Album Review: Pat Metheny- Side-Eye III+

Pat Metheny has been leagues ahead of all but a few musicians throughout his extensive career. Recent developments in electronic music, hyperpop and artificial intelligence now allow humans without Metheny’s daring intellect better shots at catching up.

His admirers might use Side-Eye III+, the Lee’s Summit native’s new album, as a blueprint of how musicians can use cutting-edge technology to lift the spirits of human souls and perhaps, inspire robotic mechanisms to commiserate with their flesh-and-blood counterparts.

The forty-five second breakdown beginning around the 6:30 mark of the opening track “In On It” is emblematic of Metheny’s aptitude for futurism. Members of a celestial choir are among the elements vacuumed into a sonic black hole.

Side-Eye III+ isn’t exclusively dedicated to glitchy Aphex Twin-style effects. Keyboardist Chris Fishman and drummer Joe Dyson are among more than a dozen musicians making tried-and-true Metheny signatures seem even bigger and bolder. 

“Don’t Look Down” is characterized by fist-pumping razzle dazzle. “Urban and Western” sounds as if Metheny programmed his proto-AI Orchestrion device to create a mashup of Ray Charles and Carole King. The organ trio jam “SE-O” resembles a sweat-stained sport coat accessorized with baubles, bangles and beads.

The sentimental melody of “Make a New World” is a throwback to the sort of television show theme song Bob James might have composed in the 1970s. Yet as its title suggests, Metheny continues to look ahead. The future is now and Side-Eye III+ is its soundtrack.

Now’s the Time: Arturo O’Farrill

Arturo O'Farrill headlines the Jazz Winterlude festival at Johnson County Community College on Sunday, March 7. The complete schedule for the two-day event is here.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*A recap of KC Winter Jazzfest was published by 90.9 The Bridge.

*Joe Dimino interviewed David Basse.

*Mary Lou Williams is one of twenty women recognized in an In Kansas City magazine feature.

Festival Review: KC Winter Jazzfest

The hand-scrawled sign at the entrance of KC Winter Jazzfest is an accurate representation of the event that took place in the West Bottoms on Sunday, February 22. Organic, DIY and sincere, the purity of the miniature festival was endearing.

I took in three-and-a-half hours of the scheduled thirteen-hour event in the space best known at Cap Gun Studios. Marcus Lewis, the festival’s gregarious organizer, told attendees that his intention was for “all the musicians (to) come together and play music for each other.”

In fact, the upbeat atmosphere resembled a clubhouse for Kansas City’s jazz musicians. About fifty musicians and approximately two dozen curious civilians shuffled between two stopgap stages during my time in the loft. I paid a $35 admission fee at the door.

Separate sets by saxophonists Pete Fucinaro and Matt Otto were incendiary. Trumpeter Nate Nall and saxophonist Matt Baldwin paid homage to the early work of Donald Byrd. Amber Underwood (aka Flutienastiness) and the Deshtet (led by rapper and trombonist Kadesh Flow) played crossover forms of jazz.

Lewis spoke between sets about ambitious plans for the future of the festival. While the prospect for expansion is exciting, I’ll harbor fond memories of the slapdash tone and uncommon innocence of the inaugural edition of KC Winter Jazzfest.

Now’s the Time: Matt Von Roderick

Locally based musicians usually fill in when Lonnie McFadden, the titular musician of Lonnie’s Reno Club, takes a night off. Every so often a touring artist appears at the supper club. Matt Von Roderick, a crooner and trumpeter from Los Angeles, entertains at Lonnie’s Reno Club on Thursday, February 26.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*KCUR surveys current construction projects in the Jazz District.

*From a press release: In honor of Women's History Month, the Christopher Burnett Quartet will perform a special midday concert of instrumental jazz ballads on March 25, 2026, at JW Crancers Event Space. The performance will run from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm and is free and open to the public… The Ensemble: Christopher Burnett, Roger Wilder, Gerald Spaits and Houston Smith. Details are here.

Album Review: David Lord- Way Over the Rainbow

Woulda, shoulda, coulda. What-if scenarios as explanations of the absence of critical and commercial recognition are invariably pathetic. Still…

If David Lord hadn’t released Way Over the Rainbow on December 12, the album would likely have found its way on several year-end best-albums-of-2025 lists, including my own.

If Way Over the Rainbow had been issued by a prominent record label with a publicity department rather than being self-released by the guitarist, the anomalous Americana album would almost certainly have found a larger audience.

If Lord wasn’t based in Wichita he might have a better shot at being rightfully recognized as one of improvised music’s most interesting artists.

The ballyhooed guitarist Jeff Parker appears on three rarefied Way Over the Rainbow selections. The playing of bassist Dale Black, drummer Charles Rumback and vibraphonist Sam Hake (on one track) is no less elevated.

Apparently, none of that matters. Not even the presence of Parker had previously inspired a single review. Members of Lord’s avid cult following may have to accept that the world isn’t ready for his brilliant but abstruse conception.

