X-tet, a 12-piece big band and was a member of Equilateral. The Very Happy band plays mostly all original compositions and also features Michael Conrad on piano & keyboard, Drew Morton on bass, and Dave Tiede on drums. This performance was originally broadcast live on KCCK May 1st as part of the “First Friday Jazz” series at Opus Concert Café in downtown Cedar Rapids.
Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland
Thursday at 6:00 PM
Ernestine Anderson 
Born in Houston in 1928, Ernestine Anderson hit the jazz scene in the 1940s and has captivated audiences with her vocal warmth and rich intensity ever since. Anderson has performed at prestigious venues worldwide, including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and has recorded with Hank Jones, Ray Brown, and Monty Alexander. In this Piano Jazz session from 1996, Anderson joins McPartland to perform “Our Love is Here to Stay” and “In a Mellow Tone.”
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM and Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
“The Music of Eric Dolphy — Part Two” 
Craig gives us the 2nd of 2 looks at the career of genius reedman, ERIC ALLAN DOLPHY, JR. In part two, we’ll look at the final half of his career — 1961 to 1964. We’ll hear from his later recordings for Prestige/New Jazz, his appearances with other jazz greats such as John Coltrane and Charles Mingus, as well as a variety of other recordings that he made in the 1960s. Dolphy has always been a very influential cog in the advancement of modern jazz, and his music continues to stand as ‘extremely important’ in jazz literature!
Riverwalk Jazz
Sunday at 5:00 PM
Crescent City Stomp: Mardi Gras Celebration 
They call New Orleans “the Cradle of Jazz.” And as the saying goes, “The hand that rocks the cradle, rocks the nation” — in this case, the world. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band presents a concert honoring the music and musicians of New Orleans, past and present.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:
Clean Up Your Act 9/10/15
July 2015 was the hottest month on record world-wide.
New Music Monday for August 31, 2015
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Having first made a name for himself in the 1980s as chief arranger for the legendary Woody Herman, John Fedchock has continued to develop his writing style over his 35-year career. His New York Big Band has been together now for over two decades and sets the standard for modern, post-swing large ensembles, bringing Fedchock back to the Grammy finals for his notable arranging skills. The band features a who’s who of New York stalwarts including Gary Smulyan, Walt Weiskopf, Scott Robinson, Allen Farnham and others. Their new CD, “Like It Is,” shows his Fedchock’s inventive flair in meshing the old with the new, featuring five of his originals and five arrangements of jazz and American classics.
Pianist Mitchel Forman was only 24 and already playing with Gerry Mulligan’s Big Band when he found himself onstage at Newport with legends George Benson and Freddie Hubbard. A stint with a latter-day version of John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra elevated his profile within the jazz scene and it was during this period that he also played with the great Wayne Shorter. Over the course of his three-and-a-half decade career, Forman has also performed alongside Stan Getz, Bill Evans and Pat Metheny. He’s recorded more than a dozen albums as a leader and appeared on dozens more as a sideman. But “Puzzle,” his new release with bassist Kevin Axt and drummer Steve Hass, may just be Forman’s crowning achievement, an intimate display that balances dazzling technique with a wide range of textures, emotions and moods.
Also this week, guitarist Bill Frisell is featured soloist as “Michael Gibbs and the NDR Big Band Play a Bill Frisell Set List” from the 2013 Uberjazz Festival in Hamburg, Germany; pianist Lafayette Harris, Jr. has bassist Lonnie Plaxico and drummer Willie Jones III in his trio for his seventh CD as a leader, “Bend to the Light”; and saxophonist Frank Catalano and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin team up on “God’s Gonna Cut You Down.”
Jazz Under The Stars – The Beaker Brothers
“Photos by Ann Kinney”
From Jazz Under the Stars – The Beaker Brothers. Posted by Jazz 88.3 KCCK-FM on 8/25/2015 (55 items)
Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher 2
A New Look for KCCK.ORG
The ORIGINAL kcck.org, from December 1996
Welcome to the new KCCK website!
You may not know it, but KCCK has had an online presence longer than just about any other area organization. Our first website was set up by then-sixteen-year-old Michael Dorman, son of News and Operations Director George Dorman. This was in 1996, years before most people had even heard of the World Wide Web. In fact, kcck.org preceded kirkwood.edu by several years!
Mike Dorman has assisted his dad on and off with the website ever since. The previous design was created by coder-and-musician John Shultz in 2007, so it was definitely time for a refresh.
We’re now taking advantage of modern content management systems (CMS to the web-savvy) to make the site easier to navigate and update. We’re using the popular WordPress system, if you’re interested in the nitty-gritty. The site will also display better on your mobile device.
The snappy new look to the site, which beautifully captures the old-school-meets-the-modern-age ethos of KCCK, was created by graphic designer Michelle Wiese. Mike Long of the Kirkwood web team did the heavy lifting on updating the code.
We think all the important stuff has come over from the old site, but if you don’t see something you use, please let us know!
This Week’s Shows – Week of Aug. 24
Short List with Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
Jazz and the Spoken Word: N-Side with Norman Woods / Dan Jaffe with Mike Melvoin
“Jazz and the Spoken Word” Short List series is about a small group of writers and musicians who have worked to blend the rhythm of jazz with the rhythm of poetry and the spoken word. The series reveals some of the best attempts at combining the two art forms during the past 90 years. On The Short List this week some modern-day poetry with jazz. The first segments feature N-Side, the healer — that is, Norman Woods from San Francisco. He is not only a poet, but a screenwriter, film producer and music publisher. His performances have steadily gained acceptance over the past decade and a half. The second poet to be featured is from Kansas City — Dan Jaffe. A few years ago he teamed up with the veteran jazz pianist Mike Melvoin to make a well-received recording. Jaffe also was the librettist for a jazz opera.
