Album Review: Chris Hazelton- After Dark

The beloved Kansas City musician Everette DeVan died two years ago. Chris Hazelton, one of the organist’s most accomplished apprentices, revives the congenial style associated with DeVan on his new album After Dark.

Hazelton’s Hammond B-3 mastery is supplemented by baritone saxophonist Brett Jackson, guitarist Jamie Anderson, percussionist Patrick Conway and drummer John Kizilarmut.

After Dark is immediately familiar and luxuriously comfortable. Hazelton sounds terrific, but it’s Jackson’s rich playing that makes the recording stand out. 

The album is a vibrant affirmation that Charlie Parker- born August 29, 1920- isn’t the only Kansas City jazz icon remembered this month. Everette DeVan lives!

Now’s the Time: The Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra

Jazz is underrepresented at the Crossroads Music Fest on Saturday, August 26. The presence of the Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra at the annual one-day event helps compensate for the slight. The ensemble’s set was a highlight of the Boulevardia festival in June.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Pat Metheny explains the impetus of his Dream Box solo tour in a brief video. The concert nearest to Kansas City is in Des Moines, Iowa, on October 3.

*Joe Dimino interviewed Bryan Hicks and documented a set led by Dan Thomas at the Blue Room.

*From a press release: Spotlight: Charlie Parker 2023 celebrates the jazz icon’s 103rd birthday with jam sessions and musical tributes, jazz history tours, lectures, exhibitions, panel discussions, workshops and showcase performances… The event also provides educational opportunities and promotes the music of nearly 20 local Kansas City jazz artists who will perform at select events/venues during the week. Highlighting this year’s Spotlight: Charlie Parker, is Grammy TM nominated alto saxophonist, Tia Fuller, who will serve as the 2023 Spotlight: Charlie Parker Artist-In-Residence. Details are available here.

*From a press release: Candid Records is excited to announce the Sept. 15 release of Basie Swings the Blues, the latest recording by the legendary Count Basie Orchestra under the direction of Scotty Barnhart. This extraordinary record fuses the Basie Orchestra’s signature style of sophisticated swing with the raw and soulful talents of a cross section of some of the greatest blues and jazz artists of our times. Featuring a stellar lineup of blues icons and contemporary stars including Buddy Guy, Bobby Rush, Keb’ Mo’, Robert Cray, George Benson, Shemekia Copeland, Ledisi, Mr. Sipp, Lauren Mitchell, Bettye LaVette, and Charlie Musselwhite.

Album Reviews: Steve Cardenas- Drop the Rock and New Year

Steve Cardenas, the New York based guitarist who developed his exquisite sound on Kansas City’s jazz scene, is featured on a pair of new albums released by Sunnyside Records.

The New York City drummer Greg Joseph makes his recording debut as a leader on Drop the Rock. Joseph, Cardenas, and Larry Goldings play an intellectually elevated and artistically ambitious form of organ jazz.

Cardenas’ playing is all substance and no flash. Goldings may be the most accomplished organist of his generation. Joseph oversees selections ranging from greasy grooves in the tradition of Jack McDuff to the sort of psychedelic jams associated with Medeski Martin & Wood.

The trio pauses from good-time juking for an exquisite ballad. The breathtaking “Nina’s Lullaby” resembles an appreciative elegy. Cardenas’ contribution is particularly thoughtful.

“Nina’s Lullaby” aside, Drop the Rock sounds like the soundtrack at a rowdy summer barbecue. New Year, Cardenas’ duo album with guitarist Jim Campilongo, might serve as a hushed meditation ideally suited to the following morning.

A campfire folk reading of “Home On the Range” is indicative of the contemplative and organic tone of New Year. Singular takes on “Cherokee” and “Caravan” will appeal to fans of innovators like Julian Lage and Marc Ribot.

Drop the Rock and New Year extend Cardenas’ winning streak. Healing Power: The Music of Carla Bley (2022) and Blue Has a Range (2020) are minor classics. He’s a guitar hero for listeners who appreciate subtle displays of brilliance.

