Album Review: Wire Town- Riffin’ on Grand

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The folksy expression applies to Wire Town’s artful new album Riffin’ on Grand. As with the band’s 2024 debut recording, Wire Town’s new release documents four of Kansas City’s finest artists honoring the town’s jazz tradition with seventy minutes of exquisite musicianship and life-affirming spirit.

Riffin’ on Grand again features guitarists Danny Embrey and Rod Fleeman along with bassist Gerald Spaits. Brian Steever ably replaces Todd Strait on drums on the set recorded at Green Lady Lounge eight months ago. The quartet has nothing to prove and no axes to grind. The four men strike an ideal balance of reserved tastefulness and articulate individual statements.

Embrey and Fleeman display the sort of mindmeld that can only be attained by close friends through decades of collaboration. Sublimating their egos, the guitarists and their band mates craft sonic landscapes as modestly majestic as the most dignified shan shui painting.

Green Lady Lounge hosts the album release show for Riffin’ on Grand at 6 p.m. Sunday, February 16.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Bukeka Blakemore and Anita Dixon-Brown are among the Creative City KC representatives pitching World Cup-inspired music initiatives in television news reports here and here.

*Joe Dimino interviewed Brian Steever.

The Top Performances of 2024

The Top Jazz Performances of 2024 by Kansas City Musicians
1. Peter Schlamb at the Ship
Plastic Sax review.

2. Rev. Dwight Frizzell’s Bridge at Charlotte Street Foundation
Instagram clip.

3. Rev. Dwight Frizzell’s Heliophonie at Charlotte Street Foundation
Plastic Sax review.

4. Steve Cardenas, Forest Stewart and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House
Plastic Sax review.

5. WireTown at Green Lady Lounge
Instagram clip.

6. Seth Davis, Kwan Leung Ling, Aaron Osborne and Evan Verploegh at 7th Heaven
Instagram clip.

7.  Jackie Myers, Matt Otto and Bob Bowman at the Market at Meadowbrook
Instagram snapshot.

8. Alber at Charlotte Street Foundation
Instagram snapshot.

9. Ernest Melton, Parker Woolworth, Jordan Faught and Jalen Ward at In the Lowest Ferns
Plastic Sax review.

10. Rod Fleeman Trio at Green Lady Lounge
Instagram clip.

The Top Performances of 2024 by Touring Musicians
1. Makaya McCraven at Liberty Hall
Plastic Sax review.

2. Trond Kallevåg at the Folk Alliance International Conference
Instagram clip.

3. David Lord at Farewell
Plastic Sax review.

4. Willow at the T-Mobile Center
There Stands the Glass review.

5. Trap Jazz at Concourse Park
Instagram clip.

6. Mike Baggetta and Peter DiStefano at the Ship
There Stands the Glass review.

7. Damon Smith at Westport Coffee House
Instagram clip.

8. Phill Smith and Kyle Jessen at Charlotte Street Foundation
Instagram clip.

9. Síomha at the Kansas City Irish Festival
Instagram clip.

10. David Menestres at the Bunker Center for the Arts
Instagram snapshot.

Last year’s survey is here.

Concert Review: Steve Cardenas at Westport Coffee House

The singular sensibility of Steve Cardenas has made the guitarist a distinctive voice in the international jazz scene for more than 25 years. Balancing exquisite prettiness with intimations of uneasiness, Cardenas exemplifies the dynamic Thelonious Monk characterized as "Ugly Beauty".

The New York based guitarist from Kansas City exhibited the latest refinements of his sound at Westport Coffee House on Wednesday, May 22. About 75 people paid $20 apiece to take in the first of two sets.

As at his previous headlining show in Kansas City at recordBar in 2022, Cardenas was joined by bassist Forest Stewart and drummer Brian Steever. The duo accentuated the quiet ferocity embedded in Cardenas’ understated approach. 

The peculiar way in which Cardenas plays pretty was showcased throughout the seven selections. The serenity of the opener, John Coltrane’s “Trane’s Slo Blues,” was adulterated by a slightly sinister touch. The swinging take on Steve Swallow’s “Ladies in Mercedes” that closed the set contained a correspondingly delectable element of danger.

Set list, first set: Trane’s Slo Blues; Lost and Found; How Deep Is the Ocean; Everything I’m Not; Blue Language; House of Jade; Ladies in Mercedes

Album Review: Brian Scarborough- We Need the Wind

A gentle breeze elevates We Need the Wind. Brian Scarborough’s second album as a leader soars on an uplifting current of optimism. The trombonist is joined by four prominent Kansas City jazz musicians. Saxophonist Matt Otto, keyboardist Roger Wilder, bassist Jeff Harshbarger and drummer Brian Steever assent to Scarborough’s innate cheerfulness. The Fender Rhodes wielded by Wilder adds a jaunty texture to the session. Otto adds characteristically thoughtful commentary to Scarborough’s melodies. The sturdy resolve of Harshbarger and Steever bolster the nine tracks. As for Scarborough, the multiplicity of his lofty talent continues to necessitate comparison to the Kansas City jazz icon Bob Brookmeyer.

