Special Programs for the Week of December 9 - 15

Short List with Bob Naujoks                                           

Mon. - Thurs. at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM

Vocal Short List 13: Michael Feinstein (new)

A new Vocal Short List series continues with singer-pianist Michael Feinstein, a champion of Music from the Great American Songbook. When very young he started playing piano by ear. By the time he graduated from high school he was playing in local nightclubs. At twenty-one he was hired by lyricist Ira Gershwin to catalogue and research a large collection of recordings and unpublished manuscripts. By the mid-80s Feinstein was a nationally known performer.

Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson    

Monday at 6:00 PM

Louis Armstrong: 'The Man and His Music,' Part 2

Louis Daniel Armstrong transcended a lifetime of obstacles to become America's most influential singer and trumpeter. In the process, he became a true American hero, shaping the destiny of the jazz world forever. By going from rags to riches, Louis Armstrong realized the American dream and became arguably the most important artist in American culture.

Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler

Monday, 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM (follows Jazz Profiles)

"Tribute to Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 - October 30, 2013)"

Craig pays tribute to the recently departed composer and master musician by spinning a tasty variety of goodies featuring Mr. Wess, both as a leader and as a sideman. Wess is considered by most to be the "father of modern jazz flute playing". We'll spotlight his flute work as well as his warm tenor saxophone sound. We'll hear him featured with Count Basie, Milt Jackson, Dorothy Ashby, Osie Johnson, Gene Ammons, and of course with his long-time collaborator, Thad Jones, among others.                                  

              

Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wendell Pierce  

Tuesday at 6:00 PM

Prohibition and the Jazz Age

"The parties were bigger…the pace was faster…and the morals were looser" (F. Scott Fitzgerald).  Prohibition was intended to stifle vice - but instead, it nourished crime and the clubs that would become a hot bed for jazz.  Ken Burns joins Wendell Pierce to bring us the sound of the speakeasies in the work of Beiderbecke, Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton and James P. Johnson. Songs like Snake Dance, New Orleans Bump, and Variety Stomp will doubtless provoke merrymaking on par with the era of bathtub gin and backroom carousing. Special guests Doug Wamble and Vince Giordano join the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.   

JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater

Wednesday at 6:00 PM  

Bill Frisell and Music of John Lennon

Like balloons floating above the Newport Jazz Festival, the guitarist and his group send up "Beautiful Boy," "Come Together," "In My Life," and a piece by the late drummer Paul Motian. Frisell opens on violinist Jenny Scheinman's stage, playing duets.

Wednesday Night Special    

7:00 PM (Follows JazzSet)

Terence Blanchard Quintet at the Newport Jazz Festival 2013

by Patrick Jarenwattananon (npr.org)

As a whole, Terence Blanchard's high-functioning quintet reliably serves up sleek modernism in the form of post-bop jazz. Individually, its members are also becoming great composers: Blanchard's new album, Magnetic, features tunes from everyone in the band. The new repertoire sees Blanchard cop some electric feels for his trumpet. And a guest turn from guitarist Lionel Loueke, who also appears on the album, makes this band a rare six-person quintet.

Personnel

•  Terence Blanchard, trumpet

•  Brice Winston, tenor saxophone

•  Fabian Almazan, piano

•  Joshua Crumbly, bass

•  Kendrick Scott, drums

•  Lionel Loueke, guitar

Set List

•  "Pet Step Sitters Theme Song" (Fabian Almazan)

•  "Hallucinations" (Terence Blanchard)

•  "Autumn Leaves" (Joseph Kosma)

•  "Footprints" (Wayne Shorter) (feat. Herbie Hancock, piano)

Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland    

Thursday at 6:00 PM

Stefano Bollani

Italian pianist Stefano Bollani stretches the limits of the imagination with improvisations that range from quirky to transcendent. Virtuoso technique and a keen harmonic sense bolster Bollani’s improvisations, which owe as much to Charlie Parker and Oscar Peterson as to Sergei Prokofiev and Frank Zappa. Bollani performs an original, “Buzzilare,” and Scott Joplin’s classic, “Maple Leaf Rag.”                 

Jazz Corner of the World with Craig Kessler

Saturday, Noon - 4:00 PM

"Tribute to Forestorn "Chico" Hamilton -- 9/20/1921 to 11/25/2013"

Craig pays tribute to the recently departed jazz drummer, Chico Hamilton, by presenting an excellent mix of selections from throughout his stellar career.  We'll hear Chico as a sideman with the likes of Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, and a host of others...and also leading some of his own groups from the mid 1950s, several movie soundtracks, up through his years with Impulse! Records, and the more recent Soul Note Records.  Don't miss this salute to a true jazz giant.

Riverwalk Jazz

Sunday at 5:00 PM

Gennett Records: The Little Studio That Could

Old rugs hung from the ceilings of the little ragtag studio, and the walls were stuffed with straw to dampen the sound from the trains passing by. Some of the most important jazz recordings in American musical history were recorded in the back of the Starr piano factory. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band and guests perform the music of Jelly Roll Morton, Bix and His Gang and more from Starr-Gennett Records.

KCCK's Midnight CD

The Monday - Sunday Midnight CD for this week can be found at:

http://www.kcck.org/onair/midnight_cd.php