Alexa Tarantino’s headlining performance at the Folly Theater on Saturday, November 11, will be her third appearance in Kansas City this year. The saxophonist joined Artemis at the Gem Theater in March. (Plastic Sax review.) She played with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at the Folly Theater last month. Tarantino will be accompanied by pianist Steven Feifke, bassist Felix Moseholm and drummer Charles Goold on Saturday.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Results from The Pitch’s The Best of KC 2023 awards: Best Jazz Artist: Lonnie McFadden; Best Jazz Band: The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra; Best Jazz Venue: Green Lady Lounge.
*Plastic Sax has belatedly learned that the arts journalist Calvin Wilson died in August.
Art Review: Jazz Is Energy at the American Jazz Museum
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Anyone passionate about the avant-garde jazz that emanated from Chicago and New York City in the final decades of the last century will be gobsmacked by the Jazz Is Energy exhibit at the American Jazz Museum.
The showing of works by the late artist Frederick J. Brown is small, but the magnitude of several pieces is substantial. Brown grew up with future titans including Anthony Braxton in Chicago. His lifelong affiliations with the AACM inform every aspect of Jazz Is Energy.
Brown’s portrait of Braxton captures the genius’ essence. Similarly, a rendering of Dewey Redman is a visual encapsulation of the saxophonist’s sound. The highlight of Jazz Is Energy, however, is a page of ornately decorated music given to Brown and his wife by Ornette Coleman.
Mainstream music lovers won’t feel left out. Enormous paintings of stars including Ray Charles, Etta James and Joe Turner physically dominate the free exhibit. Jazz Is Energy will be displayed at the American Jazz Museum through May 4.
Now’s the Time: Terence Blanchard
Terence Blanchard is one of the most accomplished musicians of the past two decades. He’s an innovator in jazz, opera and film. Blanchard is featuring the latter element on the “Film Scores Live” tour that stops at the Lied Center on Thursday, November 2. More information is available here.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Pat Metheny was heckled at a concert in San Diego. George Varga of The San Diego Union-Tribune filed a report on the incident.
*An appearance by Terence Blanchard is among KCUR’s November concert recommendations.
*The American Jazz Museum created a video recap of its recent Charlie Parker birthday celebration concert.
*David Hudnall highlights the live music presented at the Gates Bar-B-Q location in the Jazz District for The Kansas City Star.
*Marilyn Maye checked in with Steve Kraske on KCUR’s Up To Date program.
Album Review: Brandon Cooper, Seth Andrew Davis, Krista Kopper, Evan Verploegh and Drew Williams- Compressed Space
An adventurous outing in the courtyard of Charlotte Street Foundation on May 18, 2022, was one of the most memorable performances presented by the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society. Ten days later, many of the same Kansas City musicians recorded Compressed Space. The document is even better than the concert. The improvisations of Drew Williams (woodwinds), Seth Andrew Davis (guitar and electronics), Krista Kopper (double bass), Brandon Cooper (drums and percussion) and Evan Verploegh (drums and percussion) range from pristine quietude to atomizing skronk.
Now’s the Time: Marilyn Maye
Marilyn Maye, the last of the great saloon singers, returns to the Folly Theater for concerts with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra on Friday, October 27, and Saturday, October 28. She delivers “I’m Still Here” in a March appearance at Carnegie Hall in the embedded video.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Album Review: Narrative Quintet- Narrative
Narrative tells a beautiful story. The new album featuring Kansas City’s Adam Larson on tenor saxophone and John Kizilarmut on drums is a tale of beneficent cooperation with the Chicago based tenor saxophonist Chris Madsen, guitarist Scott Hesse and bassist Clark Sommers. In spite of the configuration, Narrative isn’t a dueling tenors date. The quintet works together on the mainstream session that’s less incendiary than Larson’s recently completed With Love trilogy. The uplifting tracks are comforting rather than confrontational. The captivating Narrative is imprinted with scores of happy ever afters.
Now’s the Time: The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
Whether they love him or loathe him, jazz aficionados in Kansas City can’t say they miss Wynton Marsalis. The celebrity musician regularly appears in the area. Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra performs at the Folly Theater on Friday, October 20. The concert is presented by the Harriman-Jewell Series.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s return to the Folly Theater is plugged by The Kansas City Star.
*Danny Embrey is interviewed by Ken Lovern in four new videos.
*Mary Lou Williams was remembered on an episode of KCUR’s Up To Date program.
*Pinball, a new album by Seth Davis and Kevin Cheli, was reviewed by a blogger.
Concert Review: Samara Joy at the Folly Theater
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Samara Joy seemed too good to be true. Wondering if I might be able to expose an elaborate hoax, I bought a $60 seat in the front row for Joy’s October 14 concert at the Folly Theater the day tickets went on sale.
Positioned fifteen feet from the musician named Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards seven months ago, I was able to look for signs of lip syncing or pre-recorded vocals. I’m elated to report that Joy is the real deal.
