Album Review: Vinny Golia, Dan Clucas, Kevin Cheli and Seth Andrew Davis- Orchid

An area music enthusiast recently insisted my embrace of new music necessarily meant that I no longer cared about the mainstream jazz performed in Kansas City. It’s simply not so. Plastic Sax consistently covers conventional, swing-oriented jazz.

Nonetheless, the April 4 release of Orchid validates my big ears. The tenacity of a small coterie of Kansas City renegades reasserts Kansas City’s status as a meaningful contributor to the adventurous fringe of improvised music. An outline of the album’s backstory follows.

The Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society has hosted dozens of concerts in Kansas City by touring musicians since its formation about four years ago. The collective presented separate concerts by two renowned California based musicians- trumpeter and violinist Dan Clucas and woodwind master Vinny Golia- in 2023. St. Louis percussionist Kevin Cheli of St. Louis is a more frequent participant at these events.

Seth Andrew Davis, a co-founder of the collective, joins those musicians on Orchid, an exhilarating session recorded in Los Angeles 20 months ago. The Kansas City based Mother Brain Records released the album. The mastery of the improvisors make much of Orchid seem composed. Passages of “Cloud” even echo Eric Dolphy and Freddie Hubbard.

Confidently issuing electric glurts and skizzles, Davis clearly belongs among the rarified company. While the free jazz of Orchid is decidedly an underground phenomena, the album is a significant milestone in the annals of Kansas City’s artistic counterculture.

Album Review: Brennan Connors, Seth Andrew Davis, Jakob Heinemann and Evan Verploegh- Alchemy of Stone and Star

“That’s Not Art, That’s Not Music”, the title of Lonnie Holley’s rancorous new single, is a phrase I’ve encountered while sharing my enthusiasm for sounds made by members of Kansas City’s The Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society.

Alchemy of Stone and Star, a live 2023 recording released four months ago, won’t win over listeners for whom free jazz is anathema. Yet the freewheeling collaboration of guitarist Seth Andrew Davis and drummer Evan Verploegh of Kansas City with the northern Midwest saxophonist Brennan Connors and bassist Jakob Heinemann is riveting.

Inventive interactions between Davis and Verploegh in the 19-minute “Decoding the Maps” achieve transcendence. Connors’ maturity is a revelation while Heinemann brings cohesiveness to the exceptionally artful music.

Kansas City Cachet

The most compelling jazz has always been rebellious, adventurous and innovative. Yet a debilitating perception pervasive in Kansas City and beyond posits jazz as a moldering art form best applied as relaxing background music.

The refutation of this notion is among the reasons I treat the annual publication of the Francis Davis Jazz Poll and the El Intruso’s Periodistas Internacionales jazz poll as a holiday. Sifting through the data published January 10 is a powerful affirmation of the artistic vitality of jazz.

I’m honored to be consulted in the enterprises. Sunny Five’s caustic Candid is my selection for the top album in both polls. The attack of the avant-garde all-stars aligns with my ongoing affinity for punk rock. The improvisatory onslaught was all too necessary in 2024.

The polls can be used as barometers of Kansas City’s current stature in the jazz universe. The 19th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Poll focuses on recordings. Six of the approximately 600 albums released in 2024 receiving votes are connected to the Kansas City area.

Tell the Birds I Said Hello: The Music of Herbie Nichols, an exquisite trio recording featuring Kansas City guitarist Steve Cardenas, came in at #67. Pat Metheny’s solo guitar statement Moodial finished at #70. Charles McPherson’s excellent Reverence is ranked #107.

In a separate vocal category, Betty Bryant’s delightful Lotta Livin’ is graded at #16. Although attention was lavished on it locally, the latest archival Charlie Parker release Bird in Kansas City placed at a humble #24 in the reissue division. I gave it a nod on my ballot.

Where the Francis Davis poll is open to critics favoring both conventional and anarchic styles, El Intruso’s 17th Annual International Critics Poll 2024 is intended to reward “creative music, jazz and beyond, free improvisation, art-rock, and experimental music.”

Albums are just one of many classifications at stake in El Intruso’s referendum. No Kansas City musicians were among the finalists in any section, but Seth Andrew Davis, Marvin Gruenbaum, Pat Metheny, Aryana Nemati and Peter Schlamb were recognized.

