New Music Monday for November 9, 2015
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
When Patrick Williams assembles a band for a new album, it’s like old home days, as some of the musicians have been playing for him for decades. In late March, eighteen of Los Angeles’ finest players gathered to tackle eight new charts by the Grammy-winning musical architect. Old friends like Dave Grusin, Tom Scott, Bob Sheppard, Peter Erskine and Chuck Berghofer were all on hand. “Home Suite Home” is the composer’s most personal project to date as he draws musical portraits of his three children and his wife of 54 years. Williams also forged ahead with a pair of tributes to a couple of his favorite artists—arranger/composer Neal Hefti from his sojourn with Count Basie, and renowned drummer Buddy Rich.
For his latest q
uintet recording, “Our Roots,” Chicago saxophonist and composer Geoff Bradfield borrows inspiration from fellow Chicagoan Clifford Jordan’s 1965 album, “These Are My Roots: the Music of Lead Belly.” The focus is on black music of the rural south—the spirituals and blues of itinerant Texas preacher Blind Willie Johnson, ring shouts from the Georgia Sea Islands, and the prison farm work songs of Lead Belly. The absence of a chordal instrument allows the ensemble to explore the open-ended nature of these folk forms. Bradfield is joined by four of the premier musicians on the Chicago scene: trumpeter Marquis Hill, trombonist Joel Adams, bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Dana Hall.
Also this week, Denver’s Jeff Jenkins Organization keeps the classic B3 organ trio format relevant and alive with 
“The Arrival”; OJT builds on the classic organ jazz trio by mixing old school Kansas City jazz with blues and a modern funky groove on “New Standards for the Green Lady”; and keyboardist Manuel Valera debuts his new ensemble, Groove Square, on “Urban Landscape,” featuring saxophonist John Ellis, guitarist Nir Felder, drummers E.J. Strickland and Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts and harmonica ace Gregoire Maret.
Clean Up Your Act 12-4-15
Journalist Andrew Nikiforuk says fracking is no panacea.
Clean Up Your Act 12-3-15
It’s the world’s largest cellulosic ethanol plant…and it’s in Iowa.
KCCK’s Featured CD for November, 2015
Every month, KCCK calls your attention to a new release we think is especially noteworthy. The KCCK Featured CD for November is “Past Present” by John Scofield. The early ’90s saw the celebrated guitarist release three well-received discs as the John Scofield Quartet, featuring tenor titan Joe Lovano with Iowa native Bill Stewart on drums. Nearly 25 years later, Scofield has revived this stellar ensemble, recruiting Larry Grenadier to fill the bass chair. The result solidifies Scofield’s reputation as one of modern jazz’s most dynamic guitarists and is another integral chapter is his expansive discography. “Past Present” by John Scofield, on Impulse Records, is KCCK’s Featured CD for November.
This Week’s Shows – Week of November 2 – 8
Short List with Bob Naujoks
Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM
The Short List: Jazz Clubs Live – Chicago Clubs: Blue Note / Mr. Kelly’s / Jazz Showcase / The Green Mill
Mr. Kelly’s in Chicago 1972
This week there is a short survey of Chicago jazz clubs, both old and new. There was a Blue Note jazz place in Chicago decades before New York’s. It was run by a Chicago legend, Frank Holzfind, for 12 years till the emergence of Rock & Roll in the sixties forced its closing. The same happened to the wonderful Mr. Kelly’s and the sophisticated London House. Now the longest running jazz presentation venue, Joe Segal’s Jazz Showcase, and The Green Mill hold fast.
Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson
Monday at 6:00 PM
Red Norvo: ‘Mr. Swing’
Red Norvo playing vibes
Red Norvo is the lesser known of the two early pioneers of the vibraphone in jazz (the other is Lionel Hampton). This show looks at the multi-faceted musical career of Norvo, from his earliest experiments with avant-garde jazz, to his big bands with wife/singer Mildred Bailey, to his critically acclaimed trio with bassist Charles Mingus and guitarist Tal Farlow.
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)
“Birth Date Anniversary Celebration For Tenor Sax Giant, Booker Ervin”
Craig celebrates the birthday of Texas tenorman, Booker Telleferro Ervin II, with an overview of Booker’s stunning career, which spanned the mid 1950s up through to his early passing in 1970. We’ll hear the unmistakable “mournful wail” of Mr. Ervin’s tenor, in the company of jazz greats Charles Mingus, Andrew Hill, Don Patterson, Eric Kloss, Randy Weston, and many others.
New Orleans Calling with George Ingmire
Tuesday at 6:00 PM
“Remebering Harold Battiste – Part 2″
Harold Battiste
Authored by: David Stafford, WWOZ, New Orleans.
Harold Battiste, who passed earlier this year at the age of 83, was a true New Orleanian: he grew up in the Magnolia Projects, was educated at Dillard, and founded the first record label, All For One (A.K.A. AFO Records) owned by African American musicians. After decades in Los Angeles, he spent many years on Jazz Studies faculty at the University of New Orleans. His 2010 autobiography Unfinished Blues: Memories of a New Orleans Music Man is required reading for any student of music history.
A composer, teacher, and mentor, Battiste was perhaps best known as a producer and arranger.
Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride
Wednesday at 6:00 PM
Kamasi Washington
Kamasi Washington in LA
Saxophonist and composer Kamasi Washington, 34, has been working on releasing his now three-CD, nearly three-hour, choir-and-strings-assisted album The Epic for the better part of five years now. Even longer, if you consider how long his 10-piece working band has known each other: Most of its members, known collectively as The Next Step or The West Coast Get Down, have known each other since at least high school decades ago in South Central Los Angeles, and in some instances well before that. Even as their diverse careers have made it difficult to focus exclusively on this band — Washington is, for instance, the saxophone player heard on the new Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar albums — they’ve all continually committed to experimenting with a brand of jazz that resonates with their own generation’s lived experience.
Wednesday Night Special
7:00 PM (Follows Jazz Night in America)
Iowa City Jazz Festival 2015: Brian Charette Trio
Brian Charette Trio at the 2015 Iowa City Jazz Festival
New York City organist/pianist Brian Charette has established himself as a leading voice in modern jazz. Charette is a Grammy-nominated, Hammond-endorsed artist who was just named the winner of the 2014 Downbeat Critics’ Poll in the “Rising Star: Organ” category. On his newest recording, “Alphabet City”, (Posi-Tone, 2015), Charette presents elegantly lyrical original music and fun, funky originals, neo-boogaloo, and straight ahead jazz with a great trio featuring Will Bernard on guitar and Rudy Royston on drums. Besides being a critically acclaimed composer and bandleader, Brian has worked with jazz luminaries Lou Donaldson and Houston Person and other notable artists such as Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan, Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, and many more. Charette is also an active author and educator, writing for Keyboard magazine, DownBeat, and the Czech magazine Muzikus.
Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland
Thursday at 6:00 PM
Jaki Byard
Jaki Byard
Multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and composer Jaki Byard (1922 – 1999) played jazz piano as well as alto and tenor saxophone. A partner of Maynard Ferguson and member of bands led by Charles Mingus, Byard went on to become an educator, teaching at the New England Conservatory and other institutions. On this Piano Jazz from 1995, Byard solos on his own “European Episode” and joins McPartland for “Rose Room” and “In a Mellow Tone.”
Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler
Saturday, Noon – 4:00 PM and Monday, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
“The Incomparable Artistry of Andrew Hill – Part Four”
Andrew Hill
Craig brings us the 4th and final installment of this series of shows spotlighting the music of ANDREW HILL ….one of the most innovative jazz pianists and composers of the last 65 years! In this show, we’ll examine more material from Mr. Hill, 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 Jim Cullum Jazz Band: Memories & Music
The Jim Cullum Jazz Band
A celebration of The Jim Cullum Jazz Band filled with heart-warming memories and hot jazz, reflecting on more than five decades of stories and songs with special guest Dick Hyman.
Tropical Heat with Kpoti Accoh
Sunday, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Featured Album: “Forces At Work” by Erman Dirikcan 
http://ermandirikcan.tumblr.com/
Overview: Originally from Turkey and currently residing in the Netherlands, Erman is a guitar player and a composer whose artistic work revolve around jazz-fusion and contemporary music. Erman’s passion for adventure and his collaborations with musicians from various backgrounds throughout his career has produced a new vocabulary exclusive to his performances. His own cultural heritage as well as a hard-earned diversity in training and experience encompassing traditional jazz, classical Turkish music and Hindustani music lead him to develop a singular style that provides access to a worldly breadth of expression.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
The Monday – Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:
New Music Monday for November 2, 2015
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Paul McCartney had a great idea for an album. He just needed the world-renowned guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli to make it. Pizzarelli played on McCartney’s disc of a few years back, “Kisses on the Bottom,” and backed Sir Paul on a handful of prestigious live performances around that time. “I got an idea in my head,” McCartney wrote to Pizzarelli in late May 2014. “It might be interesting for you to do a few of my songs that are lesser known than some of the others…It imagine the songs would include post-Beatles melodies of mine.” Pizzarelli and pianist Larry Goldings immediately went into research mode, digging through McCartney’s albums of the last 45-plus years to find songs that could be re-harmonized and adapted for Pizzarelli’s trademark style. The result is John’s new CD, “Midnight McCartney.”
New York-based keyboardist and composer Ben Paterson is probably best known for his work as a pianist, notably as long-time sideman to Chicago saxophone legend Von Freeman, and as a leader of his own trio. That may change, however, with his newest release, “For Once in My Life.” Paterson shows why he has quickly become one of the top Hammond B3 players on the jazz scene today, combining influences from his former hometown of Chicago and from his more recent surroundings in New York City. He is joined on the disc by two phenomenal sidemen, Peter Bernstein on guitar and George Fludas on the drums, each representing a connection to these two great cities. Together they bring a unique style and sound to the classic organ trio format.
Also this week, bassist Stanley Clarke, guitarist Bireli Lagrene and violinist Jean-Luc Ponty join forces on “D-Stringz”; drummer Teri Lyne Carrington follows up her 2011 Grammy winner for Best Jazz Vocal Album with the sequel, “The Mosaic Project: Love and Soul,” i
ncluding guest vocalists like Nancy Wilson, Lizz Wright, Paula Cole and Natalie Cole; and composer/arranger/pianist Miho Hazama unveils her sophomore effort, “Time River,” continuing her work with her distinctive 13-piece m_unit, a hybrid of jazz big band and classical chamber ensemble.