The Opus Concert Cafe, located next to the Paramount Theatre in downtown Cedar Rapids, continues its jazz series April 3 with permisson Jim Dreier. Dreier is a drum set, Latin percussion and jazz educator, clinician and performer who is also a full-time “Lecturer” in Jazz Studies at the University of Iowa. 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. Admission is $12. 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.
New Music Monday for March 23, 2015
“Afrodeezia” was inspired by bassist Marcus Miller’srole as a UNESCO Artist for Peace and spokesman for the organization’s Slave Route Project. It was recorded in locations around the world including Paris, Morocco, Rio, New Orleans and Los Angeles, and features a wide range of guests including vocalist Lalah Hathaway, keyboardist Robert Glasper, trumpeters Ambrose Akinmusire and Etienne Charles, and guitarist Keb’ Mo’. “For this project, I collaborated with musicians from West Africa, South America, the Caribbean, the southern U.S. and the large northern cities of the U.S.,” Miller explains. “This is my way of paying tribute to the long journey of my African ancestors who became African-Americans.”
“Ernestine Anderson Swings the Penthouse” is a previously unreleased set featuring the great singer in the full bloom of youth as you may have never heard her before—live in front of an appreciative audience. It’s the 34-year-old Anderson singing with exuberance and spontaneity in the intimate setting of Seattle’s legendary jazz club, the Penthouse, in 1962. Her first record had come out just a few years prior to this performance, Time Magazine had touted her as the “best new voice in the business…perhaps the best-kept jazz secret in the land” and Down Beat’s Critics Poll had named her the New Star of the Year.
Also this week, Denver-based trumpeter Al Hood and pianist Dave Hanson lead their H2 Big Band, with special guest vocalist Rene Marie, on “It Could Happen”; saxophonist Jovan Alexandre, a product of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music, makes his debut as a leader with “Collective Consciousness”; and trombonist Steve Turre unveils his first release for the new Smoke Sessions label with “Spiritman.”
Heat up Sundays with KCCK!
“Tropical Heat” is the Corridor’s only locally-produced World Music show, featuring Jazz and Worldbeat sounds from the Tropics, The Caribbean, and around the world.
The show is hosted by Togo native Kpoti Senam Accoh, who managed a music club before emigrating to the U.S.
Listen for “Tropical Heat” Sunday evenings at 6 p.m. Email Kpoti at kpoti@kcck.org or follow him on Twitter @TropicJazz.
New Music Monday for March 16, 2015
There have been pivotal locales which were the nurturing ground for the vanguard of many art forms. Jazz music has had a number of these spots, from New Orleans up to Kansas City and Chicago, then to New York and outward. It would not be hard to argue that the great city of Philadelphia should be recognized with these others as a wellspring of talented musicians. One of its prominent sons is drummer Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath. He, like so many other Philly natives including his brothers Jimmy and Percy, grew up in the music, as the city was ripe with musicians of the first order and an important stop for many of the progenitors of the music. On his new recording, “Philadelphia Beat,” Heath returns to his native ground to catch the spirit and preserve it. Joining him in this endeavor, for their third recording as a trio, are pianist Ethan Iverson and bassist Ben Street.
Russell Malone first worked with master organist Jimmy Smith in 1988 and between 1990 and 1994 toured with Harry Connick, Jr. During the late ‘90s Malone toured internationally with Diana Krall, receiving critical acclaim in his role as her right hand both in concert and on her recordings. The guitarist has also worked with such diverse artists as Branford Marsalis, Bucky Pizzarelli, Mulgrew Miller, Roy Hargrove and Patti Austin. Malone is added to the roster of High Note Records for his new CD, “Love Looks Good on You.”
Also this week, Katie Thiroux, an exceptional bassist, captivating singer and gifted composer, debuts with “Introducing Katie Thiroux”; drummer Mike Clark and pianist Michael Wolff return with “Wolff and Clark Expedition 2”; and pianist Jon Davis unveils his second trio recording for Posi-Tone Records, “Moving Right Along.”
New Music Monday for March 9, 2015
Sure-footed swing, sweet-toned harmonies and ever-insouciant charm are embodied in the new jazz vocal trio Duchess, featuring notable New York singers Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner and Melissa Stylianou. The group’s self-titled debut album channels the 1930s inspiration of the virtuosic Boswell Sisters into a wonderfully entertaining and contemporary package. The songs, blending the vintage and the fresh, range from Peggy Lee to Johnny Mercer to Gershwin.
