Jazz 88.3 — KCCK Enriching the Community

Jazz 88.3 KCCK is a noncommercial, educational FM radio station operated by Kirkwood Community College. KCCK enriches the cultural environment of the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City communities through a variety of on-air programs and community outreach activities. Many of these programs center on the promotion and preservation of jazz, America’s only indigenous musical art form.

KCCK programs a rich on-air schedule of jazz, blues, and related music every day, and produces programs designed to enhance the listener’s appreciation of this unique art music.

In addition to high-quality on-air programs, KCCK brings jazz to the Corridor community in a variety of venues:

• For nearly 30 years, KCCK has sponsored and organized Jazz Under the Stars, a free concert series designed to bring exposure to both professional and student jazz performers in our region, all in a free, familyfriendly atmosphere.

• KCCK produces several concerts and programs each year. These include an annual broadcast of the main stage performances at the Iowa City Jazz Festival, along with other concert broadcasts, including student bands from the U of I, Kirkwood, and others.

• The Corridor Jazz Project is just one of several education programs KCCK has designed to bring jazz to young people. Others include:

• Schoolhouse Jazz, which encompasses narration, performance, and student participation to help elementary students understand jazz as a musical form, and also its enormous impact on American culture and history.

• Middle School Jazz Band Camp, a weeklong campus experience for students entering grades 7 – 9, which brings young band students into contact with peers from other schools and directors from area high schools and colleges to enrich their middle school instrumental experience and help prepare them for high school band.

Jazz 88.3 reaches an audience of about 17,000 people each week. Over 15,000 more attend events or are served by our jazz education programs. KCCK receives operating support from Kirkwood as well as a number of community and government entities, but individual listener contributions make up nearly a third of the station’s cash operating budget. All contributions to KCCK are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.