This Week’s Special Shows

Week of April 27, 2015 
                     
Short List with Bob Naujoks 

Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM

Jazz and the Spoken Word: Kenneth Patchen

Over the years there has been a small group of writers and musicians who have worked to blend together the rhythm of jazz with the rhythm of poetry and the spoken word. This week on “Jazz and the Spoken Word” it is Kenneth Pachen who was a major influence on the Beat Generation of poets though he disliked being included in their group. Kenneth Patchen was one of the first to do live readings of his poetry, and one of the first to use jazz music as a background track.             

   
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 6:00 PM
Rosemary Clooney: An American Treasure                    
For more than 40 years, Rosemary Clooney’s simple and exquisite singing style defined her career. Her dynamic career also included movie roles and a star turn in her own television show. Rosemary will always be remembered as one of America’s finest jazz-based vocalists.                            
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“The Music of Gil Evans”                       
This week, Craig throws the spotlight onto the legendary arranger, pianist, and band leader, Ernest Gilmore “Gil” Evans. We’ll hear Gil’s music from a variety of record labels – such as Impulse!, Verve, Prestige, Columbia, and others …concentrating on his famous collaborations with Miles Davis. Stone classics!!                                               
New Orleans Calling with George Ingmire    
Tuesday at 6:00 PM 
“Rhythm of Life”         
This week’s episode, titled “Rhythm Of Life,” takes a look at New Orleans as a city filled with young musicians, who embrace the traditions here, and keep them alive by making them their own. Sometimes it’s a matter of taking old music in a new direction. Sometimes it’s playing new music in an old style. Or even creating something nobody has ever imagined before. This week on New Orleans Calling, we take a listen to their music and their stories.              
Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
The Simon Bolivar Big Band and El Sistema  

Highlights from the Simon Bolivar Big Band performing for the first time at Jazz at Lincoln Center. The band is a student-based group, created in Venezuela in 2007 with the goal of promoting jazz throughout the nation.              
Wednesday Night Special              
7:00 PM (Follows Jazz Night in America)   
(Celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month with student jazz groups from the “Creative Corridor”)
The 2015 Corridor Jazz Project Concerts (new)
Every year, KCCK matches professional jazz players and teachers with our area high school jazz bands to create a unique CD and performance experience. The Corridor Jazz Project concert takes place in April to coincide with the release of the Corridor Jazz Project CD during Jazz Appreciation Month. Each school performs two different compositions assigned specifically for them. The first tune performed by each group features solos by individual band members. The second is a live performance version of the composition that band recorded earlier this year exclusively for the Corridor Jazz Project CD Volume VIII with a guest artist/teacher as the featured soloist. This year for the first time, we divided the concert into two performances to accommodate the busy schedules of participating students. The concerts were April 6th and 7th in Sinclair Auditorium, Coe College in Cedar Rapids. Schools are given blocks of tickets that they can sell and keep the proceeds. The CD is made available to each school, below cost, to sell and keep the profit. The CD airs periodically on KCCK, particularly during April for Jazz Appreciation Month, and is also available at local retailers and from our website at: the KCCK Store.
Here are the High School jazz Bands and their guest artist in order of performance:
2015 CJP Concert I
Marion, with Al Naylor, Trumpet
Solon, with Alisabeth Von Presley, Vocals
Lisbon, with Blake Shaw, Bass
Iowa City West, with Rod Pierson, Sax
CR Washington, with Chris Merz, Sax
2015 CJP Concert II
CR Kennedy, with Joel Nagel, Trombone
CR Prairie, with Bob Washut, Keys
CR Jefferson, with Jacob Yarrow, Sax
Iowa City High, with Drew Morton, Bass
CR Xavier, with Jim Dreier, Drums
Linn Mar, Nolan Schroeder, Sax  
Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland     
Thursday at 6:00 PM
Shirley Horn               
Jazz musicians have long admired pianist and vocalist Shirley Horn (1934 – 2005). Her sensitive and relaxed playing style and unique vocals earned her comparisons to fellow jazz greats such as Count Basie and Nat King Cole. In this Piano Jazz session from 1995, Horn brings her unmistakable contralto to a set including “Wouldn’t It Be Lovely” and “End of a Beautiful Friendship.” McPartland performs her original tune “Days of Our Love.”                 
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM
“The Incomparable Artistry of Andrew Hill  —  Part 2”                
Craig brings us the 2nd of 4 shows in which he’ll throw the spotlight onto the career of one of the most innovative jazz pianists of the last 65 years! In this show, we’ll examine more material from Andrew, including groups under his leadership, as well as some of the many appearances of Hill as a sideman. ASTONISHING MUSIC THAT IS NOT TO BE MISSED!!                                 
Riverwalk Jazz
Sunday at 5:00 PM 
The Great Innovator: Clarinetist Benny Goodman   

