Culture Crawl 1005 “The Work of Christmas Begins With Us”

Two chances to celebrate Christmas with Chorale Midwest. Director Bradly Barrett admits programming a holiday concert is a challenge, but says the show will satisfy listeners who want familiar traditions as well as bringing in some arrangements and songs that will keep things fresh.

December 8 at 2:30, and the 10th at 7:30, at Christ Episcopal Church in Cedar Rapids. Tickets and more details at choralemidwest.org.

Subscribe to The Culture Crawl at kcck.org/culture or search “Culture Crawl” in your favorite podcast player. Listen Live at 10:30am most weekdays on Iowa’s Jazz station. 88.3 FM or kcck.org/listen.

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Culture Crawl 1004 “Drink Eggnog Through a Firehose”

TKM Productions brings not one, but two holiday shows to the Amana Performing Arts Center. The Rod Pierson Big Band featuring Craig Boche performs a rare holiday show that will feature some brand-new charts, and TKM’s Deb Kennedy will be a guest vocalist. As usual, the RPBB consists of a Murderer’s Row of Iowa’s top players.

Opening December 6 is the world premiere of “A Murder for Christmas,” a brand new farce written by Iowa playwrights Karen Schaeffer and Alex Schaeffer. Tom Milligan says it’s been fun bringing this new work to the stage for the very first time and promises lots of laughs, slamming doors, and a surprise or two.

Tickets and more info at tkmtheatricalproductions.com. 

Subscribe to The Culture Crawl at kcck.org/culture or search “Culture Crawl” in your favorite podcast player. Listen Live at 10:30am most weekdays on Iowa’s Jazz station. 88.3 FM or kcck.org/listen.

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New Music Monday for November 25, 2024

Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify 

Jazz legend George Cables celebrates his 80th birthday with a stunning new recording, “I Hear Echoes,” showcasing the timeless artistry that has defined his illustrious career. Known for his flawless technique and unparalleled musicianship, he has established himself as a towering figure in the jazz world. With icons like Art Pepper, Dexter Gordon and Freddie Hubbard, Mr. Cables solidified his reputation as one of the most versatile and sought-after pianists of his generation. The new recording features jazz standards by legends like Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, and Horace Silver along with several original compositions.

 

Trombonist Andy Baker has been a force on the Chicago music scene since arriving from London in 2001.Whether leading his own bands such as the New Standard Jazz Orchestra and BakerzMillion, or playing with the new music ensemble Fulcrum Point, his musical versatility and impeccable technique is matched only by his drive and imagination. For his Calligram Records debut, “From Here, From There,” Baker taps into the talents of three other veterans of the Chicago scene: trumpeter Russ Johnson, bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Dana Hall. The result is a joyous collection of original compositions and choice standards.

 

                                                                           

 

Also this week, saxophonist and percussionist T.K. Blue taps into his African heritage for the joyous new release, “Planet Bluu”; “Boss Baritones” is the debut release of a quintet that Gary Smulyan and Frank Basile have co-led in New York City since 2019; and three-time Grammy winner Samara Joy presents a collection of thoughtfully reimagined standards and classics on her third release, “Portrait.”  

 

 

 

Special Programs November 25 – December 1

Coleman Hawkins Albums: songs, discography, biography, and ...Jazz Corner of the World  (Encore)

Mondays at 6:00pm

A Coleman Hawkins Birthday Party

This week, Craig throws a birthday party for Coleman Hawkins, the “Father of Jazz Tenor Sax.” Hawkins was known for contributing to each of the major changes in jazz stylings. We’ll hear a wide variety of recordings made in the mid-1920s to the late 1960s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday Night Special

Wednesdays at 6:00pm

Invisible Jazz at First Friday Jazz

John Reasoner, John Hall, Ken Duncan, and Dave Shawver (aka The Invisible Band) entertained the Opus Concert Café with their wide set of jazz standards and smoother favorites from Monk and Gillespie, to Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny, to George Benson and Lee Ritenour.

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Day Special

All Day (6:00am to 11:00pm)

KCCK cooks up a day-long jazz feast for your Thanksgiving. Tune in for a rebroadcast of 2024’s First Friday Jazz performances at the Opus Concert Café. On the menu are Soul Sacrifice, Christopher Merz & Shorter Stories, Eddie Piccard, Vivian Shanley, and much more.

