Concert Review: Brad Mehldau and Christian McBride at Muriel Kauffman Theatre

A popular meme pictures a man at a table displaying a sign with a provocative statement followed by the words “change my mind.” Were I inclined to share social media posts of that nature, my version would proclaim “Brad Mehldau and Christian McBride are the best musicians alive.”

The duo’s recital at Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Thursday, October 10, indicated the pianist and bassist perform at a markedly higher level than everyone else. An audience of more than 400 were on hand for the magnificent display of genius. (I paid $43.50 for the least expensive ticket.)

In spite of his explorations of other genres, McBride is a traditionalist at heart. Mehldau catered to McBride’s conservative inclinations on interpretations of works by Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Burt Bacharach and Jule Styne.

McBride’s monumental solo reading of “Fly Me to the Moon” was countered by Mehldau’s unaccompanied rendition of Fred McDowell’s “Jesus on the Mainline.” Mehldau also got to be Mehldau in an exquisite take on his composition “Love is Fragile” that included a distressed allusion to “America the Beautiful.”

The balance of contrasting styles was perfect. Having recently read his autobiography, I know Mehldau loves playing standards. Of the three times I’ve seen Mehldau and the seven times I’ve caught McBride, neither giant has sounded better. Change my mind.

Now’s the Time: Saxsquatch

Saxsquatch is an outlandish novelty act. A person in a bigfoot-esque costume plays Boney James-ish saxophone over electronic beats. recordBar hosts Saxsquatch on Sunday, October 19.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The Jeff Shirley Trio is featured in the most recent episode of Kansas Public Radio’s Live at Green Lady Lounge program.

*Joe Dimino shared clips of Just a Taste of Jazz at the Blue Room.

Past Due Bill

I opted for the season opener of the Folly Jazz Series over the revived KC Jazz & Blues Festival on Saturday, October 5. Several people have insisted an explanation is in order. My decision was based on equal parts money and art.

The festival would have put me back $89.50 ($69.50 for the least expensive ticket and $20 parking at the baseball stadium hosting the event). I paid $30 for the cheapest ticket to Pete Escovedo’s concert at the Folly Theater. I found a free parking spot on a nearby street.

Familiarity also played a role in my choice. Bill Frisell- the crown jewel of the festival’s lineup- comes through Kansas City regularly. Stanley Clarke, the de facto headliner, played a free concert in Kansas City in 2019. 

I don’t care for the music of the festival’s closing act Karl Denson. As for the locally based professional musicians in the festival lineup, I’ve heard every one of them at least once in recent months.

I’ve only seen Escovedo perform as a member of Santana at the Uptown Theater in the 1970s. Escovedo’s octet played low-stakes Latin jazz for an audience of more than 200 on Saturday. The vibes were good, but missing Frisell feels bad.

Now’s the Time: Christian McBride

A fortuitous confluence of personal favorites, a celebrity newsmaker and a concert date made posting the embedded video seem mandatory today. Jeffrey Osborne, the R&B luminary responsible for my fourth favorite concert of 2024, appears on Christian McBride’s latest big band album. Osborne and McBride revisited LTD’s 1977 hit “(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again” on Jimmy Kimmel’s program two days ago. McBride performs with Brad Mehldau at Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Thursday, October 9.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Joe Dimino provided footage of performances at the Kansas City Jazz & Blues Festival.

*Kelley Gant’s talent as a whistler was featured on KCUR.

*Jaylen Ward participated in an interview.

Concert Review: Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda and Antonio Sánchez at Helzberg Hall

Longing for Sunday morning serenity, I was slapped by Saturday night dissipation at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Mondays can be like that.

I’d hoped BEATrio- banjoist Béla Fleck, harpist Edmar Castañeda and drummer Antonio Sánchez- would focus on thoughtful meditations on Monday, September 29. Instead, much of the 100-minute set was dedicated to aggressive fusion.

