The smooth jazz star Boney James performs at the Midland theater on Sunday, September 26. The saxophonist interprets Rufus’ 1975 hit “Sweet Thing” in the embedded video.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Blair Bryant was featured in a brief segment on a local television program.
*The Topeka Capital-Journal announced the 2021-22 season of the Topeka Jazz Workshop.
*Steve Million was interviewed by Joe Dimino.
*Tweet of the Week: Jazz Artistry Now- Listen to Youth Jazz Radio for free at Spotify #followusonspotify @youthjazzkc @Spotify @spotifyartists @ARCMusic #youthjazz #KansasCity
Album Review: Pat Metheny- Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)
Pat Metheny suggests his collaboration with the daring keyboardist James Francies and powerful drummer Eric Harland is “an organ-trio for the 21st century” in the press release for Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV). Given the Lee’s Summit native’s expansive range, it’s not surprising the new live album documents the form’s past, present and future.
The trio pays faithful homage to the established organ trio tradition on a groovy version of Ornette Coleman’s “Turnaround.” The swinging rendition of “Timeline” wouldn’t sound out of place at Kansas City’s mainstream jazz hub Green Lady Lounge. “Timeline” isn’t the only vintage Metheny track given a treatment on the new live album.
The trio revisits the first two tracks from Bright Size Life, the 1976 album on which Metheny began transforming the possibilities of jazz. While the unforgettable melodies of “Sirabhorn” and “Bright Size Life” elicit nostalgic associations, the new performances add fresh nuances to the familiar compositions. A vibrant take of the Metheny favorite “Better Days Ahead” is the best version to date.
“Lodger” is Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)’s outlier. Unlike anything Metheny has previously offered, the blustery track is in the mode of guitar heroes such as Jeff Beck and Gary Moore. It’s shocking to hear the trailblazing artist follow an established blues-rock formula on a composition seemingly based on Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing.”
“It Starts When We Disappear” and “Zenith Blue” bookend Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV). With inflections of electronica- as well as shades of Metheny’s revolutionary Orchestrion- the most thrilling moments of the extended tracks acknowledge the past, add vitality to the present and blaze a trail to an even more tantalizing future.
Now's the Time: Madeleine Peyroux
Madeleine Peyroux, a jazz-adjacent musician inspired in part by Billie Holiday, performs at Helzberg Hall on Thursday, September 30. The concert is co-headlined by Paula Cole, a singer-songwriter whose previous area appearance was a free concert at a Johnson County shopping center.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Kevin Frazee, a prominent Kansas City drummer, has reportedly died. Here’s a representative performance with OJT.
*KCUR offered a musically ambiguous survey of Kansas City’s jazz venues.
*Pat Metheny appeared on Questlove’s podcast.
*A resident of the Jazz District told The Kansas City Star “we’re afraid” in the wake of a deadly shooting last week. A television station also took note of the crime.
*Tweet of the Week: MCC Kansas City- The public is invited to enjoy a FREE evening of jazz 6-9 p.m. this Friday (9/17) Saxophone at MCC-Penn Valley. Featuring: * Gospel vocalist Lisa Henry * Trumpeter Chalis O'Neal * Charles D. Williams, pianist for the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra (link)
*From a press release: The American Jazz Museum is proud to present Lights, Camera, Vine!, a three-day film series that explores jazz music’s impact on film in America. This series has been created in partnership with local film makers Rodney Thompson and Diallo French. Stretching from Thursday, September 30 to Saturday, October 2nd, features include two iconic jazz films - "Lady Sings the Blues" starring Diana Ross as Billie Holiday, and Spike Lee's "Mo' Better Blues" - as well as selections from the American Jazz Museum's John H. Baker Film Collection. Screenings will each include a reception with live music, and a Q&A session and discussion with local film experts after the film.
Album Review: Julian Vaughn- Chapters of Love
The veteran Kansas City disc jockey Chuck Haddix sometimes characterizes sexy sounds as “music for enhancin’ your romancin’.” While Haddix is unlikely to add Julian Vaughn’s polished form of R&B-informed smooth jazz to his roots-oriented playlist, the artist is responsible for some of the sultriest music currently emanating from Kansas City. "Loving You", a track on the 2021 album Chapters of Love, exemplifies Vaughn’s approach. His electric bass gently massages the melody while female vocalists seductively reference Bobby Womack’s 1982 hit “If You Think You’re Lonely Now.” As with the rest of the undemanding Chapters of Love, it’s insinuating aural wallpaper.