With his monthly residency at Small’s Jazz Club in New York, saxophonist Lucas Pino has developed his No Net Nonet into an exciting and deeply musical improvising ensemble. Performing all original compositions, the group forges new ground while maintaining a rich, organic, swinging center. Pino attended the Brubeck Institute, the New School and Julliard, where he received his Masters in 2011. The Villager says, “that feeling of navigating the unexpected is probably the most exciting part of watching a group like the No Net Nonet perform…with all of its members sonically bouncing around, building and expanding upon each other’s ideas until a greater sum bursts forth…”
Also this week, drummer Manu Katche unveils the first live recording with his quartet, “Live in Concert”; alto saxophonist Matt Criscuolo exemplifies that he is a staying force on the scene, offering up his sixth disc as leader, “Headin’ Out”; and Brooklyn-based saxophonist and composer Michael Eaton is joined by special guest Dave Liebman for his debut release, “Individuation.”
New Music Monday for March 2, 2015
It’s a rare combination that has made trombonist Marshall Gilkes an in-demand performer, composer and sideman since his arrival in New York City in the late 1990s. He has been a regular member of Maria Schneider’s Grammy Award-winning orchestra. Schneider describes him as, “one of those musicians who continually just drops my jaw and leaves me shaking my head in disbelief.” He spent four years as a full time member of the Grammy Award-winning WDR Big Band of Koln, Germany, an association that lasted until the end of 2013. At the request of the band’s producer, he returned in early 2014 for a farewell concert of the material heard on his brand new CD, “Koln,” titling the disc after the city where he lived during his tenure with the WDR.
Musicians can take on the role of anthropologists, curious about what came before in music and how musicians reflected the world around them. Award-winning vocalist and songwriter Roberta Donnay is that rare species of musician who almost lives in another time, as she and her Prohibition Mob Band exist to revive the Jazz Age of America. Their new release, “Bathtub Gin,” mines 1920s gems but also takes the listener on a stroll into the 1930s. Donnay also includes four party-rousing shout-chorus originals that evoke and revive the open spirit that birthed jazz.
Also this week, trumpeter Randy Brecker is captured in a live performance with the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago on “Dearborn Station”; pianist Jacky Terrasson is fueled by loops, Afro beats, wah-wah Fender Rhodes voicings and hip-hop flavors on “Take This”; and bassist Omer Avital mines his Middle Eastern Jewish heritage for his new disc, “New Song.”
New Music Monday for February 23, 2015
“Collective Portrait” is much more than just the title of Eddie Henderson’s new CD. For Henderson, it’s the heart and soul of the remarkable trumpet master’s entire approach to music expression. Taking a cue from Miles Davis’ statement that “a collective portrait is better than a self-portrait,” Henderson has assembled a stellar cast of musicians to create music forged with the classic qualities of synergy and empathy essential for jazz at its highest level. Reuniting with pianist George Cables and alto saxophonist Gary Bartz—musical collaborators for nearly 40 years—along with the perfectly simpatico bass and drums tandem of Doug Weiss and Carl Allen, the disc embodies the creative spirit and adventurousness that is always the primary goal of all of Henderson’s musical endeavors.
Legendary alto saxophonist and Charles Mingus alum Charles McPherson teams up with Colorado cats Keith Oxman, Chip Stephens, Ken Walker and Todd Reid for his latest outing, “The Journey.” The recording features three originals by McPherson as well as two originals from tenor man Oxman and one from pianist Stephens. The rest of the date has bop-infused standards from Richard Rodgers, Sammy Cahn and Charlie Parker. McPherson calls the date, “fruitful and joyous” and the tunes “a great representation of the collective spirit and vitality of this group.”
Also this week, Texas-based guitarist Chris Cortez offers up an eclectic mix of standards, a few originals and a few re-imagined pop tunes in the jazz tradition on “Top Secret!”; drummer Robert Jospe releases a double CD with his new band the Robert Jospe Express in both trio and quartet settings for “Doin’ It Up”; and veteran flutist Sam Most recorded and finished his final project, “New Jazz Standards,” just one month prior to his passing in June of 2013.
Jefferson student wins CD cover design contest
Samuel Barnhart, a senior at Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School, has been chosen as the winner of the Corridor Jazz Project CD Cover design. Barnhart will receive a $100 cash prize from KCCK and his design will adorn the cover of the “The Corridor Jazz Project VIII” — a compilation of recordings from the top jazz bands from Jefferson, Kennedy, Prairie, Xavier and Washington High Schools in Cedar Rapids; Linn Mar and Marion in Marion; City and West High Schools in Iowa City; Solon High School and Lisbon High School. Barnhart’s original piece and those receiving Honorable Mention will all be exhibited during the Corridor Jazz Project concert April 6-7 at Sinclair Auditorium at Coe College.