The Kansas City's Jazz Scene's Top Trends and Stories of 2021

1. Mask off

Kansas City never entirely embraced pandemic precautions.  Much of the populace treated official mandates as gratuitous suggestions.  Even so, Kansas City’s live music landscape shifted during the difficulties.  The good news is that new jazz-friendly venues replaced many of the rooms that didn’t survive.

2. Saying the quiet part out loud

Some readers of Plastic Sax are annoyed by this site’s penchant for disclosing disheartening attendance figures.  Pat Metheny acknowledged the town’s limited appetite for jazz in an interview with In Kansas City magazine.

3. Fiver

Many observers insist that the customary absence of cover charges at performances of jazz devalues the music.  Green Lady Lounge, Kansas City’s most popular jazz venue, instituted a five dollar admission fee this year.

4. Underground surge

Thanks largely to the initiatives of the enterprising young musicians Seth Davis and Evan Verploegh, avant-garde jazz and experimental music was much easier to find in 2021.

5. 3333

After relocating to 3333 Wyoming Street, the Charlotte Street Foundation became a welcoming home for left-of-center improvised music.

6. The beat goes on

The storied drummer Carl Allen replaced Bobby Watson as Endowed Chair of Jazz Studies at UMKC.  Much of the jazz scene’s fate rests on Allen’s ability to attract and develop promising talent.

7. Dunn good

Gerald Dunn, the person who has become the institutional memory of the American Jazz Museum and has long served as an essential component of Kansas City’s music scene, was named a Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalists Association.

8. Missouri uncompromised

Carolyn Glenn Brewer’s new study Under Missouri Skies: Pat Metheny in Kansas City 1965-1972 provides essential insights into a previously under-documented era.

9. Next level

Hermon Mehari’s progression as a refined practitioner of European jazz and the ascension of Lucy Wijnands’ career were among the most notable artistic developments by artists associated with Kansas City.

10. Rest in peace

The passing of organ kingpin Everette DeVan was the most prominent of several heartbreaking deaths.

Now's the Time: Steve Cardenas

EDIT: THIS PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN POSTPONED

The accomplished guitarist Steve Cardenas performs with pianist Jon Cowherd, bassist Ben Allison and drummer Allan Mednard in the embedded video. Cardenas will be joined by bassist Forest Stewart and drummer Brian Steever at recordBar on Tuesday, December 28.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Pat Metheny is a Kansas City music blog’s Artist of the Year.

*JazzTimes published a Count Basie-themed listicle. Something Else! published an appreciation of Pat Metheny’s debut album.

*Tweet of the Week: Carl Kincaid- What a fantastic night. And privilege. Seeing #BobbyWatson with some of Kansas City’s (indeed, the world’s) greatest players in The American Jazz Orchestra at the epicenter of Jazz, #TheBlueRoom at 18th and Vine. Got him to sign my copy of his #GatesBBQ Suite too. So cool. #jazz

Rod Fleeman: The Plastic Sax Person of the Year

The artistic vitality of Kansas City’s jazz scene isn’t dependent on charismatic celebrities or prominent institutions.  Instead, a few dozen diligent journeyman musicians are responsible for the resilience of the music.

Few artists are more representative of these unsung heroes than Rod Fleeman.  The guitarist’s work with the famed vocalists Karrin Allyson and Marilyn Maye is his primary calling card, but he’s often found working under less glamorous spotlights.

While Fleeman’s contributions make even the humblest gigs seem sublime, he shines like a luminous star when surrounded by exceptional musicians.  His Saturday matinee booking at Green Lady Lounge is among Kansas City’s best-kept secrets.

The unassuming Fleeman possesses a tiny fraction of the fame attained by the Lee’s Summit native Pat Metheny.  The former teenage acquaintances took different career paths.  Yet every Fleeman appearance contains solos capable of dazzling discerning Metheny enthusiasts. That’s among the many reasons Fleeman is Plastic Sax’s Person of the Year. 

Previous recipients of the designation are 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.