Now’s the Time: Amir ElSaffar and the Two Rivers Ensemble
The New York based Amir ElSaffar and the Two Rivers Ensemble perform at the Lied Center on Thursday, September 30. The musicians’ transcultural blend of Western improvised music and the music of the Middle East and Central Asia will be familiar to admirers of the Kansas City band Alaturka.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Carl Allen chatted with Steve Kraske about his new position at UMKC on KCUR’s Up To Date program.
*John Armato and Andrew Ouellette made appearances on Neon Jazz.
*The Kansas City Beacon filed a report about decrepit city-owned properties in the Jazz District.
*Tweet of the Week: Charles Lloyd- Sending white light and prayers to my friend #PhilSchaap who has filled #WKCR airways for decades and augmented our knowledge not only about Bird but the history of Jazz. His health is failing. Listen to Bird and send him light and prayers, he will feel it. (link)
Album Review: Cheli Davis Smith Trio- Composite
Thanks in part to the strenuous efforts of Seth Andrew Davis, the rowdiest component of Kansas City’s improvised music scene is achieving breathtaking new heights. Composite, the area resident’s vitriolic new collaboration with University of Missouri-Kansas City graduate Kevin Cheli and Damon Smith, is an amalgamation of malformed jazz, cacophonous electronic music and radiated rock. Davis (electronics and guitar), Cheli (percussion) and Smith (bass) alternately expand and contract time and space as they scratch, claw and pummel their distressed instruments. The enlightening Composite pairs antagonistic ugliness with prohibitive beauty in a mode once rarely attempted in Kansas City.
Now’s the Time: Larry Carlton
The late Tal Farlow duets with the eminent guitarist Larry Carlton on a swinging version of “Misty” in the embedded video. Carlton’s concert at Yardley Hall on Sunday, September 12, is sold out.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Toriano Porter advocates the efforts of the American Jazz Museum for The Kansas City Star. KCUR also published a brief feature about the return of the institution’s plastic sax.
*Julie Denesha created an audio feature about Raj Ma Hall for KCUR.
*Tyree Johnson is the subject of a KC Studio profile.
*Carolyn Glenn Brewer discussed her book about Pat Metheny’s formative years on Neon Jazz.
*Tweet of the Week: KCUR's Up To Date- Closing out the show today, the young Kansas City woman who just won the Ella Fitzgerald Vocal Competition: Lucy Wijnands.
Album Review: Steve Million- What I Meant to Say
Musicians have long been required to play with tactful quietude if they intend to find steady work in Kansas City’s jazz venues. Three outstanding musicians who performed together in Kansas City in the late 1970s and early 1980s subtly subvert the low-key approach on an instructive new album.
Joined by bassist John Sims, pianist Steve Million, guitarist Steve Cardenas and drummer Ron Vincent play straight-ahead jazz with exacting brilliance on What I Meant to Say. The album’s low simmer is unobtrusive enough to augment the plush ambience of the lounge of an upscale Kansas City hotel. Yet attentive listeners will appreciate the quartet’s conspiratorial embellishments.
Cardenas flashes a tantalizing glimpse of his wild side on “The Company.” “Missing Page” contains stirring shades of John Coltrane’s “Naima.” “Old Earl” is a melodic gem. Seemingly recalling the strictures of Kansas City gig life, What I Meant to Say is a modestly triumphant exercise in transforming limitation into liberation.
Now's the Time: Lucy Wijnands
Lucy Wijnands performs at the Blue Room on Friday, August 27, as part of the Spotlight 2021: Charlie Parker endeavor. The daughter of pianist Bram Wijnands won the The Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition in Washington D.C. a few months ago.
Confirmation: Weekly New and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*The 2021 edition of the Prairie Village Jazz Festival has been canceled. The lineup consisted of a band led by Adam Larson with Fabian Almazan and Jaleel Shaw, We the People, Back Alley Brass Band and the Shawnee Mission East Blue Knights.
*Carolyn Glenn Brewer attempted to promote her book Beneath Missouri Skies: Pat Metheny in Kansas City 1964-1972 on The Pitch’s Streetwise podcast.
*Pat Metheny was interviewed by the popular YouTube personality Rick Beato.
*Eboni Fondren chatted with Steve Kraske about Everette DeVan on KCUR’s Up To Date program.