Now's the Time: The Westerlies

The jazz-adjacent brass quartet The Westerlies perform at Polsky Theatre on Friday, February 20. The Seattle based group’s next two albums are dedicated to the compositions of Bill Frisell.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Shaun Crowley and Eddie Moore participated in a discussion of Kansas City’s music economy on KCUR’s Up To Date.

*Marcus Lewis promoted the KC Winter Jazz Fest on 90.9 The Bridge’s Eight One Sixty program.

Concert Review: The Joshua Redman Quartet at the Folly Theater

Familiarity breeds contempt. I begrudgingly paid $37.50 for a pocket-sized seat in the back row of the Folly Theater on Saturday, February 7. The event was the fifth time I’ve caught up with Joshua Redman in the past eleven years. 

The saxophonist played the Folly Theater in 2019 (Plastic Sax review), collaborated with the Bad Plus at the Gem Theater in 2015  (my review for The Kansas City Star), and at the Folly in 2007 (Plastic Sax review). I also heard Redman at New York City’s Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in 2017 (Plastic Sax review).

Rather than harboring disappointment with the reliably excellent Redman, I was irritated by the propensity of jazz presenters in Kansas City to feature the same acts year after year. Kansas City apparently doesn’t share my fussiness. A near-capacity audience of almost 1,000 paid rapt attention to Redman, pianist Paul Cornish, bassist Philip Norris and drummer Nazir Ebo.

My gloom dissipated as it became apparent the quartet was operating at the apex of mainstream jazz. Compositions that sound flat on the 2025 album Words Fall Short were enlivened by elite interplay and stupendous solos. Yet allusions to more adventurous sounds provided the highlights of the 100-minute performance.

Redman’s fire-breathing introduction to a selection concluded with a piercing high note, causing an agitated woman in front of me to cover her ears. An extended unaccompanied solo by Cornish ranged from Art Tatum to Robert Glasper. Norris and Ebo made similarly prodigious statements.

As at Branford Marsalis’ outing at the Folly Theater eleven months ago, the Kansas City based drummer Carl Allen sat in with the band for one tune. While I might long for the likes of Mary Halvorson, I’ll never pass on an opportunity to  hear Marsalis or Redman in Kansas City.

(Reed Jackson composed a more conventional review of Redman’s concert for Spectrum Culture.)

Now's the Time: The Brian Baggett Trio

Kansas City guitarist Brian Baggett is renowned for bringing a rock sensibility to jazz. Yet the embedded video indicates edginess is just one component of his multifaceted sound. Baggett leads a trio at Green Lady Lounge on Monday, February 16.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*A television station notes the passing of Anita Dixon-Brown.

*A television reporter waxes ecstatic about construction in the Jazz District.

*A television news report hints at disaffection following approval of an additional $3.2 funding for renovations at the American Jazz Museum.

*A trio led by Loren Broaddus submitted an entry to NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest.

Album Review: NO(w) Beauty- (un)Seen

Fifteen years ago, Hermon Mehari’s jazz trio Diverse led a Michael Jackson tribute show at a rock venue in Kansas City. While it doesn’t resemble Thriller stylistically, (un)Seen, Mehari’s new album with the quartet NO(w) Beauty, is imbued with the dynamic sensibility associated with Jackson and producer Quincy Jones.

As on an ambitious pop album, no two tracks on (un)Seen are alike. The innovative merger of conventional swing, Eastern Mediterranean folk traditions, European classical music and Euro-jazz offers a series of surprises.

Guest artist Sam Amidon contributes plaintive vocals to “The Birds’ Enlightened Path.” The rhapsodic"Inner Spaces” is enhanced by strings while “Zones de l’oubli” consists entirely of a string quartet. “Zone 11: Territoire(s)” employs the maximalist tactics associated with Tigran Hamasyan.

The fragile melancholy of the standout track “Atlantic Currents” will buckle the knees of Mehari aficionados. The song also features a sprightly solo from pianist Enzo Carniel, Damien Varaillon’s burly bass and the skittering drums of Stéphane Adsuar.

It’s easy to hear why the quartet was named “the French band of the year” by two publications following the release of 2023’s NO(w) Beauty. In 2009, Mehari was The Plastic Sax Person of the Year. Seventeen years later, Mehari is succeeding in an ongoing quest to “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”.

Now’s the Time: Ernest Melton

Although the Blue Room at the American Jazz Museum has yet to open in 2026, jazz continues to be performed in the Jazz District at the Mutual Musicians Foundation and at Vine Street Brewing. Saxophonist Ernest Melton appears in the latter space on Friday, February 6.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The American Jazz Museum has proposed a $3.2 million dollar renovation plan that includes relocating the Blue Room to a larger space in its facility. Meanwhile, the Blue Room’s online calendar remains empty.

*Joe Dimino paid tribute to the late Anita Dixon-Brown.

*UMKC spotlighted drummer Matt Roberson in a press release.

*Bob Long, a professor at Missouri Western State University, was honored at the Missouri Music Conference.

