Latest Posts – Page 90 – Jazz 88.3 KCCK

2025 Guest Djs-Mid Prairie

Rita Du and Isabelle Duvall represent the Mid-Prairie Jazz Band, fresh from a trip to Jazz Championships. Other highlights include the band’s first-ever win at the SEIBA District competition.

AND, we heard about the impressive gymnastics move director David Kunz does at every competition (and we’re very impressed at his agility!)

Rita and Isabelle’s Playlist

Cortex, “Huit octobre 1971”
Harry James, “It’s Been a Long, Long Time”
Ella Fitzgerald, “Blue Skies”
Duke Ellington, “Caravan”
Horace Silver, “Nutville (feat. J.J. Johnson)”
Duke Ellington, “Harlem”
Mid-Prairie Jazz Band featuring Saul Lubaroff, “My Dear”

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Talking Pictures 4-23-25

“Sinners” (2025) and a preview of the 2025 Ebertfest film festival with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Monica Schmidt.

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What a year for the Linn-Mar Colton Center Jazz Ensemble! After a slow start to the competition season, the band came storming back to win their District competition, which qualified them for Jazz Championships. Good thing, too, because they won the 4A contest!

Seniors Owen Soenen, Kyle Earnest, Joe Schafer, and Henry Granger break it down for us.

Owen, Kyle, Joe, and Henry’s playlist

Mingus Big Band, “Haitian Fight Song”
Lou Donaldson, “Autumn Nocturne”
Joshua Redman & The Bad Plus, “As This Moment Slips Away”
Freddie Hubbard, “Red Clay”
Linn-Mar Colton Center Jazz Orchestra featuring Rich Medd, “Who Will Rescue You?”

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Culture Crawl 1057 “Throw a Rock & You’ll Hit a Great Musician”

The Cedar Rapids Community Orchestra gears up for their spring concert, “Marching to the Future,” coming up Sunday, April 27 at 3pm in Kirkwood’s Ballantyne Auditorium. Josh Reznicow reflects on his first year as the orchestra’s conductor and shares pieces of his vision for this community centered ensemble marching forward.

Tickets to the concert are available at kirkwoodarts.simpletix.com. More information about the orchestra and how to get involved can be found at crcorchestra.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 April 21, 2025

Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify

Born and raised in the vibrant streets of Caracas, Venezuela, Silvano Monasterios is a virtuoso pianist and composer, celebrated for his intricate technique, soulful improvisations, and innovative compositions. Over a career spanning three decades, he’s captivated audiences worldwide, carving a distinctive musical voice that blends harmonic sophistication with fiery Latin rhythms. His new project, “The River,” is a nine-piece ensemble work inspired by the social unrest and protests by the Venezuelan people in 2017 manifested by their desire to live in a free and just place.

For more than twenty years as a recording artist, the pianist and composer Hiromi has shifted seamlessly from one spellbinding project to the next. In the process, she’s earned a reputation as one of the most explosive live performers in jazz history and a global ambassador for the art form. Hiromi’s 13^th studio album, “Out There,” is the second release with her band SonicWonder. It features French-born fusion virtuoso Hadrien Feraud on bass, the soulful Chicago drummer Gene Coye, and Brooklyn-raised trumpeter Adam O’Farrill, who is part of a dynasty that includes his father and grandfather, Latin jazz titans Arturo and Chico O’Farrill.

Also this week, Sean Nelson’s New London Big Band features never-before-recorded Thad Jones charts written for Harry James on “Don’t Stop Now”; Triology, comprised of three award-winning Canadian musicians—Jodi Proznick on bass, Miles Black on piano and Bill Coon on guitar—are joined by tenor sax legend Scott Hamilton for their new album, “The Slow Road”; and singer and songwriter Lorraine Feather unveils her first release in eight years, “The Green World.”

This Week In Jazz April 20 through April 26

Hey, Jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of trumpeter Shorty Rogers, saxmen Gene Ammons and Leo Parker, bassists Richard Davis, Gene Cherico and Buster Williams, guitarist Jeff Golub, flutist Herbie Mann, pianists Pete Malinverni, drummer Danny Gottlieb and more.

We’ll also mark the recording anniversaries of Lester Young’s “Blue Lester” (1944), Johnny Griffin’s “Introducing Johnny Griffin” (1956), Stanley Turrentine’s “Joyride” (1965), Jim Hall’s “Concierto” (1975), Bobby Hutcherson’s “Crusin’ the Bird” (1988), Terry Gibbs/Buddy DeFranco/Herb Ellis Sextet’s “Memories of You” (1991), Gabriel Mark Hasselbach “Live On Maui” (2000) and many others Mondays through Fridays at noon on Jazz Masters on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.

This Week’s Shows April 21 thru April 27

Jazz Corner of the World (Encore)

Mondays at 6:00pm

Sunnyside Records, Part 3

Craig continues his exploration of the top-notch Sunnyside record label, founded in 1982 and operated by Francois Zalacain. We’ll hear a variety of diverse selections from premier jazz artists, such as Gerald Cleaver, Vinicius Cantuaria, Denny Zeitlin, Jamie Baum, Eddie Higgins, Aaron Goldberg, Diego Barber, and a host of others.

Wednesday Night Special

Wednesdays at 6:00pm

Corridor Jazz Project, Night One

KCCK’s Corridor Jazz Project brings together the talented high school jazz bands with the area’s best jazz professionals to rehearse a chart, record it in studio, then perform it live. A record 21 bands took the stage at the Paramount Theatre in Cedar Rapids, and the Voxman Recital Hall in Iowa City.

Jazz Night In America

Thursdays at 11:00pm

Jazz and Resistance

To celebrate South Africa’s Freedom Day, Christian McBride honors the jazz musicians who stayed and resisted during apartheid — from Winston Mankunku Ngozi to Moses Taiwa Molelekwa — and spotlights pianist Thandi Ntuli, a rising star of the “Born Free” generation.

Jazz Corner of the World

Saturdays from 12:00 noon to 4:00pm

Mose Allison, Part 4

Craig presents his 4th and final chronological spotlight of the superlative artistry of legendary pianist, poet, singer, and composer Mose Allison. In this week’s presentation, we’ll hear selections from his last Blue Note releases, some live dates, and his final recording!

KCCK’s Midnight CD

KCCK features a new album every night, played from start-to-finish.

In Jazz We Trust by the Posi-Tone Swingtet on Monday; The Axes Volume II: Summer Solstice by Daggerboard & the Erik Jekabson Orchestra on Tuesday; Chicago to New York by Eric Alexander on Wednesday; Interaction by 3 Cohens with the WDR Big Band on Thursday; The Speed of Life by Dudley Taft on Friday; Grown in Mississippi by John Primer on Saturday; Back to Brazil by Diane Marino on Sunday.

Big Mo Pod show 058 – “Mississippi Saxophone”

After their brief hiatus John and Noah are back with another installment of the pod show! This time around our duo discusses of mix of old timey blues swing and newer releases, emphasizing the importance of appreciating both eras of the blues. Songs featured in the episode:

Kirk Fletcher – “Shine A Light On Love”
Tiny Bradshaw – “Well Oh Well”
The Meters – “Out In The Country”
Joe Bonamassa – “Deep In The Blues”
John Nemeth – “Chain Breaker Blues”

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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