Amusingly, El Intruso puts faces to the names of voters. Anyone who has imagined what a typical jazz critic looks like will have their suspicions confirmed as they scroll through the individual selections of the electors. A goofy photo antithetical to the spirit of rebellion accompanies the ballot of the man responsible for Plastic Sax.

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.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*New releases by Betty Bryant, Seth Andrew Davis, Rod Fleeman and Pat Metheny are among the 366 albums receiving votes in the 2024 Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll. Plastic Sax’s ballot is here.

Album Review: Kyle Quass, Kevin Cheli and Seth Andrew Davis- Bloom

I’m sympathetic to the Plastic Sax readers struggling with my frequent endorsements of the output of the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society. To be sure, the music made by members of the collective is often unsettling. While it’s another uncompromising installment in the free jazz tradition associated with past masters such as Bill Dixon, Milford Graves and Derek Bailey, the new release Bloom is a relatively accessible entry point. Kyle Quass’ trumpet and Kevin Cheli’s  percussion provide acoustic contrast to the churning guitar and electronic tremors created by Kansas City’s Seth Andrew Davis. Detractors will insist Bloom is merely ninety minutes of anarchic noise. I’d counter that the rapturous beauty and devastating ugliness documented on the album accurately reflects our times.

KCUR Meets EMAS

Plastic Sax diligently attempts to track the activities of representatives of the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society. The multitude of recordings and performances is both thrilling and exhausting. That’s one reason the author of this site was pleased to examine the collective from a different perspective. The audio feature he created for KCUR streams here.

Concert Review: David Lord at Farewell

Getting a handle on the music of David Lord isn’t easy. The Wichita based guitarist showcases a unique conception on his 2023 album Forest Standards, Vol. 3. Is Lord filtering John Fahey through Ornette Coleman’s harmolodics? Elsewhere, he sounds like James “Blood” Ulmer interpreting Claude Debussy.

Lord echoed Thelonious Monk in a solo outing at Farewell on Saturday, March 9. Thorny and agitated, Lord’s hermetic approach resists categorization. Reverent members of an audience of 25 who paid a $10 admission charge seemed certain that Lord is among today’s most important artists.

Wearing a Depeche Mode shirt, V.Vecker preceded Lord with a mesmerizing set in which he looped riffs from his saxophone to construct swirling sonic monoliths. The evening began with the jagged power trio of Seth Andrew Davis, Aaron Osborne and Evan Verploegh.

Album Review: Scott Dean Taylor and Seth Andrew Davis- Infidels

Infidels is the first Bob Dylan album I bought as a new release. It’s maintained a spot in my rotation for four decades. Scott Dean Taylor and Seth Andrew Davis apparently share my affinity for the undervalued 1983 recording. 

The itinerant drummer and the Kansas City guitarist exchanged banter about Infidels during a performance featuring Maria Elena Silva and Devin Gray last year. The four track titles of their new improvised duo album Infidels are lyrics from the Dylan songs "Jokerman" and "Union Sundown". 

Portions of “They Used To Grow Food in Kansas” could pass for guitarist Mark Knopfler and drummer Sly Dunbar warming up at Dylan’s recording session. The duo’s squiggles, blurps, taps and thumps intimate melodic intent.

The 17-minute opening selection “You were born with a snake in both of your fists while a hurricane was blowing” is more aligned with the severe extemporization that characterizes much of Davis’ output. 

Dylan accuses an antagonist of being a “noisemaker, spirit maker, heartbreaker, backbreaker” on the Infidels’ song “License to Kill”. Taylor and Davis fit the bill on their remorseless version of Infidels.

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.

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.

Album Review: Brandon Cooper, Seth Andrew Davis, Krista Kopper, Evan Verploegh and Drew Williams- Compressed Space

An adventurous outing in the courtyard of Charlotte Street Foundation on May 18, 2022, was one of the most memorable performances presented by the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society. Ten days later, many of the same Kansas City musicians recorded Compressed Space. The document is even better than the concert. The improvisations of Drew Williams (woodwinds), Seth Andrew Davis (guitar and electronics), Krista Kopper (double bass), Brandon Cooper (drums and percussion) and Evan Verploegh (drums and percussion) range from pristine quietude to atomizing skronk.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s return to the Folly Theater is plugged by The Kansas City Star.

