Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The Kansas City musician and jazz devotee George Boje has died.

*WBGO hosts the second installment of Pat Metheny’s conversation with David Sanborn.

*A Kansas City music blogger includes a host of jazz items in his January synopsis.

*From Chris Burnett: “The Kansas Historical Society is going to preserve the KC metro based ARC record label. An acquisitions team of archivists is coming to pick up physical copies of recordings, posters, and documents related to the record label on Wednesday February 7, 2024. Other items like digital audio files of recordings that were not issued in physical product formats, and periodic updates to the label catalog will be delivered as applicable on an ongoing basis going forward.”

Album Review: Betty Bryant- Lotta Livin’

Betty Bryant was born in 1929. The pianist and vocalist moved from Kansas City to Los Angeles in the 1950s. Yet Lotta Livin', the new album by the vocalist and pianist, is a vital set of undiluted Kansas City jazz. All those who miss the Kansas City legends Jay McShann or Myra Taylor will be bowled over by the earthy, sultry and vibrant Lotta Livin’. Backed by a swinging band, Bryant dishes out salty banter on playful songs like “Put a Lid On It” and reinvigorates standards including “Stormy Monday.” Bryant sighs “ain’t life grand” in the album’s closing moments. Indeed, Lotta Livin’ is a curative fountain of youth.

Now’s the Time: Henry Scamurra

The young saxophonist Henry Scamurra leads a band at Westport Coffee House on Wednesday, January 31.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Prominent Kansas Citians including Congressman Emanuel Cleaver and Bobby Watson consider the local erasure of Charlie Parker’s legacy in Ian Ritter’s think piece for Belt magazine.

*Charlie Parker and Bobby Watson are referenced in a Classical KC feature about the intersection of jazz and classical music.

*A vlogger shared footage depicting the atmosphere at Green Lady Lounge.

Swing Low

Mocking old folks and the music they love is a regrettable tradition. Yet the joke was on latecomers at The Market at Meadowbrook on Saturday, January 14. Each of the approximately four dozen chairs in the cafe were occupied by geriatric fans of dixieland jazz for the entirety of a two-hour performance by a sprightly trio led by Lynn Zimmer. Old-timers braved sub-zero temperatures to warm their souls to satiny renditions of tunes like “Wolverine Blues,” “Amazing Grace” and “Stardust.” The clarinetist and his colleagues worked the room like vote-hungry politicians at the break. Zimmer has earned what many of the more artistically stylish Kansas City based jazz musicians lack- a large and enthusiastic fan base eager to show up for every performance. There’s nothing old-fashioned about that.

Now’s the Time: The Hot Sardines

The Hot Sardines are becoming the house band of the Folly Jazz Series. The New York based ensemble returns to the concert hall on Saturday, January 27.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The lineup of the spring recital series at Johnson County Community College has been announced.

*Nina Cherry checked in with Bram Wijnands for Kansas City magazine.

*The American Jazz Museum created a brief video tribute to Jay McShann.

*David Sanborn chatted with Pat Metheny.

Album Review: Wire Town- Kansas City

The beautiful ballad “Tell Me Now” closes the debut album of Wire Town. No less rapturous than the collaboration of legendary guitar heroes Jim Hall and Pat Metheny, the hushed “Tell Me Now” is an outlier on Kansas City.

The eight tracks preceding “Tell Me Now” exemplify Green Lady Lounge’s signature sound: jaunty instrumental jazz rendered by elite musicians. Each of the esteemed members of Wire Town- guitarists Danny Embrey and Rod Fleeman, bassist Gerald Spaits and drummer Todd Strait- are closely associated with Green Lady Lounge.

Recorded live at the bustling Kansas City venue, the 69-minute Kansas City is a winning showcase for the considerable talents of the quartet. With the exception of “Tell Me Now,” the uptempo selections are vehicles for engaging soloing and seamless interplay.

The album’s official release show is 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, January 28, at Green Lady Lounge.

Now’s the Time: Isaiah Petrie

Isaiah Petrie leads a quartet at Corvino on Friday, January 12. The vibraphonist is one of Kansas City’s most exciting young musicians.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Seth Davis, Mike Dillon and Matt Otto received votes in El Intruso’s 16th Annual International Critics Poll.

*A slightly different version of the audio feature about Charlie Parker’s Grafton saxophone created for KCUR in December aired nationally on NPR’s Morning Edition program last week. 

*Joe Dimino shared footage of recent performances of bands led by Pete Fucinaro and Adam Larson.

*WBGO aired a travelog set in Kansas City’s Jazz District.

Jazz Caucus

The crucial Iowa caucus takes place on January 15. For improvised music obsessives, equally vital electoral returns arrived earlier this month. The 18th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Poll is the most comprehensive and meaningful of the yearly jazz surveys.

More than 500 titles released in 2023 received at least one vote from the poll’s 159 participants in the foremost new album category. In separate groupings, 57 debut albums, 51 vocal albums and 40 Latin jazz albums were acknowledged. (My ballot is here.)

Pouring over the results to glean meaning is akin to reading tea leaves, or for those who dislike innovative jazz, more like the ancient practice of divining the future by examining the entrails of animal sacrifices. 

The expansiveness of this year’s poll indicates there’s little consensus even within the secluded jazz community. The staggering deluge of vital jazz exacerbates the form’s esoteric image. 