Now's the Time: Bobby Watson

Bobby Watson leads a big band at the Blue Room on Thursday, December 16.  The embedded video captures the Kansas City icon performing his composition “Wheel Within a Wheel” at an Atlanta jazz club on Halloween.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Joe Dimino shared a brief tour of The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure exhibit at the American Jazz Museum.

*Steve Paul documented a portion of Hermon Mehari’s homecoming concert.

*Downbeat magazine checked in with Pat Metheny.

*Tweet of the Week: Jesse Dayton- While driving thru Kansas I’m reminded why Kansas City had such an explosive jazz scene. (image)

*From a Kansas University School of Music press release: The 2021 DownBeat Award-winning Jazz Ensemble I, directed by Dan Gailey, has been invited to compete at the Jack Rudin Jazz Championship at Lincoln Center in January 2022.  Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) announced its second annual Jack Rudin Jazz Championship, a two-day invitational competition featuring ensembles from ten of the most well-regarded university jazz programs in the country. Students will perform on the Rose Theater stage on January 10-11, 2022.

Album Review: Steve Cardenas- Charlie & Paul

Newvelle Records has an intriguing business model.  The high-fidelity albums released by the French label are initially available only as premium vinyl offerings.  The digital moratorium on Steve Cardenas’ 2017 album Charlie & Paul ended last week.  The rest of the world can finally hear the elite improvistations a cadre of audiophile enthusiasts have relished for several years.  Intended as a tribute to Charlie Haden and Paul Motian, the album features the former Kansas City resident Cardenas (guitar), Loren Stillman (saxophone), Thomas Morgan (bass) and Matt Wilson (drums).  The quartet’s freewheeling interpretations of compositions by the late bassist and drummer are extraordinary.  Cardenas magnanimously provides ample space for his colleagues.  Morgan sounds particularly magnificent.  The closing track "There in a Dream" is representative of the refined tone of Charlie & Paul.

Now’s the Time: Hermon Mehari

The France based Hermon Mehari will recreate his 2020 EP A Change For the Dreamlike at the 1900 Building on Saturday, December 10.  The former area resident was Plastic Sax’s Person of the Year in 2009.  His two most recent albums placed #3 and #7 on Plastic Sax’s ranking of The Top Kansas City Jazz Albums of 2021. Details about the concert are available here.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Chalis O’Neal promoted his new album on Joe Dimino’s YouTube channel.

*Nina Cherry considered the legacy of Margaret “Countess” Johnson for Kansas City magazine.

*Tweet of the Week: Pat Metheny- Thanks fans! (image)

*From a press release: Disney’s regional jazz exhibit, “The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure,” will open at Kansas City’s American Jazz Museum on December 10. Visitors are joined by Joe Gardner – the musician, mentor and teacher from Disney and Pixar’s “Soul” – on a tour as they discover the rich and surprising history of jazz… (T)he exhibit will include a unique collection of artifacts curated by the American Jazz Museum, including Samuel “Baby” Lovett’s bongos and a signed photo of Louis Armstrong and his dog. Additionally, there will be maquettes of characters Joe Gardner and Dorothea Williams, and virtual experiences via the Play Disney Parks app… “The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure”... opens Friday, December 10 and will run until April 24, 2022.

*From a press release: Unity Temple on the Plaza is presenting a special holiday edition of its long running Concert Series entitled Spirituality and All That Jazz (4 p.m. Sunday, December 19).  This all ages concert will be led by award winning Pianist Tim Whitmer and his Consort Band. Tim's special guests will include; Saxophonist Jim Mair, Pianist Joe Cartwright, Vocalist Kathleen Holeman, and vocalist Millie Edwards.  Tickets are available here.

*From a press release: The NEC Jazz Orchestra presents Soul on Soul – The Music of Mary Lou Williams on Thursday, December 9, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. in NEC’s Jordan Hall, 290 Huntington Avenue, Boston. Joining the ensemble will be NEC alum and pianist Carmen Staaf ’05, 2009 winner of the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Pianist Competition.  The concert will be broadcast internationally on Wednesday, December 22 at 7:30 p.m ET.