Plastic Sax’s Favorite Performances of 2023

Top Ten Performances by Kansas City Artists
1. Mike Dillon, Brian Haas and Nikki Glaspie at the Brick
Plastic Sax review.

2. Hermon Mehari at the Folly Theater
Plastic Sax review.

3. Adam Larson, Matt Clohesy and Jimmy Macbride at Westport Coffee House
Instagram clip.

4. Rod Fleeman at Green Lady Lounge
Instagram clip.

5.  Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
Plastic Sax review.

6. Drew Williams, Alex Frank, Ben Tervort and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House
Plastic Sax review.

7. Cynthia van Roden at the Market at Meadowbrook
Instagram snapshot.

8. Chalis O’Neal at the Blue Room
Instagram clip.

9. Alan Voss, Benjamin Baker, Forest Stewart and Evan Verploegh at Swope Park Pavilion
Plastic Sax review.

10. Rich Hill, Arnold Young and Rob Whitsitt in Volker Park
Instagram clip.

Top Ten Performances by Artists from Elsewhere
1. Samara Joy at the Folly Theater
Plastic Sax review.

2. Devin Gray and Maria Elena Silva at the Firehouse Gallery
Plastic Sax review.

3. Bill Frisell, Greg Tardy, Gerald Clayton and Johnathan Blake at the 1900 Building
Plastic Sax review.

4. Artemis at the Gem Theater
Plastic Sax review.

5. CRAG Quartet and Joshua Gerowitz at the Bunker Center for the Arts
Instagram clip.

6. Miguel Zenón Quartet at the Folly Theater
Plastic Sax review.

7. Henrique Eisenmann and Eugene Friesen at the 1900 Building
Plastic Sax review.

8. Robert Stillman at the Midland Theater
There Stands the Glass review.

9. Jack Wright and Ron Stabinsky at Charlotte Street Foundation
Instagram clip.

10. Rob Magill and Marshall Trammell at Farewell
Plastic Sax review.

(Last year’s survey is here.)

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.

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.

Concert Review: Drew Williams Quartet at Westport Coffee House

A superstitious, jazz-loving bride would have had plenty to work with at Westport Coffee House on Thursday, May 25. The first set by a quartet led by saxophonist Drew Williams included something old (a reading of Thelonious Monk’s “We See”), something new (the electronics-enhanced Williams original “Radiance”), something borrowed (drummer Brian Steever utilization of Prince’s yellow tamboracca) and something blue (a bluesy reading of “Skylark”).  With the addition of guitarist Alex Frank, Williams’ band expanded on the wedding of tradition and innovation it displayed at the same venue in 2022.

Plastic Sax's Favorite Performances of 2022

Top Performances by Kansas City Artists

1. Logan Richardson + Blues People at the Ship

Review.

2. Adam Larson, Clark Sommers and Dana Hall at Westport Coffee House

Review.

3. Black Crack Revue at Westport Coffee House

Review.

4. Steve Cardenas, Forest Stewart and Brian Steever at recordBar

Review.

5. Arnold Young and the RoughTet at the Ship

Instagram clip.

6. Bob Bowman and Peter Schlamb at Second Presbyterian Church

Review.

7. Evan Verplough and Ben Baker at World Culture KC

Review.

8. Rod Fleeman at Green Lady Lounge

9. Alter Destiny at Charlotte Street Foundation

Review.

10. Drew Williams, Ben Tervort and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House

Review.

Top Performances by Artists from Elsewhere

1. Nduduzo Makhathini at the Blue Room

Review.

2. Ohma at the Midland theater

Review.

3. Livia Nestrovski and Henrique Eisenmann at the 1900 Building

Review.

4. High Pulp at recordBar

Review.

5. Phillip Greenlief at Bushranger Records

Review.

6. Terence Blanchard at Atkins Auditorium

Review.

7. Keefe Jackson, Jakob Heinemann and Adam Shead at Black Dolphin

Instagram photo.

8. Esthesis Quartet at the Blue Room

Instagram clip.

9. Kind Folk at the Black Box

Instagram clip.

10. Bill Summers and Forward Back at Dunbar Park

Review.

