Your Custom Text Here
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Aryana Nemati, Jackie Myers and Carly Atwood pay tribute to Charlie Parker compositions at the Kansas City Museum.
*The streaming performances of pianist Mark Lowrey caught the attention of KCUR.
*Tweet of the Week: Warta Jazz- Trombonis asal Kansas City Brian Scarborough merilis album SunFlower Song (link)
Screenshot of documentary trailer by Plastic Sax.
During a pledge break on the broadcast premiere of Bird: Not Out of Nowhere, the Kansas City musician Lonnie McFadden lauded Louis Armstrong’s colossal status in New Orleans and cited Memphis’ ongoing embrace of Elvis Presley. McFadden wistfully acknowledged Charlie Parker remains relatively unknown in his hometown of Kansas City. The ongoing cold shoulder Kansas City gives Parker added an ironic twist to the public television station KCPT’s use of the documentary as a fund-raising vehicle.
In a separate pledge break, Brad Austin, the producer, director, editor and photographer of Bird: Not Out of Nowhere, explained “the film is based on Chuck (Haddix)’s book and his knowledge of Charlie Parker.” Haddix, the author of Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker, is one of four Parker experts narrating the documentary. McFadden and his fellow musicians Logan Richardson and Bobby Watson also contribute to the film designed to provide “a new look on how (Parker’s) upbringing in Kansas City led to worldwide fame.”
The stories told by Haddix, McFadden and Watson are so familiar to dedicated members of Kansas City’s jazz community that some viewers of Bird: Not Out of Nowhere have their routines memorized. Still, it’s good to have their patter preserved for posterity. And the visuals- a refreshed version of the effects used by the famed documentarian Ken Burns- are worthy of their subject. The misspelling of the word “saxophonist” as “saxaphonist” is one of the few blemishes in the polished film.
Not surprisingly, the scenes featuring music are best. Excerpts of a quartet led by Watson playing “Wheel Within a Wheel,” “I’m Glad There Is You” and “Confirmation” are compelling. Watson’s demonstration of the stylistic difference between swing and bop is similarly excellent. McFadden’s rendering of “Parker’s Mood” over habitual background chatter at The Phoenix is also valuable.
Richardson provides a candid assessment of Kansas City’s appalling erasure of Parker’s legacy near the end of the film. He contrasts the majesty of Frédéric Chopin’s grave in Paris with the scruffy resting place of Parker in Lincoln Cemetery. Speaking for all of Kansas City, he sighs “we could be better.” While Bird: Not Out of Nowhere can’t rectify past injustices, it’s an encouraging step toward a more honorable future.
Reggie Watkins, a Kansas City keyboardist best known for his affinity for gospel music, died in March. The embedded video captures him performing with a small jazz combo in the lobby of the American Jazz Museum in 2015. Watkins takes a solo at the 3:50 mark.
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Brian Scarborough is featured in The Pitch.
*The legacy of the late LaVerne Barker is examined by Flatland.
*Jacob Wagner tells KCUR that “Kansas City's taken too long to recognize black creativity and African-American music that put us on the map” in a KCUR overview of Charlie Parker’s life.
*Aryana Nemati-Baghestani is interviewed by an in-house UMKC publication.
*The editorial board of The Kansas City Star ponders violence in the Jazz District.
*Bill Clinton is among the luminaries paying homage to Charlie Parker on the icon’s YouTube channel.
*Bret Primack interviewed Bobby Watson and Chuck Haddix.
*Joe Dimino documented a performance by five members of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra. He also interviewed the participants.
*Alliance, a new album by Matt Otto, was released last week.
*The Mid-America Arts Alliance awarded $50,000 to the American Jazz Museum.
*A new mural adorns the exterior of the Mutual Musicians Foundation.
*Tweet o’ the Week: HypnoRaygun- Danny Embrey makes 99% of "real guitarists" look like beginners. He's unbelievable.