The Top Ten Jazz Performances of 2021

I caught several dozen jazz performances in an unsettling year characterized by starts and stops.  With a literal sense of danger in the air, each outing felt vital.  The listing my favorite jazz-based performances in the Kansas City area includes a jaunt to Columbia for an essential bout of free jazz and a trek to Detroit to catch a Lee’s Summit native who no longer performs in his old stomping grounds.

1. J.D. Allen, Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits- Blue Room

Plastic Sax review.

2. Pat Metheny, James Francies and Joe Dyson- Orchestra Hall (Detroit)

Plastic Sax review.

3. Irreversible Entanglements- Stephens Lake Park Amphitheatre (Columbia)

Plastic Sax review.

4. Bird Fleming and Bill Summers’ “Voyage of the Drum”- Dunbar Park

Plastic Sax review.

5. Rod Fleeman- Green Lady Lounge

6. Eddie Moore, Ryan J. Lee and Zach Morrow- Charlotte Street Foundation

Plastic Sax review.

7. Thollem McDonas- 9th and State

Plastic Sax review.

8. Jeff Kaiser, Kevin Cheli and Seth Davis- Charlotte Street Foundation

Plastic Sax review.

9. Mike Dillon and Nikki Glaspie- 1900 Building

Plastic Sax review.

10. Second Nature Ensemble- Westport Coffee House

Plastic Sax review.

Lists of the top albums of 2021 are here. Links to similar annual top-show surveys for the past 11 years begin here.

Now's the Time: David Benoit

The veteran smooth jazz artist David Benoit will interpret the seasonal music of the late Vince Guaraldi at the Folly Theater on Friday, December 10.  The embedded video is a brief sample of the pianist’s melodic approach.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The Pitch featured Eboni Fondren in advance of her holiday concert with The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra.

*Tweet of the Week: David George- Snuck out of the house for some jazz. Ken, Brian, and Sam killed it! @GreenLadyLounge

Turn Out the Lights

Few things are more illustrative of the reduced role jazz plays in the cultural life of Kansas City than its dramatically diminished presence at the annual Thanksgiving lighting ceremony at the Country Club Plaza.  The featured entertainers at last week’s event were a yacht rock cover band, a cabaret company and an aerialist troupe, sights and sounds that could have been seen or heard in cities from Orlando to Sacramento.  The music associated with Kansas City once received pride of place at the festive ritual.  For 14 years ending in 2009, a jazz ensemble led by the late Kerry Strayer serenaded throngs of holiday revelers.  Event organizers have dismissed jazz like an irrelevant relic of the past ever since.

Now’s the Time: Ana Gasteyer

The celebrities who spoof jazz probably do more harm than good.  Even so, the seemingly well-intentioned Ana Gasteyer, a former cast member of Saturday Night Live, is sure to delight the audience during her appearance at Yardley Hall on Sunday, December 5.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*A pair of Kansas City-adjacent jazz albums received Grammy acknowledgments this week.  The Count Basie Orchestra’s Live at Birdland is nominated in the category of Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.  Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV) is nominated in the category of Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

*Pat Metheny was named Guitarist of the Year in the 86th Annual DownBeat Readers Poll.

*The Lansing City Pulse interviewed Carl Allen.  The drummer who was named the William D. and Mary Grant/Endowed Professor of Jazz Studies at UMKC this year mentioned the formation of the Jazz Professors, a group featuring saxophonist Tia Fuller, trombonist Mitch Butler, pianist Cyrus Chestnut and bassist Rodney Whitaker.

*Pat Metheny is on the cover of the December issue of Jazzwise magazine.

*Joe Dimino chatted with drummer Marty Morrison.

*Tweet of the Week: KCUR- A score of Kansas City musicians are nominated for the 2022 Grammy Awards (link)

The Top Jazz Albums of 2021

More than two dozen jazz albums by artists associated with the Kansas City area were released in 2021.  A ranking of my ten favorite titles follows.  For context, I’ve added a list of my top ten jazz albums by artists without immediate connections to Kansas City.

