A bona fide guitar hero and masterful improviser, John Scofield has covered a wide spectrum of musical styles with rare authority over the last four decades. From funk and fusion to swinging standards, rock-fueled jams, lush orchestral collaborations, earthy blues and old-time gospel music, Scofield has imbued each style with his distinctive six-string voice, earning accolades for his triumphs along the way. On “A Moment’s Peace”, Scofield and his all-star crew of keyboardist Larry Goldings, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade luxuriate in ballads associated with such legendary interpreters as Billie Holiday, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone and John Coltrane, plus five new originals by the guitar great.

Meanwhile, Bill Frisell, whom the Wall Street Journal calls “the most innovative and influential guitarist of the last 25 years,” focuses his new CD — “All We Are Saying…” — on the music of John Lennon. “John’s music has been with me, the band, everybody, the world…seems like forever,” explains Frisell. “The songs are part of us. In our blood. There was nothing we really needed to do to prepare for this. We’ve been preparing our whole lives. The songs were there. All we had to do was play them. Everyone involved with this has their own personal, deep, long relationship to John Lennon’s music. It connects us all and brings us together. I feel blessed having the chance to play this music with these people.”

Drummer Roger Humphries has been on the jazz scene since 1962 when he joined Stanley Turrentine and Shirley Scott in Pittsburgh, then joined Horace Silver’s quintet two years later and appeared on three of the pianist’s classic recordings. Since then, he has provided the rhythmic beat for such greats as Ray Charles, Herbie Mann, Phil Woods, James Moody and Lee Morgan. “Keep the Faith” is the title of his brand new CD, just the third session on which he’s been the leader. Humphries is in a classic jazz quintet setting with his regular group R.H. Factor, along with special guests including trumpeter Sean Jones.

New York City’s premiere jazz venue got the blues last April when Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton performed together in Rose Hall for two sold-out shows dedicated to vintage blues. The extraordinary collaboration, billed as “Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play the Blues”, paired these musical virtuosos with members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as they brought to life a repertoire of songs selected by Clapton and arranged by Marsalis. The group combined the sound of an early blues jump-band with the sound of New Orleans jazz to accommodate the integration of the guitar/trumpet lead, a combination that gave the musicians the latitude to play different grooves, from the Delta to the Caribbean and beyond.

A collaboration that has spanned 18 years, the Tierney Sutton Band has garnered considerable critical praise throughout the world. The acclaimed vocalist is joined by instrumental virtuosi Christian Jacob, Trey Henry, Kevin Axt and Ray Brinker to form a partnership in musical unity. Together they have received three consecutive Grammy nominations, and received numerous nominations from the Jazz Journalists Association. With eight successful discs under their belt, they present their newest release — “American Road” — on which they devote themselves to reinventing the American songbook.

Many of the most cherished standards in jazz were born as popular songs which have served as a source of inspiration for jazz artists. They still do. Now, with “Alma Adentro: the Puerto Rican Songbook”, saxophonist, composer and arranger Miguel Zenon brings that jazz tradition home-his homeland of Puerto Rico. The disc is comprised of ten pieces from a quintet of Puerto Rican songwriters, orchestrated by Argentine pianist, composer and arranger Guillermo Klein, and featuring Zenon’s regular quartet augmented by a 10-piece wind ensemble. “This was not just about melodies and harmonies,” says Zenon. “There was a deeper, more emotional connection here. I grew up with these songs and they all had a very special and lasting effect on me.”

When the news broke of the the first plane crashing into one of the World Trade Center towers in New York Sept. 11, 2001, we at KCCK were just finishing up our 6-9 a.m. news and entertainment block.

Because it was apparent that big news was happening, we did twice-an-our updates on the situation throughout the rest of the day. Late that afternnon, we did an extended summary of the day’s events from a world, national, state and local perspective. News Director George Dorman produced and anchored with interviews and reports by news producers Paulette Cott and Deb Williams and Station Manager Dennis Green. Gordon Paulsen was at the audio board in Master Control.

Our report was awarded First Place among Large Market Stations for Spot News Coverage for 2001 by the Iowa Broadcast News Association in the IBNA’s annual news contest. Click here to listen to the report..

