2012 Jazz Under The Stars "Super Sized"

JAZZ UNDER THE STARS “SUPER SIZED” for 2012

Iowa’s Jazz Station celebrates 25 years with a bonus concert

The 25^th season of Jazz Under The Stars will be 25% bigger than ever before this year, as Jazz 88.3 KCCK presents a bonus concert in celebration of the series silver anniversary. For the first time, the station will present five concerts rather than four in Cedar Rapids’ Noelridge Park.

“We were talking about what we might do that would be special for the 25^th anniversary,” explained KCCK General Manager Dennis Green, “And we realized that there were five Thursdays in August this year.  It seemed natural to put on an extra concert to celebrate. And the five groups we’re going to put on the stage represent some of the finest talent not just from Iowa, but from neighboring major metro areas including Chicago and St. Louis.”

The 2012 Jazz Under The Stars Lineup:

·         August 2 – The Fez

·         August 9 – Johnny Kilowatt with Gloria Hardiman

·         August 16 – Elsie Parker & The Poor People of Paris

·         August 23 – Equilateral

·         August 30 – Jazz Under the Stars 25^th Anniversary Concert featuring Orquesta Alto Maiz

Here is a little more about each band:

August 2 – The Fez

In just over a year, Steely Dan tribute band The Fez has become one of the hottest groups in the Corridor. The Fez is a fifteen-piece ensemble, led by sax player Saul Lubaroff. The band faithfully recreates the music of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, who were heavily influenced by jazz and used jazz masters like Wayne Shorter as session players on albums such as “Aja.”

August 9 – Johnny Kilowatt featuring Gloria Hardiman

Johnny Kilowatt is the creation of Iowa City guitarist Jon Klinkowitz, a founding member of The Blues Instigators, who also went on replace Bo Ramsey in Pat Hazell’s Mother Blues. Joining the Kilowatt band for this show will be blues singer Gloria Hardiman, a fixture on the Chicago blues scene for many years, who has recorded for Alligator Records.

August 16 – Elsie Parker & The Poor People of Paris

Continuing a recent Jazz Under The Stars trend of featuring nationally-touring bands at least once during the series, KCCK welcomes Elsie Parker back to the area, after an outstanding performance at the 2011 Iowa City Jazz Festival. A UI graduate now living and touring out of St. Louis, Parker specializes in popular French music, typified by Edith Piaf and Michel Legrand.  The Poor People of Paris have been featured on French TV and have performed at "Piaf's" in San Francisco.

August 23 – Equilateral

Equilateral is the creation of two longtime friends without him the respective jazz departments of the University of Iowa and UNI would be much poorer. Brent Sandy and Chris Merz are joined by Eric Thompson and Greg Mazunik to play original and progressive jazz.  An interesting thing about this group is they use no chordal instruments, such as piano or guitar, creating a unique rhythm and sound.

August 30 – Jazz Under The Stars 25th Anniversary Concert featuring Orquesta Alto Maiz

For a quarter of a century, Orquesta Alto Maiz, a.k.a. The Salsa Band, have introduced Latin jazz to the Midwest, gaining nationwide accolades along the way, from Latin music critics who astounded to hear such authentic Afro Cuban and Salsa rhythms from a bunch of Iowa “gringos.” The Salsa Band will be the featured guest at a special fifth concert, celebrating 25 years of Jazz under the Stars. The performance will also be special as it will mark a farewell of sorts, as this concert will be the final show by several founding members of the Orquesta, who have announced they are retiring from the band.

All concerts start at 7pm in Noelridge Park in Cedar Rapids. 

In case of inclement weather, the concerts will move indoors to Parlor City Pub, 1125 3rd Street SE.  For updates, listen to Jazz 88.3 over the air, online at www.kcck.org or follow KCCK on Twitter or Facebook for schedule updates.

Food and refreshments will be available for purchase at the concerts. Attendees are also invited to bring lawn chairs, blankets and their own picnic if they wish.

Major support for KCCK’s Jazz Under the Stars series comes from Pat McGrath Chevyland, the Eastern Iowa Airport, The Linn County Board of Supervisors Witwer Fund, Collins Community Credit Union, Rockwell Collins, Latta, Harris, Hanon & Penningroth, Shive Hattery Architecture Engineering, West Music and Kirkwood Community College.