Jazz Night in Kansas City (Is Every Night)

Attending performances by locally based jazz musicians is what I miss most about Kansas City while traveling. While I regularly take advantage of high-profile concerts by cutting-edge improvisers who rarely appear in Kansas City in my destinations, few locales match the depth of artistry showcased nightly in the Kansas City area.

Following a trip to the tropics, I caught up with a portion of the embarrassment of riches on Thursday, November 15. My outing began at the Music House School of Music in Prairie Village. The storied trumpeter Stan Kessler joined the house band of guitarist Aaron Sizemore, bassist Forest Stewart and drummer Michael Warren.

Sizemore tends to incorporate European innovations of recent decades into his sound, a disposition that differentiates him from his peers in Kansas City. The singularity didn’t make an impression on harried music students on strict schedules at the busy facility. The small audience at Thursday’s no-cover event consisted of the usual suspects. A video of the concert streams here.

In the Lowest Ferns couldn’t be more different. The West Bottoms club specializing in electronic dance music occasionally hosts jazz musicians. About 25 fashion-conscious people paid a $15 cover charge to take in the first set by saxophonist Ernest Melton, keyboardist Parker Woolworth, bassist Jordan Faught and drummer Jaylen Ward. The quartet’s spiritual soul-jazz was enhanced by a fog machine.

Two blocks away, Peter Schlamb unveiled an instrument he described as his “new toy” in a free show at The Ship.  The slippery tones of the MalletKAT added another weapon to the vibraphonist’s formidable arsenal. The high-energy improvisations of Schlamb, saxophonist Matt Otto, keyboardist Matt Villinger, bassist Sebastian Arias and drummer Zach Morrow were stunning.

In an act that felt like a cultural misdemeanor, the two eldest people among the audience of 20 left at the conclusion of the first set at 10:15 p.m. I nodded in agreement when a savvy old head suggested “that’s the best band in Kansas City” as we shuffled to the door. For me, Shlamb’s electric band sounds like home.

Album Review: The DJ Quartet- Vision External

Vision External seems destined to be remembered as the unofficial debut showcase of Isaiah Petrie.  The young vibraphonist is a rising star in Kansas City’s music community.  Petrie, saxophonist Dougan Smith, bassist Nsikoh Bebe Lala and drummer Jaylen Ward comprise the un-Googleable ensemble The DJ Quartet on Vision External.  Petrie stands out, but each member of the group contributes to the vigorous post-bop of tracks including "The Call".  Even as it maintains convention, the DJ Quartet brings refreshing vitality to Kansas City’s mainstream jazz scene.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Eddie Moore and Jaylen Ward entered NPR’s annual Tiny Desk Contest.

*Bobby Watson appeared on a sports podcast in advance of the Super Bowl.

*Seth Allen of Libations & Company tells Joe Dimino about his new music venue in Lee’s Summit.

*Joe Dimino spoke with Isaiah Petrie.

*The famed songwriter Burt Bacharach, a Kansas City native, has died.

*Tweet of the Week: Bob Kendrick- In it’s heyday, 18th & Vine was a cultural crossroad where Baseball & Jazz intersected! Guests got a taste of that era yesterday when they were treated to live music by some talented, young Jazz musicians! (video)

Now's the Time: The James Ward Band

In addition to participating in an auspicious concert last month, the funk, R&B and jazz luminary Bill Summers spent time jamming with locally based musicians while in Kansas City. Summers revisits the Herbie Hancock and Bernie Maupin composition “Butterfly” in a groovy collaboration with The James Ward Band. (Tip via Plastic Sax reader JW.)