New Music Monday for November 17

Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
 “While their acoustic instrumentation, virtuosity, and improvisational brio scream jazz, their music displays influences from all over the map, including classical, rock, ambient, and electronica. James Farm has big ears. And the quartet grooves fiercely.” That’s the Boston Globe talking about the quartet James Farm, featuring saxophonist Joshua Redman, pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman, and drummer Eric Harland. They’ve performed in this exact configuration since their debut at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2009. Their sophomore release, “City Folk,” is comprised of a new collection of ten original tunes written by all four members of the collaborative band. As Penman describes them, “In general, we like to let the songs lead the way, and each of these tunes is like a mini world unto itself with its own ecosystem and hidden places to discover.”

     When you visit a franchise restaurant, you always know what will be on the menu and what it will taste like. When you listen to a Bill O’Connell recording you may not know what is on the menu, but you’re guaranteed it’ll be a gourmet delight. For O’Connell’s new CD, “Imagine,” as with his previous recordings, the gifted veterans and leaders in their own right, Conrad Herwig on trombone and saxophonist Steve Slagle, add their prowess to the mix. On the bass is one of New York’s first call rhythm men, Luques Curtis, who was also part of Bill’s prior CD, as was percussionist Richie Flores, who has been playing with O’Connell for more than a decade. The newcomer to the group is drummer Richie Barshay, who has an impressive resume that includes a stint with Herbie Hancock.

     Also this week, New York harmonica ace Hendrik Meurkens teams up again with Mexican bassist Gabriel Espinosa, who heads the jazz department at Central College in Pella, for “Samba Little Samba, featuring nine new Brazilian-style originals; veteran saxophonist Houston Person is joined by vibraphonist Steve Nelson for his new disc, “The Melody Lingers On”;  and saxophonist John David Simon exhibits impressive writing and performing skills on his third release as a leader, “Phantasm.”


Click here for “Phantasm”

New Music Monday for November 10, 2014

Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
“There’s something about being the age I’m at now,” reflects iconic guitar hero Bill Frisell.” I turned 63 this past spring, and after playing for more than 50 years, it just feels right to once again play some of the music which shaped my consciousness during my formative years, even to play some of it for the first time.” As a baby boomer who came of age in the 1950’s and ‘60s, there is an undeniably autobiographical bent to the tenor and tone of the repertoire which Frisell explores on “Guitar in the Space Age,” along with long-time collaborators Greg Leisz on pedal steel and electric guitar, Tony Scherr on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums and vibes. The disc, says Frisell, “isn’t really an exercise in nostalgia, but about a re-commitment to keep learning, to firm up the foundation—and to showcase one of the best bands I’ve ever had.”

     Banjoist Bela Fleck has praised vibraphonist Jason Marsalis for “brilliant ideas that sound as if he’s played them his whole life but are really coming off the top of his head.”  Some of those brilliant ideas are on display on Marsalis’ second release with his Vibes Quartet, “The 21stCentury Trad Band.”  Backed once again by Will Goble on bass, Austin Johnson on piano and David Potter on drums, the disc puts a spotlight on the growing synergy between these young and talented musicians. In addition to including original compositions from his band mates, Marsalis has taken a step further in encouraging the vanguard of the next generation of jazz by including compositions from a couple of young graduates of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.
    Also this week, “The Art of Conversation” showcases the duo partnership of pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Dave Holland with a simple, beautifully understated mix of standards and originals; pianist Marcus Roberts and his new big band the Modern Jazz Generation offer up “Romance, Swing, and the Blues”; and acclaimed multi-reed instrumentalist Steve Heckman is joined by guitarist Howard Alden and others on his fourth album, “Search for Peace.”

A Little of the DG Thing – Dennis Green

I’ve had a great time over the last few months, holding down KCCK’s Saturday morning shift, which I dubbed the Saturday Morning Thing. I tried to do my friend Doug Jackson proud, and enjoyed talking with his friends and mine during the show.

We’ve recently added a talented personality to the KCCK stable, Ward Grant, to take over Saturday mornings, and even in these early days, he’s doing a fabulous job.

But I already miss doing the show, and while I’m not going to joggle Ward’s elbow, I thought it might be fun to play around with offering you some music in a different listening context.

Below is a link to a Spotify playlist entitled “The DG Thing.” If you enjoyed my Saturday show, I think you’ll enjoy this list.

And if you do enjoy it, and would like to hear more, let me know in the comments and I’ll periodically post other playlists.

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.