Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Kansas City’s YouTube channel includes a new video feature about the Spotlight Charlie Parker initiative.  Related videos are here, here and here.

*Anita Dixon and Jakob Wagner lobby for additional arts spending in a television news feature.

*The author of Plastic Sax reviewed a performance by Bob Bowman and Peter Schlamb at his nondenominational music blog.

*A television station filed a report from the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Harlem last weekend.

*Tweet of the Week: Pat Metheny- New Album 'SHIFT (Bad Hombre, Vol. II)' from the great @AntonioDrumsX Available Now! "Eh Hee 2.0" featuring Pat and Dave Matthews Buy CD/ Vinyl/ Stream here

*From  a press release: The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra… announced the inaugural concert for the 2022-2023 20th Anniversary season, The Horn, featuring guest artist Sean Jones, Friday, September 30 at 8 p.m. at… Helzberg Hall… Artistic Director Clint Ashlock stated “… the centerpiece of the concert will be the majestic, soulful artistry of Sean Jones - arguably the world’s greatest trumpet player."

Album Review: Second Nature Ensemble- Second Nature

The notes accompanying Second Nature, the astounding debut album of the Second Nature Ensemble, include text from The Anarchist Library.  While the music implies extreme polemics, the cerebral sounds of the recording are a more appropriate soundtrack for analyzing subversive texts than for throwing bricks through windows in a riot.

Michael Eaton (saxophones, flute, and clarinet), Seth Andrew Davis (guitar), Dwight Frizzell (wind controller and alto clarinet), Ben Tervort (bass), Alan Voss (drums) and Tim J Harte (electronics) are seemingly unlikely collaborators.  Plastic Sax published an enthusiastic missive about the (mostly) Kansas City musicians’ generational and stylistic clash at a performance at Westport Coffee House last year.

The discordant tone of Second Nature is established on the 19-minute opening track "Alchemy".  A work of sublime beauty is forged from a lethal slurry of abrasive analog and digital sounds.  Intentionally erratic swing does battle with galactic static on the 16-minute “Large/Large II”.  Tervort’s improvisation is among the individual solo features interspersed among the group tracks.

The prolific output of individual members of the collective make it impossible to cite a single release as representative.  Yet in sifting through a myriad of styles ranging from swing to industrial noise, the expansive Second Nature is a good place for lawless agitators, scholastic Marxists and even cutthroat capitalists to begin exploring the most astringent sounds emanating from Kansas City’s improvised music scene.

Now’s the Time: Jackiem Joyner

The contemporary jazz saxophonist Jackiem Joyner headlines the American Jazz Museum’s Jazz in the Yard concert on Saturday, August 27. The show opens with a performance by Shedrick Mitchell featuring Christie Dashiell.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The young musicians Morgan Faw and Houston Smith  shared their admiration of Charlie Parker with Steve Kraske on KCUR’s Up To Date.

*Steve Hargrave promoted the Spotlight: Charlie Parker initiative on a television program and in an interview with Joe Dimino.

*Arnold Young chatted with Joe Dimino.

*Tweet of the Week: James Neal- "Kansas City Public Library helps to memorialize Parker’s genius through the official Charlie Parker website, http://CharlieParkersKC.org, on which its Digital Branch collaborated with KC Jazz ALIVE and Marr Sound Archives Director Chuck Haddix." @KCLibrary

*From a press release: Saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa makes a highly anticipated Smoke Jazz Club debut performing music inspired by and celebrating the great Charlie Parker… His recent, highly acclaimed release Hero Trio features more explorations of Parker’s compositions in the context of a piano-less trio... His exciting trio for this celebration features bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Rudy Royston.

Album Review: Matt Villinger’s All Night Trio- All Faded

The most vital sounds emanating from Kansas City occur when Peter Schlamb goes goblin mode on electric vibraphone. “Eternal Dollars,” the standout track on All Night Trio’s new album All Faded, is a prime example of the phenomenon. Following an admirable solo by guest trumpeter Herman Mehari, Schlamb makes a stupendously gonzo statement. Propelled by Matt Villinger (keyboards, vocals) and Zach Morrow (drums, vocals), Schlamb repeatedly demonstrates why he’s one of the most exciting young talents in improvised music. While nothing else is as indispensable as “Eternal Dollars,” All Faded is loaded with wavy grooves. The title track and “Hazeology” are low-key party songs. Subtler instrumental tracks including “Benny” and “Slow Jam” are even more intoxicating.

Now’s the Time: Morgan Faw

Morgan Faw will showcase material from his new album It Takes a Village at the Blue Room on Monday, August 22. The saxophonist performs with the James Ward Band in the embedded video. Faw will return to the Blue Room alongside Houston Smith on Friday, August 26, in a concert billed as “Ode to Bird.”

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The Spotlight: Charlie Parker initiative tops The Kansas City Star’s weekly entertainment advisory.

*David Basse is teaching an online course about Kansas City jazz at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Swing University.

*Kansas City’s Aryana Nemati receives a credit on a sanctioned live recording by singer-songwriter Father John Misty.

*Joe Dimino shares conversations with Daniel Dissmore and Dawson Jones.