Reed men Allan Vaché and Harry Allen, and vibists John Cocuzzi and Lionel Hampton join the Jim Cullum Jazz Band to celebrate a kid from Chicago who would change the face of American popular music: Benny Goodman, credited with transforming ’20s-style hot jazz into swing, and setting off a pop craze that spanned the Great Depression and World War II.                          
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:

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







Week of April 20, 2015 

Short List with Bob Naujoks

Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
Jazz and the Spoken Word: Jack Kerouac                       
Over the years there has been a small group of writers and musicians who have worked to blend together the rhythm of jazz with the rhythm of poetry and the spoken word. This week it is not a poet but the writer of the Beat novel On The Road, Jack Kerouac. He wrote indelibly about the 1950s in a literary bebop style. His recordings with Steve Allen and Zoot Sims are treasures of his art.          
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 6:00 PM
Milt Hinton: “The Ultimate Timekeeper”                   
Double bassist Milt Hinton built his reputation on being one of the most versatile and consistent players in jazz. Over a thousand recordings feature his rhythmic handiwork. He played with all the greats, including Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, and the Count Basie Orchestra-and collected funny stories about every one of them. This program features vintage and contemporary recordings from Hinton’s prolific career and interviews with Clark Terry, Dick Hyman, Rufus Reid and David Berger.                           

Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“More of The Compositions of Herbert Horatio Nichols” 

Craig assembles another fine list of exciting Herbie Nichols compositions and gives us multiple versions of each song as played by Herbie himself and a variety of other artists as well. We’ll also hear a short interview that Craig conducted with bassist Ben Allison at the end of last year, that concerns THE HERBIE NICHOLS PROJECT and some newly discovered Herbie Nichols sheet music of previously unheard compositions!!       

New Orleans Calling with George Ingmire    
Tuesday at 6:00 PM 
“The Squeezebox”        
Experience the culture of the “Big Easy” with New Orleans Calling featuring exclusive New Orleans stories, interviews and music. This week we take a look at an instrument that might be old fashioned in much of the world — but very much alive in New Orleans and Louisiana. It’s the accordion, and you’ll be surprised by just how versatile and beautiful the accordion really is.              

Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
Home Cookin’  

In Philadelphia, in the 1950s into the 1970s, dozens of organists emerged and reshaped jazz into a popular, swinging, danceable, yet artistically refined contemporary music. Usually featuring a trio consisting of an organ, drums and saxophonist or guitarist, these ensembles were portable orchestras. This episode of Jazz Night in America goes to the source, and brings a concert from Philadelphia’s World Cafe Live paying tribute to three masters of the jazz organ tradition: Jimmy Smith, Shirley Scott and Charles Earland. We’ll dive into what exactly made Philadelphia jazz organ culture thrive and hear interviews with local talent featured in the show.             

Wednesday Night Special              
7:00 PM (Follows Jazz Night in America)   
(Celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month with student jazz groups from the “Creative Corridor”)
Encore: United Jazz Ensemble / North Corridor Jazz All Stars at the 2014 Iowa City Jazz Festival
Every May, this collaborative high school ensemble comes together to prepare for the Jazz Festival.  Directed by Rich Medd and Ryan Arp, the band is composed of students from Iowa City High School and West High School in Iowa City.  For 20 years, this group has served as one of the signature elements of the Iowa City Jazz Festival’s commitment to education outreach. The deep immersion of students in jazz over the summer not only strengthens their musical growth, but builds a strong bond between the programs at the two schools. Their sound swings so hard that you can’t help but agree about the bright future of the music!
The North Corridor All-Star Big Band returned for its third performance at the Iowa City Jazz Festival.  Like the United Jazz Ensemble, this group is composed of some of the most talented high school jazz musicians of the corridor from Cedar Rapids to Cedar Falls. Under the direction of Steve Shanley, the North Corridor Jazz All Stars will present a musically diverse program featuring the many facets of Big Band repertoire. Always ensured to be a romping and swinging live jam, the North Corridor Jazz All Stars had the crowd moving to the beat and grinning with local pride.      

Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland     
Thursday at 6:00 PM
Stanley Cowell              
Recorded before a live audience at NPR studios in Washington, DC, Marian McPartland hosted pianist Stanley Cowell for this 1999 Piano Jazz. Known for his brilliant and highly personal approach, Cowell bridges traditional and contemporary styles of jazz. He and McPartland challenge each other in inventive duets, and Cowell performs his famous composition “Euqipoise.” 

Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM
“The Music of Gil Evans”                       
This week, Craig throws the spotlight onto the legendary arranger, pianist, and band leader, Ernest Gilmore “Gil” Evans. We’ll hear Gil’s music from a variety of record labels – such as Impulse!, Verve, Prestige, Columbia, and others ….concentrating on his famous collaborations with Miles Davis. Stone classics!! 

Riverwalk Jazz
Sunday at 5:00 PM 
The Rise and Fall of Joe “King” Oliver                               
Joe “King” Oliver put the “hot” in hot jazz. Through his personal letters, read by stage legend William Warfield, the rise and fall of Oliver’s career comes to life. And cornetist Leon Oakley and tubist Mike Walbridge join the Jim Cullum Jazz Band to turn up the heat with a collection of 1920s classics.                        

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

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

Howard Levy Interview

Howard Levy is one of just a handful of premiere jazz harmonica players on the planet. He is also an outstanding pianist.

A founding member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Howard also performs with the Latin groups Trio Globo and Chèverede Chicago.

He stopped by KCCK when he was in Iowa recently for a clinic and concert at Kirkwood. In a delightful conversation with our Dennis Green, Howard demonstrated harmonical technique, talked about this Grammy-winning work the Flecktones, explained why he enjoys the 11/4 time signature, and even explained how Dave Brubeck’s legendary song “Take Five,” is based on a mistake!

Watch the interview on YouTube at the link below, or the audio podcast on kcck.org.

Jazz Under the Stars line-up revealed at Taste of Jazz

KCCK, First Avenue Wine House and the future chefs of Kirkwood’s Culinary Arts Department will collaborate for a night of wine, food and music Friday, April 24, from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Hotel at Kirkwood Center at 7725 Kirkwood Boulevard SW. This year’s theme is Sweet Home Chicago. The Culinary Arts students will cook and serve selections accompanied by a selection of wines hand-picked to complement each dish. The lineup for this year’s Jazz Under The Stars will also be revealed. Live music will be provided. Proceeds go to support Jazz Under The Stars. Tickets are $45. To make a reservation, call Kim at 319-398-5446 or kim@kcck.org. Or you can purchase tickets on-line through the purchase tickets on-line through the KCCK Store.

New Music Monday for April 20, 2015

New Music Monday Playlist on YouTube and Spotify.

     Drum master Steve Gadd is among the most respected and emulated musicians in the world—an anomaly whose panache for playing precisely what a piece of music requires plus bringing signature taste, style and energy to the proceedings has resulted in hundreds of the most rhythmically exhilarating  moments in recorded music history, across genres. Steve turned 70 on April 9thand commemorates the milestone with the release of “70 Strong,” the second CD by the Steve Gadd Band.  The panoramic sound palette of groove and grace features Larry Goldings on keyboards, Walt Fowler on trumpet, Jimmy Johnson on bass and Michael Landau on guitar. 
     Since the beginning of his illustrious career, pianist Joey Calderazzo has mainly played in quartets led by remarkable saxophonists, namely Michael Brecker and Branford Marsalis.  As a musician and composer, he had become comfortable in this format, developing an intensity in his playing and composing that those ensembles’ size demanded.  Calderazzo saw the establishment of his trio as a means to strengthen his craft by working on material and musical concepts that he would not ordinarily work on. In light of the progress he has made in that format, Calderazzo views his new recording, “Going Home,” as a snapshot of a work in progress, an experiment that continues to progress and wield an abundance of intriguing results.

     Also this week, guitarist Phill Fest, the son of bossa nova pioneer Manfredo Fest, offers up a bit of samba-jazz with “That’s What She Says”; singer Jose Jamesfeatures music from the Billie Holiday songbook with “Yesterday I Had the Blues”; and trombonist John Fedchock and his quartet are captured live  in Virginia Beach on “Fluidity.”

Make Your Own “I’m The Boss” Bumper! – Dennis

By now, you’ve probably heard of our new way of referring to KCCK donors: The Boss.

It’s a light-hearted and hopefully fun way of reminding you that as a non-profit, KCCK runs on donations from people who want to support our jazz radio programming and jazz education programs.

In radio parlance, a quick recorded line that comes in between two songs is called a “bumper.”

If you’re a KCCK Boss, and we have not yet gotten a “Boss Bumper” from you; and you have a smartphone, you can make your own!

Here’s how:

  • Open the Voice Recorder app on any IOS or Android phone or tablet.
  • Press Record and say the following into the phone’s microphone (a hole or small grill on the bottom of the device).