Now’s the Time: Marquis Hill

The American Jazz Museum is observing the 103rd anniversary of the birth of Charlie Parker with a free concert featuring the Chicago trumpeter Marquis Hill and the Kansas City saxophonist Logan Richardson on Saturday, August 26. The R&B artist Dwele headlines the event. Details are here.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Chris Hazelton told Joe Dimino about his new album.

Album Review: Matt Otto- Kansas City Trio

The three trio albums Adam Larson released in a 14-month span are one of the most artistically rewarding achievements undertaken by a Kansas City musician in years. As if in response to Larson’s vital statement, Matt Otto issued the similarly daring Kansas City Trio on June 30.

Three Kansas City bassists- Bob Bowman, Jeff Harshbarger Ben Leifer- and three locally based drummers- John Kizilarmut, Marty Morrison and Brian Steever- construct interesting frameworks for Otto’s endlessly imaginative excursions.

The robust intellect, sly humor and gracious humanity displayed by Otto imbue the 12 tracks with magnificent grace. While his trios are always controlled and cool, their approaches emanate from the adventurous edge of mainstream jazz.

Relatively young artists, Larson and Otto are in their artistic primes. Any mid-size city would be lucky to claim one such elite saxophonist. Kansas City is exceptionally fortunate that both Larson and Otto call Kansas City home.

Now’s the Time: Queens of Soul Jazz

Queens of Soul Jazz interpret Maze’s 1983 song “We Are One” in the embedded video. The group performs at the 2023 Heart of America Hot Dog Festival on Saturday, August 5.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra headlines the 2023 edition of the Prairie Village Jazz Festival on September 9.

*Tia Fuller’s participation in the Spotlight: Charlie Parker initiative is among KCUR's concert recommendations for August.

*Bob Brookmeyer, Samantha Fish, Pat Metheny and Bobby Watson received votes in Downbeat magazine’s 71st Annual Critics Poll.

*St. Louis’ New Music Circle announced its 2023-24 season. Roscoe Mitchell, Elliott Sharp and William Parker are among the bookings.

Concert Review: Eli Wallace at Stray Cat Film Center

Pity the piano that was delivered to Stray Cat Film Center for a performance by Eli Wallace on Monday, July 24. After enduring a move in extreme heat, the instrument was mercilessly poked and prodded by the Brooklyn based pianist.

Wallace’s 20-minute solo improvisation was as vehemently athletic. The prepared piano attack sounded as if ragtime piano rolls had grown sentient roots and branches after being stored in a dark, wet basement for more than a century. Several people paid $10 to experience the uncommon sounds.

The extraordinary exhibition illuminated only by an exit sign and a red light bulb on the floor was preceded by a brisk improvisation by saxophonist Benjamin Baker, guitarist Seth Davis, multi-instrumentalist Aaron Osborne and drummers Kevin Cheli and Evan Verploegh.

The most transfixing moments transpired when Davis and Cheli joined Wallace. The spell cast by the trio’s considered investigations was broken as the remainder of the ensemble gradually joined the improvisation. The beleaguered piano was buried under a dense heap of noise.

Now’s the Time: Rod Fleeman

Kansas Public Radio uploaded a batch of Rod Fleeman solo performance videos to YouTube this week. The guitarist can be found at Green Lady Lounge every Saturday afternoon. Fleeman’s new episode of Kansas Public Radio’s Live at Green Lady Lounge program streams here.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Joe Dimino documented portions of a free concert by the Marcus Lewis Big Band.

*The Pitch’s Brock Wilbur described last week’s concert by The Smile as “jazz as interpreted from inside a space station.”

Album Review: Shawn E. Hansen, Mike Pride and Clayton Thomas- Dreamband

Plastic Sax has likely given faithful readers the impression that members of the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society have a stranglehold on Kansas City’s new music and free improvisation scene. The superlative Dreamband, a new multi-continental album featuring the Kansas City keyboardist and composer Shawn E. Hansen, proves that the collective isn’t the only noisy game in town. The recording process of Dreamband subverts standard improvised music practices. Pandemic necessity and geographic practicality compelled Hansen, the Australian bassist Clayton Thomas and the New York based drummer Mike Pride to record separately in three layers. Thomas describes Dreamband’s six tracks as “a process of both listening as if the playing was live, and recording, knowing full well you're creating an artifact.” Equal parts premeditated and spontaneous, the trio’s gloriously expansive new music upends- and often upgrades- conventional improvisation.

