New Music Monday for November 3, 2014

After years of experimentation and exploration, it can be beneficial and, occasionally, revelatory to look backwards to known paths and accomplishments. The reexamination of an older composition can lead to new discoveries and goals for an ensemble that has been performing together for years. Pianist and composer Greg Reitan has led his fantastic trio of bassist Jack Daro and drummer Dean Koba since 1996, formed shortly after their graduation from University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. Their long and fruitful tenure has created a fantastic partnership, which can be fully enjoyed on the new recording, “Post No Bills.” The rearranged title track is the very first tune the trio ever played together, for the 1996 Hennessy Cognac Jazz Search in New York City.

      With her burnished voice, penetrating emotional interpretations, solid sense of swing, and hip repertoire, Julie Kelly’svocals never fail to capture all the senses at once. A seasoned veteran, Julie has appeared and recorded with luminaries including Ray Brown, Gary Foster, Alan Broadbest, and Chris Botti. Legendary jazz critic Leonard Feather has said that Julie “radiates a sense of joy and spontaneity. Listening to her, you are reminded that jazz singing is alive and well.” Her new CD, “Happy to Be,” which combines the talents of Grammy Award-winning masters and young virtuosos alike, offers up a feast of storytelling that draws from classic vocal jazz, bebop roots and fresh originals.

     Also this week, saxophonist Harry Allen’scelebration of the intermingling of Brazilian music and jazz is a stunning and beautiful blend of the jazz of two Americas on “Flying Over Rio”; pianist Shamie Royston unveils her debut release, “Portraits”; and Italians Alessandro Collina on piano, Rofolfo Cervettoon drums, and Fabrizio Bosso on trumpet along with French bassist Marc Peillon pay tribute to the late, great French pianist and composer Michel Petrucciani with “Air Michel.”

 

Iowa City Jazz Fest Channel Returns for 2014

KCCK’s Craig Kessler and Bob Stewart interview singer Cyrille Aimee.
Iowa’s Jazz Station, KCCK-FM, along with Summer of the Arts, has launched the “Iowa City Jazz Festival Channel.” The program stream will consist solely of artists performing at the Iowa City Jazz Festival, July 3-5.
“We did this last year, and got a great response,” says KCCK General Manager Dennis Green. “So, the Jazz Fest Channel is back for another 24-7 preview of the Festival.”
The channel was created in recognition of the fact that how people listen to music has changed with the advent of on-demand services like Pandora and Spotify.
“We’ve always given heavy play to Jazz Fest artists in the weeks preceding the Festival, and aired interviews and other features,” says Green. “But today, if someone wants to hear a particular artist or tune, they aren’t always willing to wait for it to show up in our rotation. They want it now.The Jazz Fest Channel is our way of making that content available whenever people want it.”
Programming on the Jazz Fest Channel consists of recordings of the groups performing on both the main stage and side stages. Artist interviews and profiles, as well as schedule information and updates, will be carried as well.
The Iowa City Jazz Festival will take place July 3-5 on the UI Pentacrest. Headliners include Joe Lovana, Tom Harrel and “Colors of a Dream,” Anat Cohen, Etiene Charles, Pedrito Martinez and Jared Gold.
A variety of local and regional bands will play on three side stages, including several high school and college ensembles. Their music, is also be a part of the Jazz Fest Channel.
The Iowa City Jazz Festival Channel will pre-empt KCCK’s second program stream, The Iowa Channel, for a little over a month. The station as a stream choice on the KCCK app for IOS or Android, online at www.iowachannel.org or at 88.3-2 on HD Radio.
KCCK’s main channel, 88.3 and 106.9 FM, and www.kcck.org online, will broadcast all of the main stage performances live.
The Iowa City Jazz Festival is presented by Iowa City’s Summer of the Arts. Information is available at www.summerofthearts.org. There is also a Jazz Fest Channel “button” for quick access from that site.

He’ll Always Be a DJ – The KCCK Interview with Doug Jackson

Doug Jackson, Eastern Iowa theatre star and host of KCCK’s “Smooth Brunch,” passed away on April 25. Last fall, Doug sat down with us for an interview that originally appeared in KCCK’s 2013 Year In Review. It’s reprinted here for your enjoyment as the entire Corridor community celebrates the life and memory of our “Smooth Operator.”