“Hi, this is __________________________, and I’m The Boss here at KCCK! You can be the boss, too, when you invest in local jazz radio. Listen like a Boss and donate now at kcck.org”

  • Touch the Share button. Depending on your device, it could be one of the icons to the right, or the word “Share.”
  • “Email” will be one of your share choices. Email the file to dennis@kcck.org.
  • That’s it! I’ll let you know that it arrived and will work.
 And thanks for being The Boss at KCCK!

New Music Monday for April 13, 2015

New Music Monday Playlist on YouTube and Spotify.

     Eliane Elias’ “Made in Brazil” marks a musical homecoming for the multi-Grammy-nominated keyboardist/singer/composer. In her three-decade long career as a solo artist, this is the first time she’s recorded a disc in her native Brazil since moving to the United States in 1981. Along with co-producers Steve Rodby and Marc Johnson, the latter her bass playing musical partner, Elias ventured ‘home’ and recruited a splendid cast of Brazilian musicians. She also peppered the sessions with delightful special guest performances from Mark Kibble and his multi-Grammy Award-winning gospel vocal group Take 6; one of Brazil’s most celebrated R and B stars, Ed Motta; and the distinguished bossa nova composer Roberto Menescal. 
     Much like the importance of a compass to an explorer, when bassist Avishai Cohen is asked what he would consider his favorite navigational instrument, he points to his bass-piano-drums trio that helps him find his orientation and drive to push forward. His new recording, “From Darkness,” sees the Israeli native go back to the very core of his musical idiom and activity and open an essential gateway into a new creative and expressive dimension. “It is the first time since 2007 that I have the feeling I am reaching a new, fresh and incredibly substantial form with the trio.” A belief reinforced by two outstanding partners, pianist Nitai Hershvovits and drummer Daniel Dor. “Both Nitai and Daniel take my music to places and perspectives that I had never suspected it would go and I couldn’t dream of anything better.”

     Also this week, iconic guitarist Larry Coryell crosses genres between blues, folk, rock and soul-infused jazz on “Heavy Feel”; saxophonist Tim Warfield puts his own spin on the music of Thelonious Monk with “Spherical”; and Chicago-based reed master Bernard Scavella debuts with “A Taste of Scavella.”

New Music Monday for April 6, 2015

New Music Playlist on YouTube and Spotify.

     Onstage and on record, the music of Anat Cohen positively glows—with virtuosity, with charisma, with the sheer joy of creation—and never more brightly than on her seventh CD as a bandleader, “Luminosa.” The disc sees the clarinetist/saxophonist play singing, dancing originals, interpret Brazilian classics by the likes of Milton Nascimento, and even re-imagine electronica as acoustica. Members of Anat’s touring quartet—keyboardist Jason Lindner, bassist Joe Martin and drummer Daniel Freedman—appear on the album, as do guest guitarists Romero Lubambo and Gilad Hekselman and the Brazilian players from her new band Choro Adventuroso.

     Warren Vache is ideally and nearly uniquely qualified to interpret the music of Benny Carter. He was one of Benny’s favorite musicians and they played together at numerous festivals over the years. The genesis of a new project, “The Warren Vache Quintet Remembers Benny Carter,” happened when Carter’s widow asked Vache to headline a tribute concert in Connecticut, the success of which made the cornetist decide to put together a disc featuring largely the same band as had played in concert. Saxophonist Harry Allen was not available, however, so Vache called on the veteran reedman Houston Person to sit in.

     Also this week, Grammy Award-winning bassist Mark Egan unveils “Direction Home,” the second release from his all-star contemporary jazz trio featuring drummer Danny Gottlieb and keyboardist Mitchel Forman; vocalist Cassandra Wilson delves into the Billie Holiday songbook in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Lady Day with “Coming Forth By Day”; and guitarist Steve Watson offers up a fresh fusion of down-home Memphis blues and soul and melodic jazz on “Heat It Up.”

CD of the Month – April 2015

CD of the month April 2015
The KCCK Featured CD for April is “Afrodeezia” by Marcus Miller. Inspired by his role as a UNESCO Artist for Peace and spokesperson for the Slave Route Project, the bassist went back to the source of the rhythms that make black musical heritage so rich, following them like footprints from their beginnings in Africa to ports along the slave route all the way to the United States. Miller collaborated with musicians from West Africa, South America, the Caribbean as well as the United States for the project which, he says, is his way of paying tribute to the long journey of his African ancestors who became African-Americans. “Afrodeezia” is Miller’s debut release for Blue Note Records.For samples and buying information, click here.

Purchase the CD through KCCK’s Amazon account.

View the CD of the Month Archive