Now’s the Time: Trombone Shorty

Leaning into throwback soul and retro-rock propelled Trombone Shorty to stardom. Even so, the New Orleans musician and his band Orleans Avenue are likely to offer the audience at Grinders enticing hints of jazz on Saturday, July 22.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Jeff Shirley was interviewed by The Pitch.

*A homespun history of Kansas City jam sessions of the past four decades was published by Kansas City guitarist Jay EuDaly.

*The Jazz District Renaissance Corporation sponsored a television segment about events in the Jazz District.

Concert Review: Rob Magill and Marshall Trammell at Farewell

Farewell, a scrappy rock club near the Truman Sports Complex, hosted three differing sets of improvised music on Tuesday, July 11. More than fifty people passed in and out of the venue, but it’s unclear how many of them paid the $10 cover charge to hear the varied sounds.

The touring duo of saxophonist Rob Magill and drummer Marshall Trammell were the featured attraction. While the comparison is unfair to the tandem, I experienced their ferocious thirty minute set as an elegy to Peter Brötzmann. The German saxophonist who died last month specialized in the bracing form of free jazz rendered by the duo.

Joined by Alex Mallett on bass, keyboard and electronics, the trumpeter and electronic artist Alber opened the evening with a  groovy update on acid jazz. The best moments evoked the ambience of a trendy cafe in Alber’s native Italy.

Three representatives of the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society performed last. Flanked by bassist Krista Kopper and multi-instrumentalist Aaron Osborne, drummer Evan Verploegh annihilated eardrums one moment and whispered through his fingertips the next.

Now's the Time: Tom Skinner

London might be the current jazz capital of the world. Tom Skinner is a central component of the innovative scene. The drummer performs with the art-rock band the Smile at the Midland Theatre on Wednesday, July 19.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Matt Otto told Steve Kraske about his latest album on KCUR’s Up To Date program.

*The first two episodes of Kansas Public Radio’s new program Live at Green Lady Lounge are available for streaming.

Concert Review: Henrique Eisenmann and Eugene Friesen at the 1900 Building

Henrique Eisenmann told members of the capacity audience of about 100 at the 1900 Building on Friday, July 7, that the recital was his fourth appearance in the Kansas City area. His collaboration with fellow Brazilian Lívia Nestrovski last year was stunning. (Plastic Sax review.)  In 2018, the pianist and the Israeli bassist Ehud Ettun concentrated on jazz. (Plastic Sax review.)

Last week’s concert with the storied cellist Eugene Friesen allowed Eisenmann to demonstrate entirely different aspects of his talent in a 90-minute exhibition of Brazilian chamber music splashed by colorful flourishes of jazz.

The duo opened the concert with a vintage choro. Brazil was further represented with interpretations of compositions by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Milton Nascimento and Pixinguinha. The emotional resonance of both men’s vocals on a few of the Brazilian standards provided the evening’s biggest surprise.

Oscar Castro-Neves’ arrangement of a Johann Sebastian Bach piece was an ideal bridge to renditions of works by Béla Bartók, Felix Mendelssohn and Claudio Monteverdi.

Even as Friesen proved himself to be a rowdy alternative to Yo-Yo Ma, Eisenmann’s enthusiastic scholarship and boundless pianism stood out. My $36 ticket provided a priceless experience. Consequently, missing Eisenmann’s ostensible fourth appearance in Kansas City represents a cultural tragedy.

Now's the Time: Dave Koz

Smooth jazz standout Dave Koz performs at Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Saturday, July 15. The saxophonist is backed by a band featuring guitarist Cory Wong in the embedded video. Koz will be joined by Candy Dulfer and Eric Darius in Kansas City.