*Danny Embrey is interviewed by Ken Lovern in four new videos.

*Mary Lou Williams was remembered on an episode of KCUR’s Up To Date program.

*Pinball, a new album by Seth Davis and Kevin Cheli, was reviewed by a blogger.

Concert Review: Dan Clucas at World Culture KC

Established jazz clubs occupy hallowed grounds for devotees of improvised music. The venues are more essential than ever. Due to ongoing attrition, however, many of the most rewarding performances are increasingly transpiring in unconventional settings.

A sextet played compelling new music on the porch of a home known as World Culture KC in Kansas City on Monday, September 4. The droning of cicadas, the buzz of aircraft and the lonesome whistles of trains accentuated the outing.

The event was a forum for the Los Angeles based Dan Clucas. The multi-instrumentalist has recording credits on albums by artists ranging from guitar hero Nels Cline to the rock band the BellRays. His most recent release is a harsh “hypothetical meeting between trumpeter Fats Navarro and drummer Peeter Uuskyla.”

Representatives of the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society (EMAS)- guitarists Shanté Clair and Seth Davis, harpist Brooke Knoll, bassist and electronics manipulator Aaron Osborne and drummer Evan Verploegh- deferred to their guest. Poor sightlines for the handful of attendees made it unclear which of the musicians adeptly echoed Clucas’ trumpet and violin riffs.

Ideally suited to the informal setting, the gently anarchic and carefully considered chaos might not have fared as well in a conventional jazz club. Thanks in large part to the scrappy persistence of EMAS, Kansas City’s position on the cutting edge of the international jazz map is being reasserted.

Concert Review: Eli Wallace at Stray Cat Film Center

Pity the piano that was delivered to Stray Cat Film Center for a performance by Eli Wallace on Monday, July 24. After enduring a move in extreme heat, the instrument was mercilessly poked and prodded by the Brooklyn based pianist.

Wallace’s 20-minute solo improvisation was as vehemently athletic. The prepared piano attack sounded as if ragtime piano rolls had grown sentient roots and branches after being stored in a dark, wet basement for more than a century. Several people paid $10 to experience the uncommon sounds.

The extraordinary exhibition illuminated only by an exit sign and a red light bulb on the floor was preceded by a brisk improvisation by saxophonist Benjamin Baker, guitarist Seth Davis, multi-instrumentalist Aaron Osborne and drummers Kevin Cheli and Evan Verploegh.

The most transfixing moments transpired when Davis and Cheli joined Wallace. The spell cast by the trio’s considered investigations was broken as the remainder of the ensemble gradually joined the improvisation. The beleaguered piano was buried under a dense heap of noise.

Concert Review: Devin Gray, Maria Elena Silva and EMAS at Firehouse Gallery #8

A downtown art gallery was transformed into an emporium for vital new music on Wednesday, June 21. Nine musicians represented compelling slices of the vanguard of sound in 2023.

The peripatetic drummer Devin Gray’s new release Most Definitely includes a 20-minute homage to free jazz legend Milford Graves. In keeping with that pursuit, his solo outing demonstrated even further possibilities in percussion.  

Segments of his often unhuman attack seemed as if a Jolly Chimp had been infected by an evil strain of artificial intelligence. At other moments his electronically-enhanced performance sounded like an Antifa rally outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 

The noirish music of vocalist and electric guitarist Maria Elena Silva and drummer Scott Dean Taylor evoked the disquieting moments preceding and following bouts of bloodcurdling violence. The unresolved tension was exquisitely excruciating.

Six affiliates of the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society- Drew Williams (saxophone), Seth Davis (guitar), Brook Knoll (harp), Aaron Osborne (electronics and percussion), Krista Kopper (bass) and Evan Verploegh (drums)- built imposing walls of noise.

Davis summoned the pinging of sonar, an effect that prompted thoughts of the ill-fated submarine in the Atlantic Ocean currently dominating the news cycle. The size of the audience may have been negligible, but the import of the music was monumental.