Doug Jackson is one of the Corridor’s most celebrated stage performers, and is also one of KCCK’s most popular program hosts. His “Smooth Brunch” has been a Saturday morning staple of Iowa’s Jazz Station since June 2004.
Doug was born in Memphis, Tennessee and grew up in East St. Louis. He says he doesn’t remember a time when music wasn’t part of his home. “Dad was a blues fan. Momma was the jazz fan, and singers like Dinah Washington, Brook Benton and Sarah Vaughn. They’d have fish fries and card parties, and there would always be a stack of LPs on the album changer.”
Doug’s mother claims music calmed him even as a baby. “There was a radio next to my crib, and she’d put me down with a bottle, turn on the radio, and never hear another peep out of me.”
After college at Southern Illinois University, Doug moved to Cedar Rapids to take a job with Rockwell Collins. He had performed all through school, and soon after settling in, got involved with the Cedar Rapids Community Theatre (Now Theatre Cedar Rapids) and The Follies.
Through the years, Doug created such memorable characters that he was asked to reprise his performances time and again. He has portrayed Jim in “Big River” and Audrey II in “Little Shop of Horrors” three times each. His role as Hoke in “Driving Miss Daisy” won him Theatre Cedar Rapids’ Volunteer of the Year award. TV audiences remember his many performances as “The Right Reverend Douglas Q. Jackson” on Liars Theatre. And 2014 marked his 22nd Follies show.


Doug’s radio career began when he hosted a volunteer show on Cedar Rapids community station, KOJC, which left the air in 1992. He created several elements that live on in today’s Smooth Brunch during those years. His KOJC show included a Gospel Hour, just like the Smooth Brunch, and mixed smooth jazz, R&B and Urban Contemporary sounds, also like his KCCK program.
Doug and Craig Boche at KCCK’s “Night With The Rat Pack”
In 2004, Doug approached his good friend and fellow Follies performer, KCCK station manager Dennis Green, and asked if there might be a slot on KCCK for him.
“We jumped at the chance,” says Dennis. “Not only was Doug a celebrity, whose many friends and fans would tune in for his show, but I remembered from his time at KOJC that he had a great knack for show construction, stirring up smooth jazz, Motown oldies and Urban tunes to create a very appealing mix.”
“I also respect Doug’s dedication to KCCK,” Dennis continues. “Doug works full-time at GE Capitol, and does three or four stage shows a year. But no matter how busy he is, or how late rehearsal or a performance went Friday night, he’s in his chair with a smile, bright and early each Saturday morning.”
Making Doug’s dedication even more amazing is that he juggles work, family, performing and a KCCK show while also battling prostate cancer.
“I was diagnosed in 2008,” he says. “The first round of chemo and radiation was pretty tough. Hair fell out, everything tasted like metal. The usual.”
Doug has responded well to subsequent treatment, although he is still on a chemo regimen, and reports that his situation is “stable.”
Doug lives in Cedar Rapids with his wife Janice and daughter Anisha, who attends Washington High School.

As far as the future goes, Doug intends to continue performing, and says he’ll never give up The Smooth Brunch. “With my initials,” he says with his trademark, gap-toothed grin, “what else would I be besides a DJ?”

WATCH: Doug Jackson singing his signature song, “Wonderful World.”

KCCK’s IOS App – New and Improved!

KCCK’s app for IOS devices has been updated, with a very cool new look and improved functionality. When you load the app, you’ll see some rotating screens featuring KCCK’s signature events, like Jazz Under The Stars and the Iowa City Jazz Festival. The screen is now optimized for the iPhone 5/5s, but looks good with previous phones as well.

Other improvements:

  • You can choose between both our program streams, KCCK and The Iowa Channel, from within the app, no need any longer to download a separate Iowa Channel App.
  • Title, artist, and album art from what is currently playing display on the lower portion of the screen.
  • On wi-fi, the app will feed our 128K, high-quality audio stream. When the data connection is not so good, it will automatically dial down to a lower bit rate.
  • Links to kcck.org, our program schedule, and an alarm clock widget are at the bottom of the screen.
Android users: We haven’t forgotten you! A refresh of the Android app is in process, and should be up in a week or two.
KCCK’s IOS app is primarily for mobile listening on your phone, but can also be used on the iPad.
Download the new version in the iTunes App Store.