*The jazz portion of the lineup of the San Jose Summer Fest boasts saxophone heavyweights Gary Bartz, Donald Harrison Jr., Charles McPherson and Bobby Watson.  A preview published by radio station KQED suggests that the event is a de facto tribute to Charlie Parker.

*Tweet of the Week: Jeff Zdanowicz- The Black Dolphin and the Green Lady Lounge. Nothing but good cocktails and great jazz! You should check it out!

Concert Review: Evan Verploegh and Ben Baker at World Culture KC

In a satisfying case of delayed gratification, I heard drummer Evan Verploegh and saxophonist Ben Baker perform on the porch of a stately home last week. Released ten months ago, the duo’s Singles was one of the best albums released by Kansas City musicians in 2021. Yet I only managed to catch up with the tandem performing without other accompanists on Sunday, August 7. In spite of the suffocating heat, the urgent rush of free improvisation resembled a perilous downhill slalom. The athletic endeavor lasting about 50 minutes attracted more than a dozen intrepid friends, fans and curious passerby.

Now's the Time: RSS Trio

The members of RSS Trio will make Green Lady Lounge their home this weekend. The young Kansas City band performs from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. on the night of Friday, August 12, from 6:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. on the evening of Saturday, August 13, and closes the weekend with a four-hour engagement beginning at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 14. It’s precisely the type of grueling apprenticeship that transformed many aspiring local musicians into international stars during Kansas City’s jazz heyday.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Aarik Danielsen runs down the 2022-23 season of the We Always Swing concert series for The Columbia Daily Tribune.

*Gregory Lewis, an avid Kansas City jazz enthusiast, has died.

*A concert in Oregon by sometime Kansas Citian Rob Scheps is previewed by The Tillamook Headlight Herald.

*Tweet of the Week: 627 Stomp- Friday! Dance lesson, live music, and delicious drinks. You won't want to miss it!

*From a press release: “The alto is a singing horn,” says Bobby Watson, and the great saxophonist is in fine voice on his latest album, Back Home in Kansas City. Due out October 7 on Smoke Sessions Records, the album features an all-star quintet with Watson’s longtime rhythm section of bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Victor Jones along with pianist Cyrus Chestnut and trumpeter Jeremy Pelt. “Great melodies are immortal, like a sculpture or a painting,” Watson insists. “This album is more about the singing quality of my instrument.”

*From a press release: Spotlight: Charlie Parker 2022 celebrates the jazz icon’s 102nd birthday with jam sessions and musical tributes, tours, lectures, exhibits, panel discussions, workshops and concerts. The annual program was developed to honor Parker (also known as “Bird”), his legacy and impact to jazz in Kansas City and worldwide.

*From a press release: Kansas City Jazz Orchestra Executive Director Lea Petrie and Artistic Director Clint Ashlock today announced Riff Generation Fall Series. Riff Generation explores what it means to be a Kansas City jazz musician in the 21st century, creating new music deeply imbued in KC’s riff-based jazz style… Three concerts in this new series are scheduled for the fall of 2022… All concerts will be held at the Medallion Theater in the Plexpod Westport Commons.

Concert Review: Black Crack Revue at Westport Coffee House

Just how weird can 100 Midwestern baby boomers get?  Very weird, if the assemblage at Westport Coffee House for the 40th anniversary concert of Black Crack Revue is any guide.  The free-spirited people who paid $15 for entry on Thursday, August 4, provided an outlandish visual counterpoint to the extraordinarily accomplished and often absurdist music of BCR.

The lack of inhibition displayed by fans of the self-proclaimed “Afro-nuclear wavabilly funk swing reggae Turska” band is rooted in the era prior to cell phones and social media.  BCR, an ensemble partially inspired by an extended Kansas City residency of the Sun Ra Arkestra in the early 1980s, acted as inspiring ringleaders.

The current edition of the interstellar jazz and alternative pop ensemble consists of original members including Thomas Aber and Dwight Frizzell as well as more recent additions like Pat Conway and Julia Thro.  The accomplished woodwind specialist Michael Eaton  joined the large cast during the 95-minute opening set.

BCR is just as inspiring and energetic as it was in the early 1990s when it was a fixture on the calendars of Kansas City nightclubs.  Then as now, the ensemble is best during its astral jazz excursions, but wacky pop-leaning songs such as “Teenie Boppers in Atlantis” and “Rappin' Kierkegaard” filled the dance floor on an extraordinarily peculiar night to remember.

Now’s the Time: Thundercat

Thundercat, a jazz-adjacent leader of the West Coast funk and electronic music movements, performs at Grinders on Monday, August 8. Plastic Sax reviewed the bassist’s 2017 concert in Lawrence. According to the Plastic Sax archives, Thundercat last performed within the city limits of Kansas City in 2012 when he opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Sprint Center.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Seth Davis discussed Kansas City’s experimental music scene in the first portion of an interview on Guitar Moderne’s YouTube channel.

*Bobby Watson’s recent performance in Sonoma County was hailed as “a West Coast reemergence” by Classical Voice.

