An interpretation of Thelonious Monk’s “Mysterioso” scrubbed of shadowy ambiguities is emblematic of the tone of guitarist John Stein’s nineteenth album. Clean and precise, Next Gen: Jazz for my Grandchildren sounds like the product of a music teacher. Stein retired from the Berklee College of Music in 2020 after spending 36 years as a professor at the Boston institution. Yet Next Gen isn’t antiseptic. Along with bassist Ed Lucie and drummer Mike Connors, the Kansas City native applies polite swing to standards and original compositions dedicated to his grandchildren. It’s only natural that grandfatherly jazz should be sweet, gentle and suffused with love.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Kevin Whitehead considered Bobby Watson’s new album Back Home in Kansas City for NPR. A critic in New York analyzed a Watson concert in Schenectady.
*Fans named Norman Brown’s “Back at Ya” the Song of the Year in the Jazz Music Awards. Christian McBride & Inside Straight, a band featuring the Kansas City based drummer Carl Allen, won the title of Best Mainstream Artist.
*Laura Spencer created an audio feature about the Hannover Jazz Orchestra’s visit to Kansas City for KCUR. Members of the ensemble visited a television station.
*A sculpture inspired by Charlie Parker will be displayed at Kansas City’s new airport.
*Joe Dimino chatted with John Stein and shared footage of a performance by the Marcus Lewis Quintet.
*Tweet of the Week: Lipid Scientist- Visiting Kansas City - just went to the Negro Leagues Museum and the American Jazz Museum. Now we are listening to Caribbean Jazz at the Blue Room. Bryan Alford Jazz Experience: (photo)
Album Review: John Stein- Lifeline
The word “tasteful” sometimes acts as code for tame forms of jazz. The characterization is unmodified by aspersion in the case of the music of guitarist John Stein. The recently released Lifeline, a 145-minute compilation of “26 tracks spanning 23 years and 15 albums,” showcases Stein’s consummate tastefulness. A member of the faculty of the Berklee College of Music in Boston for years, Stein was raised in Kansas City. Much like the Kansas City guitarists Danny Embrey and Rod Fleeman, Stein emphasizes insightful swing rather than hollow flash. David “Fathead” Newman is the most prominent of Stein’s collaborators, but Stein’s career isn’t driven by cosigns from all-stars. Lifeline is a master class in egoless excellence.