Poll Tax

Two momentous year-end jazz critics polls- The 20th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll and El Intruso’s The 18th Annual International Critics Poll- were published during my recent sojourn in Japan. Details about the Kansas City artists who received representation follow.

Hosted by The Arts Fuse, the 20th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll focuses on albums. Carl Allen’s Tippin' placed at #61 among the 576 releases receiving votes in the New Albums ranking. Anat Fort’s The Dreamworld of Paul Motian featuring guitarist Steve Cardenas, received a single nod.

Brittany Davis’ Black Thunder received one vote in the Vocals category while Pete Fucinaro’s Little Window and Henry Scamurra’s Urban Forum each received a single vote in a tally of debut albums.

Even though it was released on October 25, 2024, Charlie Parker’s Bird in Kansas City placed at #23 among the 208 titles receiving votes in the reissue category. Here’s my ballot.

The Argentine jazz periodical El Intruso’s ambitious referendum has a more progressive orientation. Hermon Mehari (one vote as best trumpeter) and Pat Metheny (one vote as best guitarist) were the sole musicians with Kansas City affiliations to be acknowledged. My ballot can be found by searching for “Plastic Sax.”

Four of the eight artists highlighted here wouldn’t have been mentioned in the polls without the participation of Plastic Sax. Either the sounds made by Kansas City artists aren’t reaching ears beyond the metropolitan area or they’re failing to make a lasting impression on jazz journalists.

Now's the Time: Joshua Redman

The Folly Jazz Series resumes on Saturday, February 7, with the excellent quartet led by Joshua Redman. The saxophonist is slated to perform with pianist Paul Cornish, bassist Philip Norris and drummer Nazir Ebo.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

Notices about three of the most significant developments occurring on Kansas City’s jazz scene while Plastic Sax was visiting Japan in recent weeks follow.

*Anita Dixon-Brown, one of the most consequential figures in Kansas City’s cultural community, died January 4. She’s best known for her association with the Mutual Musicians Foundation and for her efforts in securing Kansas City’s status as a UNESCO Creative City.

*Pat Metheny revealed details about his next album. Side-Eye III+ will be released on Metheny’s new Uniquity Music record label on February 27. "In On It" is the album’s first single.

*As in recent years, The Blue Room at the American Jazz Museum is shuttered this January.

Cool Swing

I recovered the guileless purity of my initial infatuation with jazz in Japan this month. As a scratchy copy of Phineas Newborn Jr.’s 1961 album A World of Piano! played at a jazz kissa in Kyoto, I focused on the music without the intrusion of a single analytic thought.

Unconcerned about Newborn’s legacy, the contrast between the playing of Philly Joe Jones and Louis Hayes or the possible influence of the recording on musicians back home in Kansas City, I allowed the forty-minute album unfiltered access to my soul.

It felt so good.

Conversely, attending a gig by a piano trio led by Riyoko Takagi was stressful. After waiting on the stairs of the sold-out Tokyo basement club Naru for thirty minutes, I was allowed to stand at the back of the venue.

Fifty patrons focused on  the Takagi original “Cool Swing” and standards including “Moanin’” and “Manhã de Carnaval” with frightening intensity. I paid the equivalent of $40 for cover and a one-drink minimum for the bucket-list experience.

I also encountered jazz in unexpected places during my first trip to Japan. Frothy J-pop is clearly the dominant genre, but classic jazz played at many of the establishments I frequented. 

Tokyo’s massive Tower Records complex has a solid jazz section. I found the Count Basie album pictured above while cratedigging at a department store. And when I encountered an antiques dealer at a flea market in Ueno Park playing Fletcher Henderson recordings, Japan suddenly felt like my second home.

Brian Steever: The Plastic Sax Person of the Year

Brian Steever’s vital role in Kansas City’s jazz community was clarified during the drummer’s performance at the album release show for Drew Williams’ Demons Hate Fresh Air in December.

The set closed with a robust reading of Paul Motian’s “The Owl of Cranston” in which Steever once again demonstrated that he’s Kansas City’s equivalent of the legendary drummer. Like Motian, Steever is equally adept in straight-ahead and avant-garde settings.

With drumsticks serving as extensions of his long limbs, Steever is a joy to watch as he elevates every gig on which he appears. Steever’s  annual collaborations with Steve Cardenas are especially rewarding. 

Steever’s exceptional work on strong 2025 albums by Kansas City stalwarts Gerald Spaits, the aforementioned Williams and Wire Town further certifies the drummer as Plastic Sax’s 2025 Person of the Year.

The previous recipients of the designation are Dwight Frizzell (2024), Matt Otto (2023), Seth Davis and Evan Verploegh (2022), Rod Fleeman (2021), Charlie Parker (2020), Logan Richardson (2019), Peter Schlamb (2018), John Scott (2017), Eddie Moore (2016), Larry Kopitnik (2015), Deborah Brown (2014), Stan Kessler (2013), Doug and Lori Chandler (2012), Jeff Harshbarger (2011), Mark Lowrey (2010) and Hermon Mehari (2009). Bobby Watson was named the Plastic Sax Person of the Decade in 2009 and again in 2019.