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: Drew Williams, Ben Tervort and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House

Prior to his first set with bassist Ben Tervort and drummer Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House on Sunday, April 3, saxophonist and bandleader Drew Williams told the audience of about 30 that the show marked the first time his child was in attendance at one of his public performances.  

As the toddler contentedly played with doting adults, at least one member of the audience was overwhelmed with a correspondingly childlike sense of wonder.  The trio’s invigorating 45-minute volley of improvised music simultaneously honored and augmented Kansas City’s jazz legacy.

Williams characterized an original composition consisting of six pages of notated music a “behemoth.”  The ambitious undertaking- along with a trace of electronics on the opening selection- makes Williams susceptible to accusations of trafficking in an academic form of jazz. 

A muscular version of Charlie Parker’s “Cheryl” refuted any potential priggish denunciations from conservative devotees of mainstream sounds.  Williams’ return to a Kansas City stage following an extended residency in New York was a triumph.  The big city’s loss is Kansas City’s gain.

Concert Review: Steve Cardenas at recordBar

Giovanni Russonello’s "Where Jazz Lives Now" treatise in The New York Times generated a kerfuffle in jazz circles last week.  The controversial article asserts that most performances of groundbreaking improvised music no longer transpire in venues dedicated to jazz.

The claim rings true in Kansas City.  A significant portion of adventurous jazz programming in the region during the past 15 years has been presented under the auspices of the Jeff Harshbarger Presents series at the rock-oriented venue recordBar.

Members of an attentive audience of about 100 paid $15 to hear a homecoming concert by the New York based guitarist Steve Cardenas at recordBar on Sunday, March 20.  Cardenas was joined by bassist Forest Stewart and drummer Brian Steever in the series’ first presentation since the onset of the pandemic.

In spite of its unconventional setting, little of the internecine contention generated by Russonello’s feature applied to the outing.  The trio’s elevated musicianship was beyond destructive turf wars.  They implied avant-garde wooliness even as they evinced Kansas City-style swing.

Renditions of original compositions by Cardenas and Stewart were as potent as the standards performed by the trio.  The strong show of support, superlative sound and exceptional music made debate irrelevant.  Kansas City’s jazz scene seemed entirely cohesive, healthy and robust at a rock club last Sunday.

First set: Wail (Bud Powell), Newer Normal (Forest Stewart), Lost and Found (Steve Cardenas), Fleurette Africaine (Duke Ellington), Don Formation (Forest Stewart), untitled (Steve Cardenas), Ladies in Mercedes (Steve Swallow)

Now’s the Time: Seth Lee

Seth Lee will lead a jam session when live music returns to the Blue Room on Monday, January 31, following a month-long hiatus. The bassist performs with pianist Roger Wilder and drummer Brian Steever at the Blue Room in the embedded video.

Now's the Time: Steve Cardenas

EDIT: THIS PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN POSTPONED

The accomplished guitarist Steve Cardenas performs with pianist Jon Cowherd, bassist Ben Allison and drummer Allan Mednard in the embedded video. Cardenas will be joined by bassist Forest Stewart and drummer Brian Steever at recordBar on Tuesday, December 28.

Concert Review: Thollem McDonas at 9th and State

The Antler’s Club, a den of iniquity during the Pendergast era in Kansas City, hosted a band featuring a teenaged Charlie Parker in 1938.  In the same space in the West Bottoms on September 24, 2021, five musicians successfully pursued an extreme manifestation of Parker-inspired improvisation.

The itinerant new music luminary Thollem McDonas (keyboard) was joined by Kansas City musicians Seth Davis (guitar), Krista Kopper (bass), Jeff Harshbarger (bass) and Brian Steever (drums) in the tavern now operating as 9th & State.  Following a set in which McDonas provided music for ACVilla’s short silent film Worlds In a Life, the quintet launched into an extended improvisation filled with strong interplay.

Although he’s acclaimed for high-profile collaborations, McDonas deferred to the Kansas Citians.  Kopper and Harshbarger deftly took turns as de facto leaders.  Kopper initiated many of the most interesting developments.  Harshbarger’s impressive stunts included wielding two bows simultaneously.

The swing-oriented Steever thrived in the free setting. His bag of tricks included using bandanas as drumsticks. The jagged tones emitted by Davis’ instrument resembled concertina wire. Parker may not have recognized the sounds, but he probably would have approved of the quintet’s audacious flaunting of Kansas City’s established conventions.

Now's the Time: Bob Bowman, Danny Embrey and Brian Steever

I intend to hop on an airplane the first day I feel comfortable resuming post-inoculation life. Should my return flight to Kansas City land in the evening, I’ll drop in at the Green Lady Lounge on my way home. The embedded video captures the sound and atmosphere I so dearly miss.