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!”

Dave Valentin enjoys a fine reputation as a composer, arranger, and band leader in addition to being the most celebrated Latin flutist today. After studying with the great Hubert Laws, the multi-Grammy nominee developed the unusual techniques that feature slapping the keys of his instrument so it sounds like a percussion instrument, and singing into the flute while playing, generating harmonies from a single flute. These techniques, and more, are all on display on his new CD — “Pure Imagination”– that features a half-dozen tunes written by his long-time friend and colleague, pianist Bill O’Connell.

Among the most talented and resourceful figures in the exciting Miami Latin jazz scene, Venezuelan pianist Silvano Monasterios leads the way as a top-rated figure. Both as a performer and composer, he is among the most gifted today, and his piano playing and compositions have appeared on recordings by artists including Dave Liebman, Donald Byrd, Paquito D’Rivera, Randy Brecker and Dee Dee Bridgewater. With his new quintet, Silvano has recorded eight new and imaginative compositions for the CD “Unconditional.” It showcases an artist with a complete understanding of his complex Venezuelan roots, who understands the Austro-Germanic-European compositional heritage, and who is steeped in the great American jazz tradition.

Legendary trombonist Roswell Rudd has reached yet another milestone in his celebrated and remarkably varied career, his 75th birthday. Through the years, Rudd has shown an affinity for music and musicians from all over the world with a love for collaboration. He’s played with luminaries Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp and Steve Lacy. He’s recorded with musicians from Mali, Mongolia, and Latin masters from Puerto Rico. His new recording — “The Incredible Honk” — is a collection of some of his recent adventures working alongside a number of ensembles, including Cajun legends Michael Doucet & Beausileil, Malian griots, and his own quartet.

Chuck Redd began his career as a young drummer with a well-earned reputation for his ability to swing with passion, making him a favorite of veteran jazzmen like Dizzy Gillespie, Tommy Flanagan, Ray Brown and Monty Alexander. He took up the vibes after a teacher played him a Modern Jazz Quartet record and he heard the sound of master vibesman Milt Jackson, instilling in him a desire to extend his abilities to that instrument. He had a long tenure with Charlie Byrd and the Great Guitars, a half-decade with Mel Torme and, more recently, work with Bucky Pizzarelli and Ken Peplowski. He’s also made a name as the leader of his own groups, and for his brand new CD — “The Common Thread” — he’s joined by jazz legends Bob Cranshaw, Mickey Roker, and Houston Person.

For many years, Jay Ashby and Steve Davis sat side by side in both the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band and Slide Hampton’s World of Trombones, and no matter where they were, the two were constantly mistaken for one another. Chalk it up to an uncanny physical resemblance or their common roots in upstate New York, their shared musical influences, the fact that they both play large horns, or a combination of all these factors. Whatever the reason, it happens frequently enough to have inspired the title of their new CD, “Mistaken Identity.” Very few two-trombone recordings have surfaced since the great J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding recordings of the 1960s. This new disc pays homage to these jazz masters while simultaneously taking a fresh look at the possibilities for two-trombone arrangements and repertoire.

“This album is a true fusion of jazz, salsa, New Orleans, hip hop, rap, African rhythm and its classical forms. This is the most fun we’ve had making a Headhunter CD and we’re excited to see how people react to our new album, Platinum.” So say percussionists Bill Summers and Mike Clark of the Headhunters, the legendary jazz-funk fusion band founded in 1973 by Herbie Hancock. The band went on to produce more seminal records on their own and has been acclaimed for its musical pioneering and innovative concepts. The new release also features saxophonist Donald Harrison and bassist Richie Goods, with guests including Patrice Rushen, George Clinton and original Headhunter Bennie Maupin.