 

 

 

Jackie McLean: Swing Swang Swingin'Jazz Night In America

Thursdays at 11:00pm

Jackie McLean’s Hartford

Host Christian McBride relates how Hartford, Connecticut became a destination for jazz, thanks to the arrival of alto saxophonist Jackie McLean over 50 years ago. We’ll hear from students who are carrying on his legacy in the city and beyond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jazz Corner of the World

Saturdays from 12:00 noon to 4:00pm

Happy 84th Birthday Billy Hart

Craig celebrates another November birthday. This week, it’s a party for drummer Billy Hart. Craig spins choice goodies that feature Billy’s work from the early 70s, right up to the present!

 

 

 

 

 

 

KCCK’s Midnight CD

Every Night at Midnight Each night, KCCK lets you hear a new CD played start-to-finish.

We Make: Stories for a New Day by Zach Adleman on Monday; Entre Amigos by Entre Amigos on Tuesday; Found in Space: the Music of Gregg Hill by Michael Dease on Wednesday; 7X7By7 by Brian Lynch on Thursday; Nowhere to Hide by Ollee Owens on Friday; BT by Benny Turner on Saturday; Treasures from the Heart by Jacqui Naylor on Sunday.

This Week In Jazz November 24 thru November 30

Hey, Jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of composer Billy Strayhorn, saxophonists Paul Desmond, Gigi Gryce and Wessell “Warmdaddy” Anderson, brassmen Nat Adderley, Chuck Mangione and Terrell Stafford, singers Etta Jones and Holy Cole, pianists Jacky Terrasson and Jon Snell and and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Thelonious Monk Quartet w/ John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall (1957), The Cannonball Adderley Quintet – Paris, 1960 (1960), The Modern Jazz Quartet – The Last Concert (1974), John McLauglin Trio – Live at the Royal Festival Hall (1989), The Gerald Wilson Orchestra’s “Theme For Monterey” (1997), Marcus Miller’s “A Night in Monte Carlo” (2009) and many others Mondays thru Fridays and at noon on JAZZ MASTERS on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.

Thanksgiving Special – First Friday Jazz

Some people spend Thanksgiving looking forward to Black Friday. But on KCCK, we’ll spend it with FIRST Friday! First Friday Jazz, that is. All day on Thanksgiving, we’re playing back some of your favorite shows from the past year of KCCK’s First Friday Jazz. 

Here’s the schedule (times approximate):

6:00 am – Betsy Hickok & Ron Roberts Quintet
7:45 am – Eddie Piccard Quartet
9:30 am – Tommy Doggett Quartet
11:15 am – Ron Tegeler Trio
1:05 pm – Vivian Shanley Quartet
2:50 pm – Joe Schnoebelen Quintet
4:35 pm – Steve Grismore Trio
7:05 pm – Betsy Hickok & Ron Roberts Quintet
7:55 pm – Chris Merz & Shorter Stories
9:50 pm – Soul Sacrifice

 

Big Mo Pod Show 038 – “Hard Workin’ Women”

In another episode of the Big Mo Pod Show John and his 20 something sidekick producer Noah discuss another smattering of songs from Friday night’s show. This time around some of the tracks spurred on conversations about women in the blues and what they’ve contributed to the art form. Song featured in the episode: 

  1. Big Joe Williams – “When I First Left Home” 
  2. The Meters – “Cabbage Alley” 
  3. Big Walter Horton – “Christine” 
  4. Sue Foley – “Nothing In Rambling” 
  5. Chris Duarte – “My Way Down” 

Listen to ‘da Friday Blues with Big Mo each week at 6pm, and catch the podcast for a behind the scenes look at the show!

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Culture Crawl 1003 “Meat and Potatoes Drummer”

In the second of our two-part conversation with legendary studio drummer John “JR” Robinson, John talks about how recording has changed from the days when musicians all gathered together in the studio, his current film scoring projects, and SRT, his organ trio, that also includes keyboardist and UI grad Mitch Towne, who recently performed in Trio Grismore at the Iowa City Jazz Festival and Jazz Under the Stars.

John has many, many stories, and he tells them in his autobiography, “King of the Groove,” available on all book platforms. Follow John at www.johnjrrobinson.com.

Subscribe to The Culture Crawl at kcck.org/culture or search “Culture Crawl” in your favorite podcast player. Listen Live at 10:30am most weekdays on Iowa’s Jazz station. 88.3 FM or kcck.org/listen.

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