The only deception I detected involved my occasionally failed attempts to maintain my composure. Dumbstruck by Joy’s intelligent use of her extraordinary voice, I was inclined to leap out of my seat during each song.
Not even the sometimes stuffy swing arrangements rendered by Joy’s youthful seven-piece band dampened my enthusiasm. The retro sound invited comparisons to jazz’s most storied vocalists. Joy just might be the greatest of all time.
She breathed new life into exhausted repertoire. Joy’s readings of "'Round Midnight", “Sweet Pumpkin” and even “Guess Who I Saw Today” were stupendously fresh. The coup de grâce: her vocalese is free of scatting.
The artistic maturity of a 23-year-old who candidly confessed her affinity for romantic comedies and Tik Tok to the capacity audience of 1,000 is mind-boggling. While it’s entirely unreasonable, the real thing has indeed come along.
Now’s the Time: DOMi & JD Beck
The impertinent jazz pranksters DOMi & JD Beck make their Kansas City debut at the Uptown Theater on Monday, October 16. As noted in KCUR’s preview of the concert, the duo is opening for the hyper-musical rock band Polyphia.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*The Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra is the subject of a KCUR audio feature.
*Nina Cherry checks in with Chris Hazelton on behalf of Kansas City magazine.
*Joe Dimino interviewed Roberto Magris and Paul Collins of JMood Records.
Album Review: Danny Embrey- Orion Room
Stepping through the doors of Green Lady Lounge is a transportive experience. The transition from urban sidewalk to swanky jazz club necessitates a psychological shift. Revelers immediately sense good times are imminent.
Kansas City’s most popular jazz venue has a second performance space in the basement. The Orion Room is even groovier than the lounge upstairs.
Even though it was recorded at Green Lady Lounge in 2023, Danny Embrey’s new album Orion Room captures the speakeasy ambience of the plush basement. The guitarist, bassist Gerald Spaits and drummer Brian Steever craft a slinky soundtrack to slightly subversive behavior.
While several solos are stupendous, the emphasis of Orion Room isn’t on the individual statements. Instead, the music is an invitation to a party brimming with sly innuendos and knowing winks.
Embrey has long been one of Kansas City’s most respected musicians. Spaits and Steever steer his sophisticated playing in insinuating directions. The trio get into artistically exhilarating forms of trouble on Orion Room. All are welcome at the seductive soirée.
Now's the Time: Moon Hooch
Moon Hooch is an exceptional party band. Fans who attend Moon Hooch shows to participate in unhinged dance frenzies leave with expanded appreciations of what’s possible when jazz collides with popular music. The New York based band performs at recordBar on Monday, October 9.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Pat Metheny’s 2013 album Tap: The Book of Angels, Vol. 20 is among the hundreds of albums released by Tzadik Records made available at streaming services last month.
*Performances of jazz at the Folly Theater and the Uptown Theater are among KCUR’s October concert recommendations.
*From a press release: Kansas City Jazz Orchestra Executive Director Lea Petrie today announced the next concert for the Conversations in Jazz 2023-2024 Season, She’s the Talk of the Town, featuring Marilyn Maye, Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. at the Folly Theater. At 7 p.m., Artistic Director Clint Ashlock will lead a pre-concert Jazz Chat.
Album Review: Matt Otto- Umbra
Umbra, the Matt Otto album released in August by Origin Records, is an understated masterpiece. Imbued with quiet grace, Umbra reflects the subtle magnanimity associated with Otto, a Kansas City saxophonist with a cool West Coast approach.
Yet the vaguely threatening “Little Things” opens Umbra. The core trio of saxophonist Otto, bassist Jeff Harshbarger and drummer Kizilarmut is supplemented by shadowy contributions from trumpeter Hermon Mehari, keyboardist Matt Villinger and guitarist Alex Frank.
The musicians seem intent on pursuing peaceful resolutions on the remainder of the album. Otto promptly sets about addressing the quandary on the gorgeous second selection “Hawk.”
“Paw Paw,” perhaps Umbra’s best track, mirrors the excellence of Otto’s previous 2023 album Kansas City Trio. Kizilarmut’s sly playing indicates he’s become one of the elite drummers in improvised music.
The elastic “Melisma” concludes Umbra by alluding to the tension presented in “Little Things.” Profound equanimity, paired with extraordinary musicianship, gracefully resolve the album’s intellectual and spiritual challenges.
Now’s the Time: Matt Kane
Drummer Matt Kane returns to town for a set as a leader with pianist Brant Jester and bassist Bob Bowman on Monday, October 2. Kane’s new album Song Poems was released September 1.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*A writer for The Pitch insists a performance by the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra was “one of the best jazz concerts this city will ever see.”
*Gary Walker interviewed Scotty Barnhart of the Count Basie Orchestra for WBGO.