The audience of more than 500 in Helzberg Hall heard a five-minute Sanchez solo, Castañeda’s unwelcome invocation of New Age luminary Andreas Vollenweider and Fleck’s flashy rendering of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Extended showboating by virtuosos who know better was disappointing. Still, the $37.50 I spent on a ticket in the rafters wasn’t wasted. Fleck’s music has been a through line in my life for more than forty years. He’s worth hearing even at his gaudiest.

As when I last attended a Fleck concert in 2021, the volume was disarmingly hushed. Unlike in Portland, however, hippies behaved, allowing appreciation of the crisp sound field. And there were several fleeting moments of quiet beauty.

I may have yearned for more of the kind of spiritual solace Fleck displayed on the transcendent 1996 cross-genre collaboration Tabula Rasa. Even so, I don’t regret hearing three elite musicians show off on a Monday.

Now’s the Time: Stanley Clarke

Less than 300 people attended Stanley Clarke’s free 2019 concert in Kansas City. The bassist is the de facto jazz headliner at the KC Blues & Jazz Festival at Legends Field on Saturday, October 4. Clarke’s recent Tiny Desk Concert proves he merits a much bigger draw.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Joe Dimino shared footage of a fundraiser for Arnold Young at Westport Coffee House.

*The proprietor of Cafe 333, a new establishment at 333 Southwest Boulevard, plans to feature live jazz.

EP Review: Prism Quartet- El Eco de un Tambor

Thousands of jazz fans are rightfully impressed by Miguel Zenón’s Vanguardia Subterrania. The live recording is among the year’s best mainstream jazz albums. Fewer observers have taken notice of the equally phenomenal El Eco de Un Tambor. Zenón composed the seven-part suite for Prism Quartet. The chamber music group with longstanding ties to Kansas City recalls the halcyon days of the 29th Street Saxophone Quartet and the World Saxophone Quartet on the 22-minute recording. Elegant but never dainty, El Eco de un Tambor may be a cross-genre classic.

Now’s the Time: The People’s Liberation Big Band

When it held a monthly residency at recordBar approximately 15 years ago, The People’s Liberation Big Band was among the most interesting ensembles in Kansas City. A reassembled version of the big band performs at the venue’s Play Loud festival on Saturday, September 27.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Nina Cherry interviewed the organizer of the KC Blues & Jazz Festival.

*In Kansas City magazine highlights Jazz in the Valley at Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley.

Album Review: Jeff Shirley- Trio Live at Green Lady Lounge

Someone shouts “yeah” throughout Jeff Shirley’s new album Trio Live at Green Lady Lounge. The exclamation expresses what the audience was surely feeling as the guitarist’s album was recorded on March 11, 2025. The feel-good exuberance of Shirley, bassist Seth Lee and drummer Antonio Reyes merits gleeful hollering. The trio evokes the bubbly optimism of George Benson’s commercial heyday and the melodic cheerfulness of prime Larry Carlton on fusion-leaning tracks, straight-ahead compositions and crossover-oriented pieces. Trio Live at Green Lady Lounge will be released on compact disc and to streaming services Friday, October 3. The release party takes place from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 7, at Green Lady Lounge.

Now’s the Time: Devin Gray

The innovative percussionist Devin Gray’s 2023 appearance in Kansas City was stunning. Gray returns to town on Wednesday, September 24, for a gig at the Ship. Representatives of Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society will also be on hand.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The most recent installment of Kansas Public Radio’s weekly Live at Green Lady Lounge program features Stanley Sheldon’s Rhythm Republic.

Album Review: Seth Andrew Davis, Michael Unruh and Kevin Cheli- Lowland

Wichita has entered the chat. The metropolis 200 miles southwest of Kansas City is rarely recognized as a center of musical innovation. Lowland should move the needle in new music circles.

