The crossover star Diana Krall surrounds herself with elite musicians. She’s recently been performing in a trio format with the impeccable tandem of bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Karriem Riggins. If that’s still the case at Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Monday, October 3, Krall’s fans in Kansas City will relish a sublime performance.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Jazz at Lincoln Center created a 17-minute video portrait of Kansas City’s jazz scene.
*Adam Larson was interviewed by Nick Spacek for The Pitch.
*Jon Poses, the raconteur behind the We Always Swing concert series in Columbia, Missouri, is the subject of an All About Jazz feature.
*Joe Dimino captured footage of a Lynn Zimmer performance.
*Details about the Hannover Jazz Orchestra’s forthcoming visit to Kansas City are here.
*Tweet of the Week: MCC Kansas City- Jazz in the Valley, a free festival at MCC-Penn Valley, will be held rain/shine, 6-9 pm, Sept 30. Musicians include: Minus2, Jim Lower Big Band, Eddie Moore and a popup Jazz Academy performance at 5 pm. Free parking. Event will move inside if raining. (link)
Album Review: Seth Andrew Davis, Michael Eaton, Damon Smith and Kyle Quass- Ghost Tantras
The staggeringly productive year devised by the members of the Extemporaneous Music and Art Society continues unabated. The many performances and prolific recordings emanating from the collective can seem overwhelming to even the most ardent enthusiasts of new music.
Ghost Tantras is among the most recent EMAS-related missives. True to form, the album is full of surprises. The album and song titles are borrowed from the poetic “beast language” invented by native Kansan Michael McClure. The improvisations mirror McClure’s free verse freakouts.
Seth Andrew Davis, a cofounder of EMAS, plays electric guitar, laptop and electronics. He’s joined by saxophonist Michael Eaton, trumpeter Kyle Quass and bassist Damon Smith. The otherworldly entropy of “Aieooo” exemplifies the blissful chaos of Ghost Tantras.
The rapid-fire “Ooogreeshk” is free jazz for sufferers of attention deficit disorders. Laden with bursts of static, “Snahrr” could be a decaying satellite transmission sent from Saturn by Sun Ra. “Gritoomrm” sounds as if a bottle containing the essence of ESP-Disk heated to a low simmer.
Eaton converses with Quass on “Whahh” and jousts with Davis on “Raooor.” And while Smith implies a routine groove on “Rahhhrr-nohh,” the quartet is hardly conventional. McClure’s epiphany in his 1964 book Ghost Tantras applies to the recording: “so far inside is a whirlwind I ride.”
Now’s the Time: Sean Jones
The marketing material promoting Sean Jones’ concert with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra at Helzberg Hall on Friday, September 30, asserts that “there is no more essential practitioner of the brass arts” than the trumpeter. Advocates of Ambrose Akinmusire, Wynton Marsalis and Nicholas Payton might beg to differ. Nevertheless, Jones’ solo in the embedded video is extraordinary.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Dr. Dina Bennett promoted the “Sound and Story: 25 Years at the American Jazz Museum” exhibit on Steve Kraske’s Up To Date show on KCUR.
*Stan Bock and Carlos Ferreyra were interviewed by Joe Dimino.
*Tweet of the Week: Faytinga- Trumpeter Hermon Mehari just announced the release on 18-Nov of his new album ASMARA (@komosjazz) with a new version of my Kunama song MILOBE and new song TANAFAQIT. Click on link below to access samples of 3 songs from this album, including #tanafaqit (link)
Album Review: John Stein- Lifeline
The word “tasteful” sometimes acts as code for tame forms of jazz. The characterization is unmodified by aspersion in the case of the music of guitarist John Stein. The recently released Lifeline, a 145-minute compilation of “26 tracks spanning 23 years and 15 albums,” showcases Stein’s consummate tastefulness. A member of the faculty of the Berklee College of Music in Boston for years, Stein was raised in Kansas City. Much like the Kansas City guitarists Danny Embrey and Rod Fleeman, Stein emphasizes insightful swing rather than hollow flash. David “Fathead” Newman is the most prominent of Stein’s collaborators, but Stein’s career isn’t driven by cosigns from all-stars. Lifeline is a master class in egoless excellence.