The work of trumpeter Claudio Roditi has inspired such accolades as “one of the very best performers in jazz” from the All Music Guide, earned praise from the Los Angeles Time for his “intelligence and music focus,” and led the Chicago Reader to comment that Roditi has “a New York grasp of swing, the Brazilian gift for graceful and pungent lyricism, and an innate sense of how best to combine them in any given piece.” In addition to leading his own band on 20 or so albums, he’s worked in the bands of McCoy Tyner, Herbie Mann, Paquito D’Rivera, and others. For his new disc — “Bons Amigos” — Roditi and his quintet focus on a program of songs from his homeland of Brazil.

It’s not every day that a distinguished sideman becomes a successful leader in his own right. But that hasn’t stopped legendary percussionist Sammy Figueroa from becoming one of the most exciting artists in Latin jazz today. After many years of playing with jazz masters like Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis, Figueroa formed his own band, the Latin Jazz Explosion. On the heels of two Grammy-nominated discs, he and his band unveil “Urban Nature” — recorded in Miami and reflecting the rich scene of Venezuelans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and other cultures that are currently percolating there, creating a whole new sound for Latin jazz.

Throughout his illustrious career, the legendary Ron Carter has played it all-jumping in headlong as an integral member of Miles Davis’ classic ’60s quintet, anchoring the groove for almost every CTI Records session in the ’70s, then launching into multifarious new projects, including his cello-infused, chamber jazz nonet and his piano-guitar-bass trio. But in his lifelong calling to find the right notes, Carter had never recorded a big-band album. So, the time was ripe for the 73-year-old maestro of the upright bass to break new ground. The result is the delightful and swinging disc — “Ron Carter’s Great Big Band” — set into motion by esteemed arranger Bob Freedman and featuring an all-star cast of supporting musicians.

The New York Times says, “Larry Vuckovich is a fleet-fingered bebopper who can also play sultry, big-chorded blues.” Nat Hentoff of Downbeat describes saxophonist Scott Hamilton as, “…one of those improvisers whose music defines swing.” The two are partnered on Vuckovich’s new offering — “Somethin’ Special” — which honors the masters who inspired Vuckovich when he first began playing jazz. The recording grew out of a Northern California tour Vuckovich helped arrange for Hamilton and also features the pianist’s hard-swinging East Coast rhythm team along with legendary West Coast tenor player Noel Jewkes.

Gil Scott-Heron, who died in May, was an American poet, musician, and author known primarily for his work as a spoken word performer. He made music that reflected the turbulence, uncertainty and increasing pessimism of the early ’70s, merging soul and jazz and drawing on an oral poetry tradition that reached back to the blues and forward to hip-hop. Giacomo Gates is an extraordinary vocal stylist, often credited as a contemporary Eddie Jefferson with a full-bodied baritone and blazing inventiveness. As bracing an innovator as he is an interpreter, Gates delivers the satirical and insightful lyrics of this true American original on “The Revolution Will Be Jazz: the Songs of Gil Scott-Heron.”

NEA Jazz Master Cedar Walton has enjoyed an up-tempo career, which never seems to slow down. Maintaining a non-stop itinerary, Walton has accompanied a litany of jazz greats while also fronting his own successful groups since 1966. As a pianist, Walton doesn’t rely on pet licks or pyrotechnical display, although he has an excellent technique. Rather he invents all the time, and makes his always imaginative work fit into the context of whatever he’s playing. As a composer, Cedar is one of the finest in jazz whose works have been widely recorded with many now being recognized as jazz standards. For his latest CD — The Bouncer — Walton returns to his favored quintet format with poll-winning trombonist Steve Turre adding his luxurious, velvet tone to Vincent Herring’s saxophone sound.

Gerald Veasley, the former bassist for Grover Washington, Jr. and the Joe Zawinul Syndicate, has released eight discs as a leader featuring original jazz, funk, and soul-tinged compositions. For his brand new CD — “Gerald Veasley’s Electric Mingus Project” — he has re-imagined the works of acclaimed jazz composer and fellow bassist Charles Mingus. “We reacted to what was essential about Charles Mingus’s music,” explains Veasley. “We never had an impulse to update or improve it, but instead tried to capture the feeling, which to me is adventurous, surprising and passionate.” The disc revisits seven Mingus compositions using modern electronic instruments as well as three narrations based on Mingus’ own words and two original compositions from Veasley himself.

Chicago’s dynamic Deep Blue Organ Trio returns with their fourth disc, this time bringing their singular approach and sound to the music of Stevie Wonder. Influenced deeply and early on by Wonder’s compositions, artistry and cultural impact, guitarist Bobby Broom, organist Chris Foreman, and drummer Greg Rockingham bring reverence and musical honesty to their interpretations of nine Wonder gems on “Wonderful!”