Albums Review: Torches Mauve- Volume One and Volume Two

The recording quality of Volume One and its slightly superior companion Volume Two, albums released by Torches Mauve on February 17, is astounding.  Listeners with good equipment will have the uncanny sensation that they can reach out and touch guitarist Seth Davis and drummer Evan Verploegh.  Whether or not that sonic immediacy is desirable is another matter.  Anyone with an appreciation of noisy jazz-rock guitar innovators like Vernon Reid and Andy Summers will appreciate Davis’ virulent shredding.  Free jazz enthusiasts will find Verploegh’s evocation of drummers such as Ronald Shannon Jackson and Tony Williams similarly invigorating.  Everyone else is likely to be horrified by the sonic proximity to the Kansas City duo’s wild-eyed outbursts.

Album Review: Kyle Hutchins and Seth Andrew Davis- Coaxial

Hundreds of hours of difficult listening have led me to conclude that duo sessions are my favorite category of recordings by the ridiculously prolific members of the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society.  Coaxial, a new album by saxophonist Kyle Hutchins and guitarist/electronics manipulator Seth Andrew Davis, is no exception.  The reduced number of sonic salvos and relative brevity of its eight tracks makes Coaxial the new music equivalent of a crossover pop album.  Davis, a founder of EMAS, toys with severe noise and echoes Jimi Hendrix when he isn’t playing guitar in the percussive style of Joe Morris.  Hutchins builds on the lineage of saxophone innovators including Pharoah Sanders, Evan Parker and Roscoe Mitchell.  In Coaxial, Kansas City has produced another free jazz hit.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*A blogger reviewed Bobby Watson’s concert at Yardley Hall.

*The Defender offers an unconventional perspective of Kansas City’s jazz heyday.

*Seth Davis is characterized as an “improv-aholic” in his appearance on Classical KC’s Sound Currents program.

*A Jackie Myers gig was documented by Joe Dimino.

*Tweet of the Week: NPR Music- For nearly a century, jazz musicians have debated what gives songs that swing feel. The secret may lie in subtle nuances in a soloist's timing. (link)

Faux Fest

I attended a cutting-edge jazz festival in Kansas City on Wednesday, January 4.  What’s that?  You didn’t know about the event?  Well, since Kansas City hasn’t hosted a proper jazz festival in five years, I’ve taken to curating one-night festivals for myself.

On Wednesday I spent five hours at three venues taking in an immensely rewarding blend of touring and locally based artists.  The faux festival got off to a rough start at Westport Coffee House ($10 cover).  When guitarist Seth Andrew Davis thanked members of the audience for attending, the Bay Area keyboardist Scott R. Looney sneered “three people!”

The other musicians seemed to brush off Looney’s disappointment in the turnout.  Looney, Davis and the New York based percussionist Kevin Cheli began by playing what sounded like devilish variations on the cartoon music of Raymond Scott.

Looney, bassist Krista Kopper and drummer Evan Verploegh toyed with extreme dynamics in the second set.  In staving off mere anarchy by holding the center, Kopper was the most valuable contributor to a third set featuring all five musicians.  The first stage of the festival concluded with an improvisation on what may have been an inverse version of Miles Davis’ “All Blues.” 

The second phase of the bespoke festival transpired at Green Lady Lounge ($5 cover).  I joined about 75 revelers for a set by OJT, the popular venue’s de facto house band.  Seated directly behind drummer Sam Platt, my appreciation of the ways in which guitarist Brian Baggett and organist Ken Lovern apply their roots in rock to update the organ jazz trio tradition was strengthened.

Funkadelick headlined the fake fest at the Brick ($10 cover).  Drummer Nikki Glaspie had the night off, so the peripatetic Mike Dillon and Brian Haas, the keyboardist best known for his groundbreaking work with Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, operated as a duo for most of their nearly two-hour set.

Dillon manned his expansive rig like punk-jazz’s answer to Carl Palmer as he and Haas interpreted the entirety of the forthcoming album Inflorescence.  The tandem was later joined in musical roughhousing by guest drummer Arnold Young.  A violent interpolation of the Stooges’ proto-punk classic “I Wanna Be Your Dog” typified the raucous attack.

Drawn to the pocket-size stage like a moth to a flame, I posted up front and center for most of the riveting performance.  The approximately 50 people seated behind me couldn’t have been pleased that I obstructed their sightlines.  I didn’t care.  After all, it was my festival.