*Joe Dimino added Trent Austin and Desmond Mason to his catalog of interviews.
*The Spotlight 2021: Charlie Parker initiative is featured in a brief television news segment.
*Tweet of the Week: The Twittah Sh*ttah- Green Lady Lounge, Kansas City. Cool jazz club. To be honest, I was pretty drunk at this place. I think the bathroom was a good one. All I got was two blurry photos and a video of this awesome sink that lights up when you turn it on. (video and photos)
Album Review: Alber- Journey
The Kansas City musician Alber characterizes his music as vaporwave. Even so, much of his new album Journey is a logical extension of the smooth jazz made by Max Groove in the 1980s. Gently rippling melodies are rendered with Alber’s fragile analog trumpet and lo-fi synthetic tones. Only the jittery post-Dilla beats prevent portions of Journey from being mistaken for a worn-out cassette of Miles Davis’ 1984 album Decoy or a sun-warped vinyl copy of a mid-’70s Bob James recording. Everything clicks- literally and figuratively- on the exemplary title track while the glitchy "In Absentia" is a small sample of state-of-the art ambient music. Journey may be consummate chill-out music for the cool kids of today, but old-school smooth jazz fans will also take enormous pleasure in Alber’s music.
Now's the Time: Gary Bartz
A recent tweet posted by the American Jazz Museum indicates Bobby Watson will perform with Gary Bartz and Vincent Herring on the lawn behind the institution on Sunday, August 29. The celebrated saxophonists collaborated on the 2019 album Bird at 100. The embedded video documents Bartz performing with his plugged-in band in 1974.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Ronnell Bright, a former Kansas City resident best known for his elegant piano accompaniment with vocalists Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson, has died. Marc Myers shares ten of his favorite Bright recordings at JazzWax.
*The Kansas City Star featured a few Spotlight 2021: Charlie Parker performances in its entertainment listings.
*Alonzo Weston of The Coleman Hawkins Jazz Festival and The St. Joseph News-Press pays tribute to Everette DeVan.
*Tweet of the Week: Pat Metheny- Pat Metheny Offers Up A Beautiful Reworking Of His Classic Composition, “Better Days Ahead,” The New Single From Side-EYE NYC (V1.IV) - Due Out Sept 10th Hear This Classic Interpreted In A Completely New Way: (link)
Album Review: John Armato- The Drummer Loves Ballads
The most emblematic Kansas City jazz album of 2021 is the work of a drummer who currently lives in Sacramento. John Armato oversees a bevy of prominent Kansas City musicians on his ambitious concept album The Drummer Loves Ballads.
Armato turns to the contacts he made during the years he spent on Kansas City’s jazz scene to realize his imaginative vision. Two storied outsiders- saxophonist Houston Person and cornetist Warren Vaché- also get in on the action on the project released in May.
A survey of a few highlights reflects the album’s breadth. Brett Jackson pays tribute to the late baritone saxophonist Kerry Strayer on “Night Lights.” Lucy Wijnands, the daughter of the Kansas City mainstay Bram Wijnands, croons the dreamy chanson “The Shadows of Paris.”
A duet by vocalists Ron Gutierrez and Molly Hammer is ravishing. Veteran pianist Wayne Hawkins and clarinetist Lynn Zimmer make sentimental contributions. An interpretation of “Lonely Woman” features characteristically stunning work from guitarist Rod Fleeman and bassist Gerald Spaits.
The inclusion of so many scene stalwarts on the stylistically conservative, musically impeccable and deliberately hushed The Drummer Loves Ballads makes the album an invaluable document of the mainstream sound that continues to dominate Kansas City’s jazz clubs.
Now’s the Time: RSS Trio
RSS Trio consists of three young Kansas City musicians who add a fresh twist to old-school sounds. The group is a staple of the late-night shift at Green Lady Lounge.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Jon McGraw promoted the Spotlight 2021: Charlie Parker initiative on Joe Dimino’s YouTube channel.
*The Kansas City Star made a belated acknowledgement of the passing of Everette DeVan.
* The American Jazz Museum marks the return of Charlie Parker’s plastic sax with a parade in the Jazz District on Sunday, August 29.
*Tweet of the Week: Mike Mahoney- The Ship, a Kansas City live music venue and bar, joins the list of places in KC requiring proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test to enter. May be others soon. @kmbc #MoVaccine