*From a press release: Due to restrictions imposed by Kansas City, MO and the CDC, and our concern for our patrons, staff, volunteers, crew, and artists, the Folly (Theater) has made some changes in our current Jazz Season. We have decided to postpone Karrin Allyson from October 17th to January 22. David Benoit will be moved to December 10th of 2021.
*From a press release: Craft Recordings is proud to announce the release of the compact disc edition of The Savoy 10-Inch LP Collection. The collection, which spotlights Charlie Parker’s groundbreaking bebop sessions for the legendary jazz label (spanning 1944 to 1948), is already available on vinyl and digital formats. The CD edition features 28 tracks from the four legendary Savoy 10-inch LPs, presented with newly restored and remastered audio and a deluxe 20-page booklet… The compact disc edition… (is) set for a November 6th release date.
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Bird at 100, the 2019 album Bobby Watson recorded with fellow saxophonists Gary Bartz and Vincent Herring, demonstrated the Kansas City hero’s admirable fealty to Charlie Parker. While several Kansas City based jazz musicians have issued fine albums this year, none have observed the centennial of Parker’s birth with the release of a project explicitly dedicated to Bird. Two New York based musicians- the Italian-born guitarist Pasquale Grasso and the Oklahoma native Champian Fulton- fill the surprising void with compelling new projects featuring compositions associated with Parker.
Birdsong has an impossibly charming backstory. Fulton’s jazz-crazed parents played Charlie Parker With Strings during her birth. Fulton later befriended Jay McShann, the bandleader who gave Parker his first big break decades earlier. The joyous blues-steeped swing of The Man From Muskogee informs Fulton’s style.
Her throwback approach is seemingly incompatible with Parker’s ferocious innovations. Yet Fulton finds ingenious ways to honor Parker without compromising her signature pre-bop sound on Birdsong. The presence of Scott Hamilton- the tenor saxophonist admired for his vital evocations of Parker’s heroes like Lester Young and Ben Webster- helps Fulton tactfully circumvent the stylistic challenge. Fans of McShann and Sir Charles Thompson will adore Fulton’s jumping old-school piano attack. And her vocals occupy a space halfway between Sheila Jordan and Sarah Vaughan. Champian’s father Stephen Fulton (flugelhorn), Hide Tanaka (bass) and Fukushi Tainaka (drums) play with a correspondingly joyful spirit.
Birdsong instigates foot tapping. Grasso exercises the cerebrum on Solo Bird. The guitarist’s brilliant disassembling of selections like “Yardbird Suite” and “Confirmation” provides fresh insights into the classic material. His mind-bending agility is the aural equivalent of watching a chess grandmaster play a series of speed matches. At 16 minutes, Solo Bird is frustratingly brief. The EP is part of a series in which Grasso also pays homage to Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk. Nothing alike, Birdsong and Solo Bird are two disparate pieces of the infinite array of possibilities brought into being by the genius of Charlie Parker.
I shot this video at Charlie Parker’s grave in Lincoln Cemetery on August 29, 2010. Alas, turf wars within Kansas City’s jazz community put an end to this birthday tradition years before the global pandemic struck.
Original image of Gary Giddins’ Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker by Plastic Sax.
*Eddie Moore, Hermon Mehari and Jackie Myers are among the musicians paying tribute to Charlie Parker in an episode of Eight One Sixty.
*Television news stations reported on area Charlie Parker celebrations here, here and here.
*The New York Times lists the best ways to observe the centennial of Charlie Parker’s birth.
*Marcus Lewis chatted with Joe Dimino.
*The Kansas City Star reports that Johnson County Community College is rescheduling its fall concerts. The slate included an appearance by Larry Carlton.
*Tweet o’ the Week: Kansas City PBS- Just in case you haven't heard: On the centennial of Charlie "Bird" Parker's birth, we're taking a look back at the 21 years #Bird spent in #KansasCity and his lasting impression on present-day #KC jazz. Take our word for it, you don't want to miss this premiere! August 29!
Original image by Plastic Sax.
The first 2,025 posts dating back to 2007 are here.