Plebiscite

A friend rhapsodized about his plan to make professional recordings of Kansas City jazz artists a couple weeks ago. As he spoke, a quartet expertly covered smooth jazz and soul-jazz standards for a paid audience of less than ten at a listening room. I told him that identifying worthy musicians is easy. Finding an audience for the prospective recordings presents a bigger challenge.

At a different venue later that night, three world-class Kansas City based musicians played daring original material for an audience consisting of myself and three saxophonists at a no-cover gig. The two dozen other people in the room ignored the trio. That’s par for the course.

Given the harsh climate for jazz in Kansas City and elsewhere, I remain enormously grateful for the intrepid musicians diligently documenting their work. A rich bounty is produced by Kansas City artists every year. Two recently published polls highlight their challenges and accomplishments on the international stage.

Four-hundred-and-sixty-one new albums received at least one vote in the mid-year edition of the Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll. Kansas City is represented by new albums by Pat Metheny (81st place with three votes) and Steve Cardenas (82nd place with three votes). My ballot is here.

DownBeat recently published the results of its extensive 74th Annual Critics Poll. A tally of Kansas City artists making appearances follows. Individual voter ballots aren’t published.

• Bob Brookmeyer: Hall of Fame (22nd place)

• Pat Metheny: Artist of the Year: (22nd place); Album of the Year: (26th place); Group of the Year: (21st place); Guitarist of the Year: (6th place); Composer of the Year: (9th place)

• Mike Dillon: Vibraphonist of the Year (21st place)

• Samantha Fish: Blues Artist of the Year (12th place); Blues Album of the Year (4th place)

• Hermon Mehari: Rising Star Trumpeter (14th place)

• Eldar Djangirov: Rising Star Pianist (24th place)

• Brittany Davis: Rising Star Keyboardist (19th place); Rising Star Female Vocalist (8th place)

• Chris Hazelton: Rising Star Organist (15th place)

• Peter Schlamb: Rising Star Vibraphonist (9th place)

Poll Tax

Two momentous year-end jazz critics polls- The 20th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll and El Intruso’s The 18th Annual International Critics Poll- were published during my recent sojourn in Japan. Details about the Kansas City artists who received representation follow.

Hosted by The Arts Fuse, the 20th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll focuses on albums. Carl Allen’s Tippin' placed at #61 among the 576 releases receiving votes in the New Albums ranking. Anat Fort’s The Dreamworld of Paul Motian featuring guitarist Steve Cardenas, received a single nod.

Brittany Davis’ Black Thunder received one vote in the Vocals category while Pete Fucinaro’s Little Window and Henry Scamurra’s Urban Forum each received a single vote in a tally of debut albums.

Even though it was released on October 25, 2024, Charlie Parker’s Bird in Kansas City placed at #23 among the 208 titles receiving votes in the reissue category. Here’s my ballot.

The Argentine jazz periodical El Intruso’s ambitious referendum has a more progressive orientation. Hermon Mehari (one vote as best trumpeter) and Pat Metheny (one vote as best guitarist) were the sole musicians with Kansas City affiliations to be acknowledged. My ballot can be found by searching for “Plastic Sax.”

Four of the eight artists highlighted here wouldn’t have been mentioned in the polls without the participation of Plastic Sax. Either the sounds made by Kansas City artists aren’t reaching ears beyond the metropolitan area or they’re failing to make a lasting impression on jazz journalists.

Plastic Sax’s Favorite Albums of 2025

The Top Ten Albums of 2025 by Kansas City Artists
1. Carl Allen- Tippin’
Plastic Sax review.

2. Brittany Davis- Black Thunder
Plastic Sax review.

3. Hermon Mehari and Tony Tixier- Soul Song
Plastic Sax review.

4. Pete Fucinaro- Little Window
Plastic Sax review.

5. Henry Scamurra- Urban Forum
Plastic Sax review.

6. Seth Andrew Davis and Krista Kopper- Popular Mechanics
Plastic Sax review.

7. Drew Williams- Demons Hate Fresh Air
Review forthcoming.

8. Jackie Myers- What About the Butterfly
Plastic Sax review.

9. Gerald Spaits- Sunday Night Live at Green Lady Lounge
Plastic Sax review.

10. Eddie Moore- What Makes Us
Plastic Sax review.

The Top Ten Albums of 2025 by Artists from Elsewhere
1. Linda May Han Oh- Strange Heavens

2. Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson- Bone Bells

3. Gerald Clayton- Ones & Twos

4. Charles Lloyd- Figure in Blue

5. Patricia Brennan- Of the Near and Far

6. Vijay Iyer and Leo Wadada Smith- Defiant Life

7. Anouar Brahem- After the Last Sky

8. Ches Smith- Clone Row

9. Trio of Bloom- Trio of Bloom

10. Camila Nebbia, Marilyn Crispell and Lesley Mok- A Reflection Distorts Over Water

Last year’s listings are here.

Album Review: Brittany Davis- Black Thunder

If righteous rage is the order of the day, Brittany Davis’ latest release is the Kansas City album of the year. Black Thunder, largely improvised in a Seattle studio with bassist Evan Flory-Barnes and drummer D’Vonne Lewis, is a document of discontent interspersed with bursts of radiant optimism.

Davis, a vocalist, pianist and bandleader, was raised in Kansas City before she moved to the Pacific Northwest. She’s cast off conventional Midwest niceties. The vitriol of Black Thunder is in the vein of fiery agitators including Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln, Moor Mother and Angel Bat Dawid.

Decrying institutional racism and societal oppression while confessing interpersonal discord and body image issues with lithe musicality, Davis reflects the tenor of the times with the acuity of an indignant folk singer and the ruthlessness of a battle rapper.

She decries duplicity and laments the inequity of fate on the seething “All You Get” and excoriates the inhumanity of slavery on “Sarah’s Song.” Eight interludes titled “Ancestors” avoid jarring transitions into less furious tracks.

Davis addresses her blindness on the cosmological “Amid the Blackout of the Night” and celebrates life on the Ayers-esque "Sun and Moon". Exquisite pianism, a facet of Davis’ artistry that may easily be overlooked amid the album’s storminess, is among the elements making Black Thunder a polarizing triumph.