Now’s the Time: Danny Kamins
Danny Kamins will join the notable Kansas City musicians Seth Davis, Jeff Harshbarger, Krista Kopper and Evan Verploegh at the Bunker Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, September 19. The daring Houston based saxophonist can be heard in a variety of contests at Bandcamp.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*KCUR’s Steve Kraske interviewed Terell Stafford ahead of the trumpeter’s scheduled appearance at the Prairie Village Jazz Festival.
*Libby Hanssen surveyed Kansas City’s experimental music scene for Classical KC.
*Brant Jester and Alex Frank chatted with Joe Dimino. Dimino also captured footage of the Prairie Village Jazz Festival.
*The Kansas City Star published a guide to the Jazz District.
*Tweet of the Week: MarmaDukeNuke'Em3D- I am the youngest person here by a wide margin
Book Review: Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Kansas City figures prominently in T.J. English’s new book Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld. The author frequently cites the town’s clubs, mobsters and musicians to make a convincing case that the mafia and jazz were inextricably linked for much of the previous century.
An absorbing chapter is dedicated to Pendergast-era Kansas City. Most Plastic Sax readers will already be familiar with the details, but English brings a fresh perspective to his vivid descriptions of venues including the Clay County supper club Cuban Gardens.
Count Basie, Mary Lou Williams and Charlie Parker are among the musicians associated with Kansas City referenced throughout Dangerous Rhythms. Each became ensnared in one or more of the mafia’s revenue streams.
English asserts Basie had a gambling problem which compelled him to rely on mobsters. Parker was among the musicians addicted to mob-distributed heroin. Williams’ aversion to gangster-run venues altered the course of her career.
Yet the story told by English is nuanced. He doesn’t downplay gruesome violence, sickening racism and shameful exploitation, but English suggests that decades of artistic innovation may not have occurred without the unchecked vice overseen by mobsters.
Now’s the Time: Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé performs at the T-Mobile Center on Saturday, September 10. The crossover crooner duets with Diana Krall in the embedded video. Krall returns to Kansas City in October.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Flatland investigates the demise of the Charlie Parker Memorial Foundation.
*Tweet of the Week: American Jazz Museum- 25 years ago today, the American Jazz Museum opened its doors on September 5, 1997. Originally named the Kansas City Jazz Museum, KCMO Mayor @repcleaver, the museum’s Executive Director Dr. Rowena Stewart, and community members planned a noteworthy three-day celebration.
Album Review: The Adam Larson Trio- With Love, From Kansas City
With Love, From Chicago, the album the Kansas City based saxophonist Adam Larson released in February, is outstanding. Good news: the followup With Love, From Kansas City is its equal.
The Kansas City based tandem of bassist Ben Leifer and drummer John Kizilarmut is as formidable as the rhythm section of Clark Sommers and Dana Hall featured on With Love, From Chicago.
On both alto and tenor, Larson’s tone possesses the impact of a pair of brass knuckles. Packed with swagger, the music made by the hard-charging trio crackles with energy.
“New Thread” sounds like an instant classic. An inventive take on Peter Shlamb’s “REL,” a recently minted Kansas City standard, is wonderful. A ferocious attack on Charlie Parker’s “Chi-Chi” is even more exciting.
Thousands of people recently celebrated the 102nd birthday of Parker by revisiting Bird’s recordings. Listening to Larson’s phenomenal new albums may be an even better way to acknowledge Parker’s legacy.
Now's the Time: Terell Stafford
Terell Stafford will join a band led by Adam Larson at the Prairie Village Jazz Festival on Saturday, September 10. The New York based trumpeter is best known in the Kansas City area for his affiliation with hometown hero Bobby Watson. Stafford is accompanied by the Chilean star Melissa Aldana and the Prism Quartet- featuring Kansas City’s Zach Shemon- in the embedded video.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*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
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*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
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*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!