RSS Trio is a mainstay at Green Lady Lounge. The organ trio’s next gig at the bustling venue is 10: 30 p.m. Friday, June 20.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*From the American Jazz Museum: Dr. Dina Bennett, Executive Director of the American Jazz Museum, will be stepping down from her role at the end of July. Dr. Bennett has been a visionary leader whose contributions have significantly advanced our mission, from elevating our national presence to deepening our local impact in the 18th & Vine District. We are incredibly grateful for her leadership, and while she will be deeply missed, we are excited for what lies ahead in her next chapter… Dr. Bennett will remain in her position through July 2025 to support a smooth transition. The Board of Directors will soon launch a national search for our next Executive Director, someone who can guide the Museum through its next stage of growth and innovation.
*Marcus Lewis was interviewed by Hampton Stevens.
*Adam Galblum chatted with Joe Dimino.
Album Review: Eddie Moore- What Makes Us
The primary rift in the jazz universe- the treacherous gulf between mainstream convention and more inclusive sounds- has been expanding for decades. Like many Kansas City musicians of his generation, Eddie Moore rejects the false dichotomy. His latest album What Makes Us is further proof that listeners needn’t take sides in the specious conflict. As he’s done for more than a dozen years, Moore traverses the musical bridge built in large part by Robert Glasper. The six tracks on What Makes Us continue to reference contemporary developments while remaining firmly rooted in tradition. Joined by vibraphonist Isaiah Petrie, bassist Ben Tervort and drummer Jaylen Ward, Moore crafts melodic jazz with universal appeal.
Now’s the Time: Tetsuya Nishiyama
Guitarist Tetsuya Nishiyama oversees the Blue Room’s weekly jam session on Monday, June 16.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Alex Abramovitz’s band is featured in the latest episode of Kansas Public Radio’s Live at Green Lady Lounge program.
*A television news broadcast touts the construction of a parking garage in the Jazz District.
Album Review: Chalis O’Neal- The Influence
Chalis O'Neal raps that his music is “hip-hop meets swing with a little bebop” on The Influence. The Kansas City trumpeter’s new album has a bass-heavy mix that might please fans of Lil Baby but would horrify the mainstream jazz audience.
The oppressively leaden sound field smothers O’Neal and his locally based collaborators. Saxophonist Ernest Melton, keyboardist Desmond Mason, bassist Nsikoh Bébé Làlà and drummer Jaylen Ward are far more vibrant in live settings.
The powerhouse band is further hampered by a brutal song selection. Opening with “Misty” and closing with “Cherokee,” The Influence is a dreary compendium of overplayed jazz standards and tired pop hits. The omission of “My Funny Valentine” and “Uptown Funk” is a saving grace.
“The Terminator” is the freshest track. Each man’s aggressive solo is unencumbered by an enervated melody. Yet what sounds corny on a recording can kill in a club. O’Neal and his cohorts are best experienced live.
Now’s the Time: The Back Alley Brass Band
The music component of the 2025 edition of the Boulevardia festival consists entirely of locally based artists. Rap veteran Tech N9ne is the headliner. Jackie Myers, Chalis O’Neal and Back Alley Brass Band are the jazz-oriented acts at the June 14 event. The latter ensemble kicks off its set in the embedded video with a Rebirth Brass Band staple.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*DownBeat magazine considers the Midwest Jazz Collective touring initiative that visited Kansas City in April.
Album Review: All Night Trio- Yeah Sun
All Night Trio may be Kansas City’s best band. The wavy convergence of Matt Villinger, Peter Schlamb and Zach Morrow applies elite jazz chops to funky electro-pop. What could be better? Why, the addition of Hermon Mehari, of course! The trumpeter appears on “Echo Cycle,” the second track on the new album Yeah Sun. The gloriously woozy title track is a worthy follow-up to All Night Trio’s 2022 banger "All Faded". “The Next Gen” is centered on Morrow’s uplifting rap. The title of “Thunder Step” seems to be a nod to the crossover star Thundercat. A thirty-minute party, Yeah Sun is contemporary club music for people who collect Bobby Timmons records on vinyl.
Now’s the Time: Brenna Whitaker
Brenna Whitaker, a vocalist raised in Kansas City and based in Los Angeles, will be the guest of The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra at the Folly Theater on Saturday, May 31. The theme of the final concert of the big band’s 2024-25 season is “Glamour of Old Hollywood.”
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Album Review: Hot Club KC- Dream Dancing
Seemingly generated by artificial intelligence, the album art for Dream Dancing, Hot Club KC’s debut album, is buoyant. Yet the attractive image is a misleading representation of the Kansas City band’s variation on gypsy jazz. Asking a bot to generate a confluence of mellow late-’60s psychedelia and a pretty Parisian boulevard may have produced a more appropriate visual match for the music.
Hot Club KC is as indebted to the Grateful Dawg stylings of David Grisman and Jerry Garcia as it is to the gypsy jazz progenitors Stéphane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt. Slightly wavy interpretations of familiar melodies such as “Gee Baby Ain’t I Good to You,” “With a Little Help From My Friends” and “Lil Darlin’” swirl around bandleader Adam Galblum’s endearingly frail voice.
