This trip has sold out! Please contact Lisa Baum at 319.398.5446 or email lisa@kcck.org for future departures.

MUSIC. CULTURE. EXPERIENCE.

Download the Brochure.

Travel with KCCK to Cuba in 2016!

We depart May 4, 2016 for 8 days of cultural exploration of this exotic island. Don’t delay – Cuban accommodations all over the island are at a premium.

Highlights

• Melia Varadero All-Inclusive Resort
• Varadero & Matansas
• Matansas School of Art & Music
• Havana & Museum of the Revolution
• Old Havana Walking Tour (UNESCO)
• Home & Studio of Artist Jose Fuster
• Walking Tour of the Colon Cemetery
•Hemingway’s Farm – Finca La Vigia
• Habana Compas Dance Group Performance
• Old Style Classic Car Club Discussion
• Nacional Hotel
• Former Cuban Baseball Player Discussion
• Pinar Del Rio & Vinales Valley (UNESCO)
• Francisco Donatien Cigar Factory Visit
• Tobacco Farm & Farmhouse Visit

What’s Included

• Round Trip Airfare from Miami
• U.S. Air Departure Taxes & Fees
• Havana Airport Departure Taxes
• Hotel & Airport Transfers In Cuba
• 7 Nights First Class Hotel Accommodations
• Professional Bilingual Cuban Guide
• U.S. Tour Manager
• Cuban Visa & Cuban Health Insurance
• 16 Meals – (6B, 6L, 4D)
• Daily Bottled Water
• Interactions & Admissions per Itinerary.
• Baggage Handling – (1 Checked Bag pp)
• Deluxe Air Conditioned Motorcoach
• Gratuities for Hotel Porters, Wait Staff
at included Meals, Step on Guides and All
People to People Visits & Interactions

Accommodations

• 1 Night Airport Miami Marriott
(www.marriott.com/miami)
• 2 Nights Melia Varadero Resort, Varadero
(www.meliacuba.com) – All Inclusive Resort
• 4 Nights Melia Havana Hotel, Havana
(www.meliacuba.com)

Regular Rate

$4,095 pp double

$600 single supplement

*$200 per couple / $100 pp booking discount. See flyer back for booking discount details.

Hotels, itinerary, inclusions and people to people visits are all subject to change.

New Music Monday for August 17, 2015

Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.

Helming a trio was the furthest thing from bassist Christian McBride’s mind—until an appearance with his band Inside Straight in 2009 became a trio date due to the absence of his saxophonist and vibraphonist. But instead of calling for replacements, he opted for expedience and played the gig with his pianist and drummer.

With his new release, Out Here, McBride introduces his latest working group, a trio with pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr., who have been performing with McBride’s smallest group for about three years, honing their trio conception to a fine point of expressive depth and nuance with select performances around the world.

For his fifth CD as a leader, The River, pianist and composer Ryan Cohan navigates a path that courses through East Africa and his native Chicago, reflecting the sights, sounds and emotions along its shoreline. Cohan’s most ambitious work to date, the music was inspired by a trip that his quartet made to the tumultuous regions of Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cohan was chosen as a musical ambassador in the tradition of Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington. This trip made such a powerful impression that he decided to depict it via the suite that comprises the new disc.

Also in the mix this week, guitarist John Scofield reassembles his Uberjam band after ten years apart for Uberjam Deux, a band he’s bringing to Iowa City’s Englert Theatre on September 4; veteran Canadian pianist and composer Oliver Jones documents the formidable rapport between he and his long-time sidemen, veteran bassist Eric Lagace and drummer Jim Doxas, on Just for My Lady; and bassist Tom Kennedy assembles an all-star cast including Lee Ritenour, Dave Weckl, Mike Stern, Tim Hagans and George Garzone for Just Play!.

This Week’s Shows – Week of Aug. 17

Short List with Bob Naujoks

Mon. – Thurs. at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM

The Short List: B-3 Blitz Two: Richard “Groove” Holmes (new series)

The Short List extends a listen to the great Hammond B-3 players on a new series starting with Richard “Groove” Holmes. He is a most accessible and soulful. Holmes was discovered by the pianist-singer Les McCann and was on an early recording with him. Holmes then struck out on his own and was a crowd pleaser for three decades. What solidified his style was Holmes’ insistent, pulsating bass lines that one could say was in the “groove.”

Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson

Monday at 6:00 PM

Oscar Peterson: Piano Master

Trained in the classical tradition of Franz Liszt, but nurtured on Art Tatum and Nat “King” Cole, Oscar was the standard to which many pianists aspire. This show examines his career from his origins in tough neighborhoods of Montreal, to his work with Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic, to his influential trio with bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis, to becoming a solo artist.

Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler

Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)

“The Herbie Hancock Story — Part Two”

Craig continues his chronological look at the music of Herbert Jeffrey Hancock. In show #2, we’ll hear from Herbie’s recordings made in 1963 to 1965, featuring his own records as well as a number of dates where Mr. Hancock appears as a sideman with the likes of Miles Davis, Blue Mitchell, Bob Brookmeyer, Lee Morgan, and a host of others. Herbie continues to be one of the foremost jazz pianists from the past 55 years.

Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wendell Pierce

Tuesday at 6:00 PM

The Music of Billy Strayhorn

Duke Ellington described him as “my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head” — composer Billy Strayhorn penned some of Duke’s most enduring songs, but himself remained in relative obscurity. Vocalist Jose James and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra interpret Strayhorn classics including Lush Life, Take the “A” Train and Something to Live For.

JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater

Wednesday at 6:00 PM

Discovery Series at the Kennedy Center: Christie Dashiell.. Alfredo Rodriguez Trio

Dashiell is a vocal and arranging student at Manhattan School of Music, onstage at the KC Jazz Club with a band of her brothers. Pianist Rodriguez from Cuba amazes with his prowess and originality.

Wednesday Night Special

7:00 PM (Follows JazzSet)

The Pat Smith Quartet / John Carlson Quartet at Kirkwood

Pat Smith grew up in Chicago playing in various blues and rock bands. He attended Coe College for two years and finished his bachelor’s degree at Cornell College. After graduating, Smith moved to the San Francisco bay area and played with various blues bands including the fusion band Io. In 1993, he formed the Penguin Jazz Quartet, which recorded two CDs that are available on iTunes. The Penguin’s second CD, On Ice, went to No. 6 on Berkeley’s KALX FM in 1998, and made KCCK’s top 20 for 1999. Smith was a co-founder of Nossa Bossa, a Brazilian jazz quartet garnering excellent reviews throughout the bay area. The band helped introduce the Bose PAS system, a new kind of amplification system. In 2008, Smith returned to Iowa and teamed with Bassist Richard Wagor. The duo released their first CD “Iowa Duets” in late 2011and it placed at #28 on KCCK’s Top 88 for 2012.

This spring the John Carlson Quartet performed a concert program “Celebrating the Music of Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond” at Kirkwood’s Ballantyne Auditorium. Originally from Peoria and Chicago, Illinois, John Carlson holds a degree in Saxophone Performance from Northern Illinois University where he studied under Professor Steve Duke. He played professionally in the Chicago area for 18 years and has backed entertainers such as Doc Severinsen, Lou Rawls, Maureen McGovern, The Four Tops, The Temptations, and Bill Cosby. John also worked for 10 years as a full time staff Music Director and Arranger at Willow Creek Community Church, one of the largest and most innovative contemporary churches in the country. John is also employed at Kirkwood’s Eagle-Tech store on the CR campus.

Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland

Thursday at 6:00 PM

Chuck Mangione

Flugelhorn player Chuck Mangione is widely known for the crossover success of his catchy mid-1970s tunes. But his jazz credentials are rock solid – his mentor Dizzy Gillespie once recommended him for a spot in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Mangione and bassist Gary Mazzaroppi team with McPartland for some dynamic trio work, including his famous tune, “Feels So Good,” and a few beloved standards.

Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler

Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM

“Birthday Celebration for Sonny Rollins”

Craig celebrates Sonny’s 83rd birthday with Part Seven of his chronological series, THE SONNY ROLLINS STORY, spinning exciting selections from the 70s and 80s. We’re pleased to learn that Sonny is back in good health and on the road performing again. Happy Birthday, Mr. Rollins!

Riverwalk Jazz

Sunday at 5:00 PM

Ride, Red, Ride: New Orleans Trumpeter Henry ‘Red’ Allen Jr.

New Orleans trumpeter Henry ‘Red’ Allen Jr. made a name for himself on the 1930s’ New York jazz scene as a hot trumpet soloist, singer and entertainer. He later went on to hold a long residency as bandleader at Manhattan’s famed Metropole Café in Times Square. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band and special guests tell the story and perform tunes from Allen’s long career.

KCCK’s Midnight CD

The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:

http://www.kcck.org/onair/midnight_cd.php