Hey, Jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of saxman Joe Thomas, reedman Eric Dolphy, bassist Jamil Nasser, songwriter Sammy Kahn, pianist/composer Lalo Schifrin, guitarist Ernest Ranglin, pianist Eric Reed and more. We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of “The Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis Cookbook, vol. 1” (1958), Hank Mobley’s “Straight No Filter” (1966), George Benson’s “Bad Benson” (1974), Jimmy Ponder’s “Mean Streets – No Bridges” (1987), Cecil Brooks III’s “Smokin’ Jazz” (1993), Roy Hargrove Big Band’s “Emergence” (2008) and many others, Mondays thru Fridays at noon on JAZZ MASTERS on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.
This Week in Jazz June 16 thru June 22
This Week’s Shows June 17 thru June 23
Jazz Corner of the World with host Craig Kessler Mondays at 6:00pm
Italy’s Horo Records
Craig introduces us to Horo Records, the highly-respected Italian jazz label. We’ll hear a variety of spins from the 1970s, from Gil Evans, Sun Ra, Sam Rivers, Ran Blake, Lee Konitz, Martial Solal, Billy Harper, and others.
The Wednesday Night Special Wednesdays at 6:00pm
Vincent Herring on the Main Stage
We’re just two weeks away from the 2024 Iowa City Jazz Fest, so to get us in the mood for the summer’s hottest jazz, we’re listening back to some of the outstanding talent who’ve taken the main stage in Festival’s past. This week we hear saxophonist Vincent Herring and his band and their great set of originals and classics.
Jazz Night in America with host Christian McBride Thursdays at 11:00pm
Billy Strayhorn’s Lush Life
Behind the music, Billy Strayhorn led a complex and often vice-driven life. While composing some of the most harmonically rich jazz of its time, often in the shadow of Duke Ellington, Strayhorn was an outlier in that he led an openly gay life as a black man in the homophobic 1940s. Hear interviews with Strayhorn family members and biographer, and rare archival tape of Strayhorn himself. You’ll also hear Strayhorn’s music performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, featuring pianist Johnny O’Neal.
Jazz Corner of the World with host Craig Kessler
Saturdays from 12 noon to 4:00pm
Prestige’s ‘Soul Jazz Years’
Craig continues his commemoration of Prestige Records’ 75th anniversary with classic soul jazz featuring cuts from Gene Ammons, Charles Earland, Don Patterson, Jack McDuff, George Benson, and many others. These choice sides all feature groove music from the top guitar, tenor, and organ groups of the late 1950s thru the early 1970s.
KCCK’s Midnight CD
Every Night at Midnight Each night, KCCK lets you hear a new CD played start-to-finish.
A Kiss for Brazil by Karrin Allyson on Monday; No Words Needed by Oscar Hernandez & Alma Libre on Tuesday; Time Has Changed by Zaccai Curtis on Wednesday; Creole Orchestra by Etienne Charles on Thursday; Tulsa Custom by Seth Lee Jones on Friday; Human Decency by Sugaray Rayford on Saturday; Fearless Movement (Disc 1) by Kamasi Washington on Sunday.
Big Mo Pod Show 014 – “Chromatic Rock”
This week’s episode features a mix of new and familiar artists, many of which having certain rock and roll flair that inspired some rocks artists who just so happened to be inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. Noah and John discuss both these artists and their influence on rock and roll, to learn more about who they are tune in to the episode! Songs featured in the episode:
- Joe Louis Walker – “Bowlegged Woman, Knock-Kneed man”
- Sugar Blue – “Krystalline”
- John Dawson Winter III – “Pick Up on My Mojo”
- Toronzo Cannon – “I Hate Love”
- James Burton – “Susie-Q”
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 931 “Go Hoosiers”
Cedar Rapids Opera is bringing back popular modern opera, Too Many Sopranos, and here to tell us a little more about it is Katie Stuelke, Jeffry Goldberg, and Gwen Sell. Originally commissioned for the CR Opera, Too Many Sopranos will be celebrating its 150th production right back where it all started.
Shows are Thursday, June 20, 7:30pm and Saturday, June 22, 7:30pm at CSPS in Downtown Cedar Rapids. Tickets can be purchased at www.cspshall.org.
For more information visit www.cropera.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 930 “Killing Elliott Nightly”
Riverside Theatre’s Kathleen Johnson, Elliott Bales and Max Cline are in today ahead of the kick off of Riverside’s 2024 Free Summer Shakespeare series. This year’s show is Julius Caesar, but if you were envisioning togas and grape leaves, think again. The production will be set in 1930s Italy which will make the famous story more accessible to modern audiences.
It’s June 14-30, 7:30pm @Lower Iowa City Park. Plenty of available seating, but feel free to bring a blanket or chairs if you prefer to sit off to the side. There will also be a concessions booth and guests are welcome to bring their own food and drink as well.
For more information visit www.riversidetheatre.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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Talking Pictures 6-12-24
The Watchers (2024) and some documentaries and old Oscar winners with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Denny Lynch.
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Culture Crawl 929 “Cramming in the Jazz”
Week 2 of the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band season features drummer Josh Duffee from the Quad Cities. Josh was the final student and friend of Moline native and legendary jazz drummer Louie Bellson. Josh will perform on Louie’s famous kit.
In honor of Josh and Louie, Steve Shanley promise a jazz-influenced program, including Bellson’s “Thundering Drums,” a Sammy Nestico piece, and music from “The Incredibles,” influenced by the jazz-based crime show themes of the Sixties.
Young Artist finalist Jace Witham from Linn-Mar performs, and the Wednesday concert will feature a prelude set from the New Horizons band at 6:30.
Wednesday, June 12 at Johnston STEAM Academy, Sunday June 16 at Ellis Park. Main concert at 7:30. Or catch the livestream at facebook.com/crmuniband.
More information at crmuniband.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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New Music Monday for June 10, 2024
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Saxophonist, composer, arranger and bandleader Kamasi Washington calls his new disc, “Fearless Movement,” his dance album. “Dancing is movement and expression,” he explains, “and in its way it’s the same thing as music—expressing your spirit through your body.” Dance as an embodied form of expression signals a shift in focus for Washington. Where previous albums dealt with cosmic ideas and existential concepts, the latest one focuses in on the everyday, an exploration of life on earth. The change of focus is due in large part to the birth of Kamasi’s first child a few years ago.
Decorated pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader and bona fide Latin music legend Oscar Hernandez is perhaps best known to modern-day audiences as the leader and musical director of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. With Hernandez at the helm, the 13-piece all-star salsa big band has garnered 3 Grammy Awards and released eight critically-acclaimed albums. He first recorded with his band Alma Libre in 2016. The new release “No Words Needed” is the band’s third disc and adds ten new compositions to Oscar’s already expansive and wide-ranging repertoire.
Also this week, trumpeter Etienne Charles unveils his first big band release, “Creole Orchestra,” a riveting array of Caribbean rhythms drawn from several different commissions and projects; five-time Grammy nominee Karrin Allyson adds to her long list of Brazilian repertoire and recordings with “A Kiss for Brazil,” this time including a special pairing with the legendary singer, composer and guitarist Rosa Passos; and “Time Has Changed” is the second release to feature the warm, soulful sound of award-winning trumpeter and composer Win Pongsakorn.