Everyone who has been charmed by a Hot Club KC performance already knows they’ll want to spend time with Dream Dancing. And outsiders attuned to gypsy jazz need to hear the original song “Renji.” The album opener is an ingratiating companion to the 1937 classic “Minor Swing.” Grappelli and Reinhardt-inspired bands around the world won’t need artificial intelligence to recognize that “Renji” would be an excellent addition to their repertoires.
Now’s the Time: Jazmin Ghent
Smooth jazz saxophonist Jazmin Ghent is the opening act for crooner Dre Scot at the at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s Jazz & Jackie concert at the Gem Theater on Saturday, May 24.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Justin Wilson, an accomplished producer of Kansas City jazz recordings, has died.
*An appearance by Anat Cohen is among the highlights of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra’s 2025-26 season.
*Dan White told Steve Kraske about his Jazz KC Portraits photo exhibit at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum.
*Michael Pagán chatted with Joe Dimino.
*Trent Austin is among the business owners concerned about the potential impact of tariffs on their musical instrument businesses in a KCUR feature.
*From a press release: Spotlight: Charlie Parker 2025 celebrates the jazz icon’s 105th birthday with jam sessions and musical tributes, tours, lectures, exhibits, panel discussions, workshops, and concerts... The month-long celebration will take place in August 2025 at various locations, including The Folly Theater, 18th & Vine Jazz District, including the American Jazz Museum and the Gem Theater, and Kansas City-area jazz clubs. Details are available here.
Album Review: Deborah Silver and the Count Basie Orchestra- Basie Rocks!
Basie’s Beatle Bag and Basie on the Beatles are degrading totems of a cultural changing of the guard. The very existence of the crass 1960s albums belittles the legacy of a Kansas City jazz institution. Even so, the recordings aren’t half bad.
In a similar fashion, Basie Rocks!, a new release by vocalist Deborah Silver and The Count Basie Orchestra, often overcomes a tacky premise. Eleven classic rocks staples are given campy makeovers. Interesting arrangements, Silver’s enthusiastic crooning and a procession of A-list guest stars make the project listenable.
The push-and-pull of Elton John’s 1973 hit “Bennie and the Jets” lends itself to the concept. A guitar solo from Bill Frisell adds a touch of gravitas to the Steve Miller Band staple “Fly Like an Eagle.” Kurt Elling brings star power to “Tainted Love.”
Only a cover of the Three Dog Night hit “Joy to the World” featuring Trombone Shorty is entirely cringey. The inclusion of Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll” is appropriate. Now that rock has joined jazz as a subordinate form of popular music, the nostalgic cross-genre alliance is bittersweet rather than demeaning.
Now’s the Time: Charles Williams
The esteemed Kansas City keyboardist Charles Williams performs in First Baptist Church’s Jazz Vespers series on Sunday, May 18.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Kansas Public Radio presents audio and video of Stan Kessler and three pianists performing material from Kessler’s 2024 album Two’s Company.
*Joe Dimino shares footage of the Mitch Towne Trio’s gig at the Blue Room.
*The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that a $30,000 National Endowment of the Arts grant designated to the We Always Swing concert series has been retracted.
Album Review: Hermon Mehari and Tony Tixier- Soul Song
Inspired musical partnerships have characterized the signature sound of Kansas City for a century. Among the fruitful pairings featuring one or two notable Kansas City musicians are Count Basie with Eddie Durham, Andy Kirk with Mary Lou Williams, Pat Metheny with Lyle Mays and more recently, Bobby Watson with Curtis Lundy.
Hermon Mehari and Tony Tixier have enjoyed a similarly productive artistic relationship for the past 15 years. Upon forging a friendship with the French pianist, the trumpeter invited Tixier to Kansas City in 2011.
The old friends deepen their bond on Soul Song, a duet album recorded in France on November 12, 2024. With Tixier on Fender Rhodes, the duo investigates four compositions from the 1970s- Stanley Cowell’s “Maimoun,” George Duke’s “The Black Messiah,” Bobby Hutcherson’s “Now” and Marius Cutler’s “Laini.”
A pair of original pieces and two improvisations round out the impeccably spartan and sensitively performed set of spiritual jazz. As the careers of Mehari and Tixier continue to ascend the duo is likely to continue refining an artistic pact that’s an estimable extension of a hallowed Kansas City tradition.
Now’s the Time: Mitch Towne
The Omaha based organist Mitch Towne performs at the Blue Room on Friday, May 9. “Steepian Faith,” the selection featured in the embedded video, is the fifth track on Towne’s new album Refuge.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*A feel-good story about an elderly Count Basie fan is shared by a TV reporter. Joe Dimino offers his perspective and documents portions of the Count Basie Orchestra’s concert at the Music Hall.
*Bassist Chase McRoy is featured by In Kansas City magazine.
*A television news outlet reports on the latest Jazz District redevelopment project.