*Tweet of the Week: Adam Larson- New KC Trio Album Pre-Order NOW AVAILABLE! (link)

Album Review: Blair Bryant- Red Tiger

With the temperature in Kansas City occasionally reaching 100 degrees this summer, thousands of area residents are desperate to find ways to cool off.  Red Tiger, the latest release by Kansas City bassist Blair Bryant, offers a quick fix.  Hitting play on the smooth jazz album is like taking a refreshing plunge on a scorching day.

The sultry Sade-isms of “Kiss of Life” might make the song the feel-good hit of the summer in an alternate universe.  The horn lines of “Medusa’s Mirror” echo Hugh Masekela’s classic hit “Grazing in the Grass.”  A breezy arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s 1982 hit “That Girl” is equally invigorating.

Focusing on Bryant’s vigorous fusion-esque electric bass on tracks like “Power Up!” is as pleasantly hypnotic as watching an icon on a screensaver bounce off the edges of a computer monitor.  Fifty-four minutes of carefree fun, Red Tiger is a crisp oasis hidden in a steamy, anxious summer.

Now’s the Time: Julian Vaughn

The smooth jazz bassist Julian Vaughn will represent Kansas City’s jazz heritage at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s Heart of America Hot Dog Festival on Saturday, July 30. The R&B oldies acts Average White Band and Atlantic Starr top the bill.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*A concert headlined by smooth jazz artist Jackiem Joyner and a performance by Dan Thomas are among the events listed on the schedule of next month’s Spotlight Charlie Parker endeavor.

*The Kansas City Star’s feature about Fairyland Park notes that bands led by Bennie Moten and Count Basie frequently performed at the amusement park.

*A review of a Minneapolis concert by the Count Basie Orchestra was published by the Jazz Police blog.

*Tweet of the Week: Helbing Jazz Initiative- Day 1 of the 2022 Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy Jazz camp! We spent the day focused on the music and legend of Charlie Parker: Kansas City Lightning.

Album Review: Steve Cardenas, Ben Allison and Ted Nash- Healing Power: The Music of Carla Bley

Gullible listeners who mistake volume for quality are unlikely to appreciate Healing Power: The Music of Carla Bley. The new album doesn’t contain deafening drum solos or screeching vocals. Instead, the trio of guitarist Steve Cardenas, bassist Ben Allison and saxophonist/clarinetist Ted Nash interpret nine Bley compositions with solemn quietude. Cardenas, a former Kansas City resident who performed at recordBar four months ago, consistently flirts with silence. Nash, best known for his affiliation with Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Allison, one of the leading bassists of the new millennium, match Cardenas’ serenity on their third recording as a trio. Their sublime restraint is, in fact, restorative.

Now’s the Time: Marcus Lewis

Saxophonist Matt Otto is among the outstanding musicians who will perform in a band led by trombonist Marcus Lewis at the Blue Room on Friday, July 23. The embedded video captures one of their 2016 collaborations.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Joe Dimino shared video clips from shows by Dave Scott and Charles Williams.

*The Chicago jazz advocacy group Fulton Street Collective streamed a performance by the Kansas City trio of saxophonist Pete Fucinaro, bassist Ben Tervort and drummer Brian Steever.

*Tweet of the Week: Kenneth Barreras- Master Musician Carmell Jones was born on this date in 1936. Here he is playing his own composition on a Nathan Davis recording. Davis himself does not play on this tune. With the legendary Kenny Clarke on drums. Carmell's Black Forest Waltz (link)

Concert Review: The Dave Scott Quartet and Arnold Young and the RoughTet at Westport Coffee House

A concert at Westport Coffee House on Sunday, July 10, felt consequential even though fewer than two dozen people paid the $10 cover charge.  A quartet led by trumpeter Dave Scott and Arnold Young’s RoughTet shared the bill in a rare confluence of exceptional homegrown talent.

Scott, a New York based trumpeter raised in the Kansas City area, and the Kansas City drummer Young made waves in the region’s jazz scene alongside their eminent peer Pat Metheny several decades ago.  On Sunday, the bandleaders were joined by representatives of several generations of Kansas City jazz musicians.  Each participant responded to the momentous summit with inspired playing.

A rambunctious couple sitting near the bandstand hooted and hollered throughout Young’s freewheeling 45-minute opening set.  They had the right idea.  Assisted by his longtime compatriot John Nichols on bass and Gary Cardile on percussion, the veteran drummer acted as an irreverent version of Art Blakey as he mentored the youthful tandem of saxophonist Jacob Schwartzberg and trumpeter Quin Wallace.

Renditions of selections from their new album Fear Is the Mind Killer were gloriously raucous.  Scott sat in with the RoughTet before playing a 70-minute set with the New York based Michael Eaton (the saxophonist is from nearby Liberty), bassist Jeff Harshbarger and drummer Marty Morrison.

Eaton took several Coltrane-esque solos and a few of Scott’s distinctive statements resembled variations on “Flight of the Bumblebee.”   Yet the ensemble mostly shifted between the proto-harmolodics of early Ornette Coleman, ominous post-bop and joyful Kansas City swing.  Such transcendent displays of left-of-center artistic excellence in the face of public indifference are a hallmark of Kansas City’s jazz scene.