The Top Kansas City Jazz Albums of 2021

1. Pat Metheny- Road to the Sun

Plastic Sax review.

2. Pat Metheny- Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)

Plastic Sax review.

3. Hermon Mehari and Alessandro Lanzoni- Arc Fiction

Plastic Sax review.

4. Verploegh and Baker- Singles

Plastic Sax review.

5. Steve Million- What I Meant to Say

Plastic Sax review.

6. The Count Basie Orchestra- Live at Birdland

Plastic Sax review.

7. Florian Arbenz, Hermon Mehari and Nelson Veras- Conversation #1: Condensed

Plastic Sax review.

8. John Armato- The Drummer Loves Ballads

Plastic Sax review.

9. Lucy Wijnands- Sings the David Heckendorn Song Book

10. Blob Castle- Music for Art Show

Plastic Sax review.

The Top Jazz Albums of 2021 by Artists From Elsewhere

1. Irreversible Entanglements- Open the Gates

2. Mathias Eick- When We Leave

3. Pino Palladino and Blake Mills- Notes With Attachments

4. Nala Sinephro- Space 1.8

5. Sons of Kemet- Black to the Future

6. Evan Parker Quartet- All Knavery & Collusion

7. Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble- Now

8. Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson- Searching for the Disappeared Hour

9. Artifacts- …And Then There’s This

10. Angel Bat Dawid- Hush Harbor Mixtape Vol. 1: Doxology

Links to similar annual surveys of the past 11 years begin here.

Now’s the Time: The All Night Trio

People look at me as if I’m speaking gibberish every time I say Matt Villinger’s All Night Trio is among my favorite bands in Kansas City.  The limited awareness of the outstanding group is reprehensible.  I’m posting this extended video documentation of the vital collaboration between Villinger, Peter Schlamb and Zach Morrow as a public service.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Last night’s concert featuring students of UMKC’s jazz program streams on YouTube.

*Kansas City Magazine catches up with Eddie Moore.

*Tweet of the Week: American Wild Ensemble- Another Missouri Music at 200 video is out today, and we are very happy to share this collaboration between Marcus Lewis, Glenn North, and @AmWildEnsemble (link)

*From a press release: Kansas City Area Youth Jazz is pleased to announce that the application and audition process for 2022 Youth Jazz Fellowships is now open for submissions.  Kansas City Area Youth Jazz has two ensembles: the Leon Brady Ensemble (LBE) and the Bill Crain Ensemble (BCE)…. Interested candidates should contact (Chris) Burnett with your name, instrument, email address, mobile phone number at director@youthjazz.us.

Concert Review: J.D. Allen, Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits at the Blue Room

“We’re going to create ice cream castles in the summer and watch them melt,” J.D. Allen told a transfixed audience of about 50 at the opening of the second set at the Blue Room on Thursday, November 1.  While apt, the saxophonist’s analogy diminished the monumental scale of the act of creation and destruction he undertook with bassist Eric Revis and drummer Nasheet Wait.  

The eminent trio seemed to construct colossal pyramids before toppling them in competitive games of Jenga.  Their ability to instantaneously switch styles elicited roguish smiles from the musicians and gasps of disbelief from their admirers.  When they turned their attention from post-bop, electronic drones and tender swing to Kansas City-style blues, the trio so dramatically reengineered the form that the present seemed unnervingly altered when they’d concluded.  

A knowledgeable friend suggested the trio intentionally channeled Sonny Rollins’ 1960s edgy collaborations with Don Cherry and Billy Higgins.  A corresponding commitment to the subversion of corny standards suggests he’s right.  In spite of the auspicious precedent, the undeniable genius and stunning creativity of Allen, Revis and Waits were the equal of any practitioners of improvised music on Thursday, living or dead.

Now's the Time: Marcus Lewis

Marcus Lewis performs at Ça Va, a champagne-themed Westport establishment, every Thursday this month. The trombonist will be joined by keyboardist Eddie Moore and drummer Zach Morrow on Thursday, November 11.