Kennedy Student wins Corridor Jazz Project CD Cover Contest

Cover Art for Corridor Jazz CD, by Kelsey Bills

Kelsey Bills, a junior at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, has been chosen as the winner of the Corridor Jazz Project CD Cover design. Bills will receive a $100 cash prize from KCCK-FM and her design will adorn the cover of the “The Corridor Jazz Project VII”, 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.


Receiving Honorable Mention in the contest were seven other students, also from Kennedy:
  • Elektra Noble
  • Emily Fitzpatrick
  • Lydia Luton
  • Brittainy Gail
  • Aimee Ermer
  • Rowan Bergen
  • Ryann Jensen

The Corridor Jazz Project CDs, along with tickets for the CD Release Concert, March 31st at Iowa City West High School, will go on sale February 15th. Tickets are $10, and will be available at the door.

Bills’ original piece, and those receiving Honorable Mention will all be exhibited during the March 31st concert. 

The Corridor Jazz Project is a jazz education and mentoring program for jazz band students at the public high schools in the Creative Corridor  The program, developed as a part of the education outreach of Jazz 88.3 KCCK, matches each school’s top jazz band with a professional jazz player, who performed as a guest soloist with the band. The subsequent recordings have been collected and will be released on a compilation CD. CDs will be made available to each school to sell and keep the proceeds. CDs will be available at local retail outlets as well.  

Support for the Corridor Jazz Project comes from MidWestOne Bank, Rockwell Collins, and West Music.

New Music Monday for January 20, 2014

     Award-winning soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom has always had a special feeling for ballad performances. Her love for melody comes directly from her earliest exposure to American standards.  A few years ago, she noticed that the two or three ballads she would regularly include in live settings attracted special attention from the audience. This led to the idea of ‘all ballads’ programs in her concert and club performances, and is what ultimately informed the concept for her CD, “Sixteen Sunsets.” The beautiful new recording features expressive interpretations from the American Songbook along with five original compositions. Her 15th CD as leader teams her up with long-time colleagues Cameron Brown on bass and Matt Wilson on drums and the exciting new pianist Dominic Fallacaro.


     Picture a giant New Orleans brass big band playing wild funk-jazz with some wild odd meters and twisted melodies. Add in a dollop of whacky lyrics and you have Frank Macchia’s “Grease Mechanix. Jazziz magazine describes the three-time Grammy nominated composer and saxophonist as “an inventive composer and arranger who deserves comparison to Gil Evans and Pat Metheny.” Macchia, who composed and arranged the project, is joined by some of Los Angeles’ best jazz players including Peter Erskine, Eric Marienthal, Bob Shepard, Bill Reichenbach and Wayne Bergeron.


     Also this week, drummer Matt Wilson and his quartet are joined by special guest keyboardist John Medeski for “Gathering Call”; alto saxophonist Matt Criscuolois joined by veteran pianist Larry Willis for his fourth CD as a leader, “Blippity Blat”; and pianist Larry Gelb offers up a new trio recording, “The Love Songs of Ian Ops.