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 6:00 PM
Mel Tormé: The ‘Velvet’ Voice of Jazz
Like Ella Fitzgerald, Torme’s tender treatment of a ballad was offset with a powerful sense of swing. An accomplished drummer and pianist, he also sang songs much like jazz instrumentalists would play them. With help from friends and colleagues, we’ll examine one of the most fascinating careers in jazz.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“Prestige Records In 1955”
Once again, Craig travels back 60 years to look in on the recordings made for Bob Weinstock’s PRESTIGE record label back in 1955. We’ll hear from Miles Davis, Gene Ammons, Billy Taylor, James Moody, Sonny Rollins, and a host of other jazz giants!
New Orleans Calling with George Ingmire
Tuesday at 6:00 PM
“Fish Fries and Green Gumbo”
New Orleans seasons are defined more by what’s cooking than by the weather. On this week’s program we get a taste of some springtime food traditions in the Crescent City — fish fries, St Joseph’s altars with all manner of traditional Italian foods, and a seasonal gumbo that you might not believe is actually still a gumbo. Plus we have the debut of an exciting new live performance segment, with jazz singer Sharon Martin recorded live in an intimate setting at the historic Basin St. Station.
Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
Celebrating Betty Carter
In this episode of Jazz Night in America, we hear stories from alumni of “the school of Betty Carter,” an esteemed collection of singers bound together by the thrall of Carter’s titanic influence on jazz. One of the most powerful voices in the American musical tradition, her lasting legacy is celebrated by vocalist Charenee Wade along with many past members of Carter’s band through the years.
Wednesday Night Special
7:00 PM (Follows Jazz Night in America)
USAF Band Airmen of Note: The Jazz Heritage Series 2015 Radio Broadcasts #3
The Jazz Heritage Series 2015 Radio Broadcasts is a three-part concert series featuring The Airmen of Note. The Airmen of Note, the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force, is internationally recognized as one of America’s finest big bands and a “national treasure.” This week enjoy The Best of the Jazz Heritage Series with memorable performances from the last 6 years. Guest soloists include Al Jarreau, Carmen Bradford, Doc Severinsen, Roberta Gambarini, Andy Martin, Phil Woods, Kurt Elling, Joe Locke and the New York Voices.
Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland
Thursday at 6:00 PM
Hiromi
Pianist Hiromi Uehara was born in Shizuoka, Japan in 1979 and took her first piano lesson at age six. By age seventeen, she’d performed with both the Czech Philharmonic and with Chick Corea. She is an in-demand performer, capable of playing stride piano with blinding speed and deadly accuracy, and she’s also a thoughtful, impressionistic composer. On this episode of Piano Jazz from 2004, McPartland and Hiromi perform “Lullaby of Birdland” and McPartland improvises a “Portrait of Hiromi.”
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM
“Celebration of The Music Of Charles Christopher Parker, Jr.”
Craig celebrates Bird’s birthday (8/29) by playing from a variety of records that feature music from the
most important soloist in the history of modern jazz. We’ll hear music from Bird’s years in Kansas City in the early 1940s, through his early demise in 1955. You bring the cake and ice cream…Craig will bring the Charlie Parker records!
Riverwalk Jazz
Sunday at 5:00 PM
Gulf Coast Blues: The Clarence Williams Story
Clarence Williams certainly led a fascinating life — as an iconic record producer who brought the talents of Bessie Smith and Sidney Bechet to mainstream audiences, or as a hustler who stole the rights to top-selling jazz tunes. Topsy Chapman and Vernel Bagneris join The Jim Cullum Jazz Band to explore the story of this memorable musician.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:
New Music Monday for August 24, 2015
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
When Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra traveled to Havana in December of last year to record his new CD, “Cuba: the Conversation Continues,” something nearly miraculous happened: President Obama unexpectedly announced the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Cuba. O’Farrill had fought for political normalization between the countries through cultural diplomacy long before the announcement. His father, the late Latin music legend Chico O’Farrill, was born in Cuba, but was unable to return to the island after the revolution and he subsequently settled in the U.S. “It was an emotional experience for me,” O’Farrill explains,” a day that I hoped would come for years.” An auspicious moment in the celebrated pianist’s 30-year career, the recording is a profound statement that’s a touchstone of diplomatic engagement and cultural healing.
Mike LeDonne has appeared on over 100 CDs as a sideman with so many jazz giants it’s hard to keep count: Art Farmer, Dizzy Gillespie, Stanley Turrentine, Milt Jackson and others. LeDonne made his first recording as a leader on the B-3 in 2003 and has since added seven additional records to his discography. For his new CD, “Awwright!”, his Groover Quartet mates Eric Alexander, Peter Bernstein and Joe Farnsworth are joined by guests Jeremy Pelt on trumpet and the venerable bassist Bob Cranshaw. With such an illustrious line-up there are few jazz combos that burn hotter, swing hotter or generate more excitement than this all-star aggregation.
Also this week, contemporary jazz stalwarts Jeff Lorber and Chuck Loeb delve into the mainstream jazz songbooks of Monk, Coltrane and Parker on “Bop,” with help from friends like Harvey Mason, Brian Bromberg and Rick Braun; saxophonist Corbin Andrick is joined by some of the very best young talent in Chicago on “Olmstead’s Whistle”; and singer/songwriter Melody Gardot takes on a rootsier sound on “Currency of Man,” embracing the West Coast soul, funk, gospel and pop of the early ‘70s as the backdrop for her new tunes.