Kansas City is represented by Pat Metheny’s Dream Box (#78 with four votes) and Matt Otto’s Umbra (tied at #473 with a single vote). In the Rara Avis category, the reissue of the Massey Hall concert featuring Charlie Parker (#26 with three votes) and the Basie All Stars’ Live at Fabrik Vol. 1: Hamburg 1981 (tied at #101 with one vote) were also recognized.

In a corresponding essay, Tom Hull, the man overseeing the complex tabulations for the poll, ponders the electorate’s consumption of the form. As a courtesy to Hull and on the off chance any Plastic Sax readers are curious, I’ve responded to his queries.

How many promos do you get and listen to?
I received less than a dozen CDs and vinyl albums last year. I have access to innumerable complimentary digital downloads.

How much streaming (do) you do?
A minimum of ten hours a day.

How much radio (do) you listen to? 
I rarely listen to terrestrial radio. I stream loads of archived radio features and programs.

What (is) the split… between jazz and other music?
Approximately a third of the music I consume is jazz.

What other kinds of music do you like or hate? 
I love all types of music.

(Are you) giving up some amount of (professional) opportunity cost to (cover jazz)?
Yes. It’s especially nice when an occasional endeavor unexpectedly pays off.

Now’s the Time: Redhot & Blue of Yale

In the parlance of the American Jazz Museum administration, the Blue Room is “dark” this January. Yet at least one event will take place at the institution’s venue this month. The a cappella group Redhot & Blue of Yale performs at the Blue Room on Tuesday, January 9. Details are here.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Kansas City magazine takes a peek at area speakeasies of the past and present.

*KCUR includes the Hot Sardines’ encore engagement in the Folly Jazz Series among its January concert recommendations.

The Top Stories and Trends of 2023 on Kansas City’s Jazz Scene

1. Last Train Home
The Lee’s Summit native Pat Metheny snapped an eleven-year embargo of the Kansas City area with a concert at Muriel Kauffman Theatre in June. 

2. Larson vs. Otto: Everybody Wins
The astounding productivity of Adam Larson and Matt Otto, Kansas City based saxophonists in their artistic primes, resembled a friendly cutting contest.

3. Too Marvelous for Words
The Kansas City mainstay Marilyn Maye celebrated her 95th birthday with a concert at Carnegie Hall.

4. Everything’s Up to Date in Kansas City
The Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society presented performances by cutting-edge touring musicians including Vinny Golia, Maria Elena Silva, Eli Wallace and Jack Wright. 

5. Absinthe Ascendent
Green Lady Lounge tightened its stranglehold as Kansas City’s dominant jazz venue. A program on Kansas Public Radio and an ongoing series of live albums furthered its hegemony.

6. Outside the Lines
Just two of  Plastic Sax’s 20 Favorite Performances of 2023 transpired in jazz clubs. Venues including concert halls and art galleries hosted much of the most interesting improvised music performed in Kansas City.

7. Ticketed
Attendance at concerts by Samara Joy, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Pat Metheny and Domi and JD Beck indicates the Kansas City area is home to about 1,500 people who are willing to pay $25 or more to hear instrumental jazz.

8. Turnover
Rashida Phillips resigned her position as Executive Director of the American Jazz Museum.

9. It Takes a Village
The Prairie Village Jazz Festival, a one-day, single-stage event featuring locally based musicians, remains the region’s most notable jazz festival.

10. Con Man
Con Chapman’s Kansas City Jazz A Little Evil Will Do You Good provided new insights into the area’s jazz history.

Last year’s recap is here.

Now's the Time: Jay McShann

People opting to stay home on New Year’s Eve needn’t throw pity parties. Why not ring in the new year with the mirthful music of Jay McShann?

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Charlie Parker, Count Basie and the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society were name-checked in a recent episode of the Eight One Sixty program on 90.9 The Bridge.

*Dave Scott checked in with Joe Dimino.

Matt Otto: Plastic Sax's Person of the Year

Umbra and Kansas City Trio rank first and fifth on Plastic Sax’s Favorite Albums of 2023 list. The albums are showcases for the impeccably refined work of Matt Otto. The subtle power contained in the one-two punch from the unprepossessing saxophonist makes him Plastic Sax’s Person of the Year for 2023. The previous recipients of the designation are Seth Davis and Evan Verploegh (2022), Rod Fleeman (2021), 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: Kevin Cheli

Percussionist Kevin Cheli resumes his extensive series of collaborations with guitarist Seth Davis at Farewell on Wednesday, December 27. Scott R. Looney and Aaron Osborne will join them. Night Mode and Nate Hofer round out the bill.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Logan Richardson’s Holy Water, the Count Basie Orchestra’s Swings the Blues and Matt Otto’s Umbra are among Chris Burnett’s favorite albums of 2023.

Album Review: II-Wands- Triumphs, Vol. 1

Triumphs, Vol. 1 is a giddy blend of cosmic jazz, Dada absurdism and third stream experimentation. Quietly released in October, the expansive soundfield forged by II-Wands is indebted to Soft Machine, Igor Stravinsky and Sun Ra. Spoken word, otherworldly singing, strings and percussion evoke hallucinatory dreamstates. II-Wands is billed as a “(c)ollection of living composers and new works from the United States.” Contributors to the collective’s often amusing sketches include the notable Kansas City musicians Benjamin Baker and Brant Jester.