Recorded in Wichita on December 15, 2023, the album is representative of the elite improvisation currently emanating from Stan Kenton’s hometown. Lowland features bass clarinetist Michael Unruh and was engineered by guitarist David Lord. The pair of Wichita based artists are joined by percussionist Kevin Cheli and Kansas City’s Seth Andrew Davis.

“Combustible” explodes in spectacular new directions after eight shape-shifting minutes. The trepidatious “Basin” resembles the score of a slasher flick while portions of “Mounds” sound like the prog-rock cult heroes Van der Graaf Generator at a Ken Kesey acid test.

The unruly closing track “Flint” is a radio-friendly five minutes long. Even though radio stations in Wichita are unlikely to add it to their rotations, “Flint” is a representative entry point for curious listeners willing to sample the uncommon textures the trio produces.

Now’s the Time: Bob Brookmeyer

Hours after publishing a book review of a new study about Bob Brookmeyer in which I suggest the late Kansas City native is "virtually unknown” in his hometown, I learned of an impending tribute to Brookmeyer. The event will be held at the Blue Room at 2 p.m. Sunday, September 14. The event isn’t listed on the Blue Room’s calendar, but a flyer with additional details can be found on Facebook.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The Kansas City jazz musicians Harry Miller and Ed Pharr have died.

*A representative of the Topeka Jazz Workshop promoted the organization’s new season on a television news segment.

*Joe Dimino shared footage of the Prairie Village Jazz Festival and interviewed Mike Parkinson.

Book Review: On the Way to the Sky: Remembering Bob Brookmeyer, by Michael Stephans

Has a rabid enthusiast ever attempted to persuade you to share his obsession? In the case of Michael Stephans’ literary proselytization of Bob Brookmeyer, the zealot manages to wear down readers with equal parts mania and supporting facts.

Stephans’ On the Way to the Sky: Remembering Bob Brookmeyer is pure hagiography. The author may not possess an iota of impartiality but he makes a convincing case that the Kansas City native merits a higher profile. 

Brookmeyer and his valve trombone were pictured on the cover of DownBeat magazine multiple times in the 1960s. Yet the standing of Brookmeyer, born in Kansas City in 1929, began to fade even prior to his death in 2011.

Brookmeyer’s exemplary artistic evolution combined with the precipitous decline in the popularity of jazz makes him virtually unknown in his hometown outside of jazz cognoscenti. Stephans is on a crusade to raise Brookmeyer’s profile.

His new study published by the University of North Texas Press consists of unalloyed idolatry. For instance, Stephans equates Brookmeyer to Johann Sebastian Bach and insists he’s “in the pantheon of the most original jazz soloists of all time” on the eleventh page of his study.

Decades before becoming Brookmeyer’s intimate friend and frequent collaborator, Stephans admits he played air trombone while listening to Brookmeyer recordings as a teenager. He comes by his hero worship naturally.

An informal compendium of recollections, recording analyses, interviews and press clippings, On the Way to the Sky resembles the outburst of an excitable chatterbox. Yet Stephans’ over-the-top enthusiasm is contagious.

He compelled me to immerse myself in Brookmeyer’s discography. I’d pigeonholed Brookmeyer as a hard-swinging associate of Al Cohn, Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan and as a respected arranger for the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra.

Thanks to Stephans, I discovered stunning works ranging from the 1960 “folk jazz” experiment Western Suite to the synthesizer-laden 1994 album Electricity. And how did I not know about The Ivory Hunters, a 1959 album on which Brookmeyer holds his own on piano paired with Bill Evans?

On the Way to the Sky may be a mix-and-match grab-bag of a book, but as a stimulus to a fuller appreciation of Brookmeyer, it’s literary masterpiece.

Now’s the Time: Krystle Warren

Krystle Warren headlines the KKFI Crossroads Music Fest on Saturday, September 6. The New Orleans-style brass band Sass-a-Brass aside, Warren is the most jazz-oriented artist among the more than thirty acts on the bill. Nina Cherry reports Warren will be accompanied by Mike Stover.