Special Programs for the Week of January 20 – 26

Short List with Bob Naujoks                                           
Mon. – Thurs. at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
Vocal Short List 13: Boz Scaggs                                 
The former pop-rock artist Boz Scaggs has in recent years turned his attention to the Great American Songbook, and to good effect. Scaggs is a veteran of the early Steve Miller Blues Band and a top-selling artist in the 1970s, but on the suggestion of a friend began singing the standards, and finally in 2000, issued an album of love songs. To his credit, Boz Scaggs is at the service of the songs.
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson    
Monday at 6:00 PM
Charlie Parker: ‘Bird Lives!’ Part 2   
Charles “Yardbird” Parker was a self-taught innovator who could fly higher and cut deeper than any other musician of his day. Parker pioneered the bebop movement in jazz with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. He influenced generations of musicians. The concluding half of this story focuses on Bird’s influence on other musicians, his celebrated return to New York, his superstar acceptance in Europe, his experimentations with strings, and his premature, tragic death. Interviewees include Jackie McLean and Mitch Miller.  
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“Shirley Scott — Queen of the Hammond B-3 Organ – Part Two”
Craig takes us on a tour looking at more material from the sparkling career of this great jazz organist.  We’ll hear additional classic recordings from throughout her 35 year career including sides from Cadet, Prestige, Impulse, Blue Note, Candid, and other record labels. She was truly one of the greats!   
Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wendell Pierce  
Tuesday at 6:00 PM
Bird with Strings   
In 1949, Charlie Parker envisioned an album that would link jazz to pop and influence artists to come.  His legendary venture with strings has done just that. Parker with Strings set his searching solos against a lush string quartet. And onstage Bird lives – as we feature saxophonists Wess Anderson and Charles McPherson and the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas.  
JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
Abbey Lincoln’s Songs
Always a vocalist, Lincoln (1930-2010) acted in movies, fought for Civil Rights, and – in her long, productive last chapter – wrote and recorded personal songs about life. New meanings begin to emerge as Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves and Cassandra Wilson sing Abbey. Musical Director Terri Lyne Carrington.     
Wednesday Night Special     
7:00 PM (Follows JazzSet)
Christian Scott Quintet at the 2013 Iowa City Jazz Festival
Christian Scott, the Grammy Nominated and two time Edison Award winning jazz trumpeter, composer and producer, was only 13 when he began playing with his uncle, jazz alto saxophonist, Donald Harrison. By 14, he was accepted into the New Orleans Center of Creative Arts where he studied jazz under the guidance of program directors, Clyde Kerr, Jr. and Kent Jordan. His New Orleans roots served him well and he earned two degrees in two years at Berklee College of Music in Boston where he studied under Charlie Lewis, Dave Santoro, and Gary Burton. He eventually launched a music career that has positioned him as one of the great innovators of his generation.

In 2002 he made his solo debut with his self-released and self-titled album, Christian Scott. In 2006, landing a record deal with Concord Jazz, Scott released Rewind That, an album whose mixture of modern jazz, rock and R&B garnered both criticism and praise – but ultimately a Grammy nomination. Anthem was released the following year and Yesterday You Said Tomorrow came out in 2010. During 2011-12, he toured and recorded with the band 90 Miles that also featured Stefon Harris and David Sanchez. His 2-CD release, Christian aTunde Adjuah in 2012, also on Concord, is his most ambitious and expansive recording to date.
Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland    
Thursday at 6:00 PM
Jim Hall
Widely admired as a gifted and innovative player, jazz guitarist Jim Hall (he passed away Dec. 10that the age of 83) had an amazing career spanning more than five decades. Recently, Hall had entered a new creative space, writing and arranging choral and orchestral compositions, all the while continuing to record and perform in a variety of settings. The NEA Jazz Master teams up with McPartland and bassist Gary Mazzaroppi for “Blue Monk” and solos on “All the Things You Are.”                     
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM
“Birthday Celebration for Benny Golson”
Craig celebrates the 85th birthday of the great tenorman, composer, and arranger, Benny Golson, with a wonderful mix of jazz gems from throughout his career of 60+ years! We’ll hear his writing and playing with jazz giants like Tadd Dameron, Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Kelly, Charles Mingus, and so many others. We’ll also hear from his own group, The Jazztet, as well as other dates that feature Golson as the band leader. Come along and join in on the fun!  
Riverwalk Jazz
Sunday at 5:00 PM
A Triple Crown of Tunesmiths: Youmans, Barris and Green  
The Jim Cullum Jazz Band welcomes New Orleans vocalist Topsy Chapman, Broadway’s Carol Woods, and piano legend Dick Hyman. They honor a trio of top composers of jazz standards — Vincent Youmans (“Time on My Hands”), Harry Barris (“Mississippi Mud”), and Johnny Green (“Body and Soul”).               
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:

Special Programs for the Week of January 13 – 19

Short List with Bob Naujoks                                           
Mon. – Thurs. at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
Vocal Short List 13: Lisa Kelly                                
The Vocal Short List program this week is an expansion of a couple of segments of the earlier New Face of Jazz series. The singer is Floridian Lisa Kelly, and with her trumpeter husband, J. B. Scott, has to be the busiest musicians in that part of the country. She has a mission to keep jazz alive in her area, and support all of the jazz players and teachers everywhere in the country. Her voice is clear and precise, and she has a distinctive and challenging way of approaching the music.
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson    
Monday at 6:00 PM
Charlie Parker: ‘Bird Lives!’ Part 1   
Charles “Yardbird” Parker was a self-taught innovator who could fly higher and cut deeper than any other musician of his day. Parker pioneered the bebop movement in jazz with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. He influenced generations of musicians. He accomplished all of this and other feats despite a crippling drug addiction that ended his life at thirty-four. This program focuses on “Bird” the improviser, and traces his instrumental virtuosity from his early days in Kansas City to his bebop experiments in New York to his ill-fated trip to Los Angeles in 1945.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“The 65th Anniversary Celebration of Prestige Records”     
In this detailed series of shows, Craig will give us a closer look at the evolution of another of the “big 3” 20th century jazz labels — PRESTIGE RECORDS. We’ll hear at least one selection from each and every jazz recording session done by the label, beginning with the JANUARY 11, 1949 Lennie Tristano/Lee Konitz date. Also, in this inaugural show, we’ll hear from Terry Gibbs, Stan Getz, J.J. Johnson, Wardell Gray, Sonny Stitt, and many others. 
Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wendell Pierce  
Tuesday at 6:00 PM
Nuevo Tango: The Music of Astor Piazzolla with Pablo Aslan and Paquito D’Rivera  
Astor Piazzolla’s impact on tango heralded a stunning new incarnation of the art form: Nuevo Tango. His native Argentina – and the rest of the world – was never the same. Pablo Aslan and Paquito D’Rivera are no lightweights either, and they present an hour of hot Latin tango.
JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
Edmar Casteñeda and Friends at Americas Society in New York
The “hippest harpist” and his trio play a repertoire from Colombia, Argentina and Venezuela with guests: vocalist Andrea Tierra, bandoneonist Héctor Del Curto, vibraphonist Joe Locke, and cuatro legend Jorge Glem.

Wednesday Night Special     
7:00 PM (Follows JazzSet)
Charlie Hunter and Scott Amendola Duo at the 2013 Iowa City Jazz Festival
New Jersey-born percussionist Scott Amendola is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. He met guitarist Charlie Hunter soon after arriving in San Francisco in 1992. The two joined forces along with Will Bernard and John Schott to form the innovative band T. J. Kirk (Warner Bros.). T. J. Kirk went on to be nominated for a Grammy in 1995. A year and a half later, Scott joined the Charlie Hunter Quartet. The band toured worldwide and recorded three records for Blue Note. As far as compliments go, guitarist Charlie Hunter and percussionist Scott Amendola are like cold deep-dish pizza and a whiskey-hangover. The groovy, delectable variances of funky jazz is fueled by Amendola’s innate drumming skills and accentuated into a caliber of uniqueness all its own by Charlie Hunter’s equally astounding guitar skills. The pair’s intensive background in composition and performance of almost 20 years gives them the tools and the daring to touch just about every genre of music when they’re on stage. The amazing versatility and perfection of beat trapped in each performance from these two is one of the most distinct on the American Jazz scene today. Be listening for Sott Amendola and Charlie Hunter’s brand new CD “Pucker” on KCCK.
Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland    
Thursday at 6:00 PM
The Hickory House Trio
In the 1950s, New York’s 52nd street was a jazz mecca. The Hickory House was known for its sizzling steaks and a swinging jazz trio led by a young female pianist with a British accent and a God-given touch. Marian McPartland, bassist Bill Crow, and her drummer, the late Joe Morello, held court at the Hickory House for almost ten years. The trio reunited in 1990 for this special Piano Jazz, including performances of “Skylark” and “I’m Beginning to See the Light.” 


Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM
“Shirley Scott — Queen of the Hammond B-3 Organ – Part Two”
Craig takes us on a tour looking at more material from the sparkling career of this great jazz organist. We’ll hear additional classic recordings from throughout her 35 year career including sides from Cadet, Prestige, Impulse, Blue Note, Candid, and other record labels. She was truly one of the greats!
Riverwalk Jazz
Sunday at 5:00 PM
At the Jazz Band Ball: Jazz Classics Live
Here’s a high-energy concert of red-hot traditional jazz classics from old New Orleans and 1920s’ Chicago. Join the Jim Cullum Jazz Band and clarinetist Evan Christopher as they perform at the Stanford Jazz Workshop.              
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:

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