Concert Review: Pat Metheny and Side-Eye at Muriel Kauffman Theatre

A conversation with two strangers who sat next to me at Pat Metheny’s concert at Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Saturday, April 4, quickly turned to prog-rock. (Each of us paid $60.50 for seats in the upper balcony.) Although the men were less than half my age, they expressed a passion for bands rooted in the 1970s including Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Rush.

Partly for that reason, I experienced Metheny’s performance as an extension of the extravagant prog-rock and jazz fusion traditions. The five human musicians- Lee’s Summit native Metheny, keyboardist Chris Fishman, bassist Jermaine Paul, percussionist and vocalist Leonard Patton and drummer Joe Dyson- played with explosive vigor. Automatonic vibraphones might be considered a sixth player.

The set list included readings of much-loved proggish anthems including “The First Circle” “Are You Going With Me?” and “Phase Dance.” Interpretations of material from the new album Side-Eye III+ such as “In On It” and “Make a New World” furthered the concept. Patches of greasy organ jazz, pastoral folk, skronky harmolodics and classical guitar were also heard during the 130-minute concert.

Much of the banter among the departing crowd speculated on precisely how the robotic vibraphones were triggered. Artificial intelligence is a reasonable explanation, but I’m partial to a quality I characterize as “Metheny magic.” On Saturday, the most wondrous aspect of that magic was Metheny’s ability to make prog-rock and jazz fusion more vital than ever.

Now’s the Time: Anat Cohen

Anat Cohen will play the role of Benny Goodman during her appearance with The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra at the Folly Theater on Saturday, April 11. The performance is an homage to a famed 1938 concert at Carnegie Hall. The embedded video features Cohen in a very different context.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Norman Brown chats with WBGO’s Pat Prescott.

*Joe Dimino interviewed Brian Haas about the musician’s latest collaboration with Mike Dillon.

*A television news report is intended to highlight Jazz Appreciation Month.

*From a press release: Spotlight: Charlie Parker 2026 will return this June for its 14th annual, summer‑long celebration honoring legendary jazz icon Charlie “Bird” Parker on what would have been his 106th birthday. The annual program celebrates Parker’s enduring legacy and global impact on jazz through concerts, jam sessions, historic tours, lectures, exhibits, panel discussions, workshops, and performances… Event details will be released throughout the summer at KC Jazz Alive.

Album Review: Allison, Cardenas & Nash- Triological

The turbulence of the times occasionally makes me yearn for the contemplative life of Buddhist and Trappist monks. Having missed that calling, I regularly console myself with recordings possessing spiritually restorative properties. Triological, the fifth album by the trio of bassist Ben Allison, guitarist and Kansas City native Steve Cardenas and saxophonist Ted Nash, is one such offering. The set of ten ravishing miniatures is imbued with stately dignity. Relaxed and self-assured, the refined use of space and precise articulation resembles the efficacious prayers of holy men.

Now’s the Time: Pat Metheny

Spoiler alert: don’t partake of the embedded fan footage if you’d prefer to take in Pat Metheny’s return to Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Saturday, April 4, without any expectations or biases. The surreptitiously filmed document divulges a taste of what’s in store for hometown fans.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Matt Hopper’s trio is featured in the most recent episode of Kansas Public Radio’s Live at Green Lady Lounge program.

Album Review: Clovis Nicolas- Blues in Blueprint: 12 Variations on the Blues

A musician who manages to recruit keyboardist Larry Goldings and the Kansas City based drummer Carl Allen to play on a recording date should be prepared to play the blues. That’s precisely what Clovis Nicolas does on Blues in Blueprint: 12 Variations on the Blues. 

As the title indicates, the new album by the Abidjan-born bassist contains a dozen blues-based selections. The opening track is like catnip for listeners in Kansas City. The reading of “Old Stack O’Lee Blues” is squarely in the tradition of Count Basie and Jay McShann.

Known primarily as an organist, Goldings excels on piano throughout Blues in Blueprint. Allen, as always, operates as a well-oiled swing machine. Nicolas holds his own in the trio as he generously allows his colleagues to shine.

Goldings runs rampant on “The Double Nickel.” Allen demonstrates his tasteful mastery on “Hutch.” While Blues in Blueprint mostly stays close to home, “Ramblin’” ventures into shallow left field.

In addition to the classic Kansas City sound, the album touches on blues styles associated with locales such as Chicago, New York City, Paris and Philadelphia from different eras of jazz history. Blues in Blueprint is an edifying and entertaining tour.

Now’s the Time: Mark Turner

A band of all-stars performs at the Folly Theater on Sunday, March 29. Unfortunately, Mark Turner, Sean Jones, Kurt Rosenwinkel, John Beasley, Ben Williams and Terreon Gully will be hamstrung by an unpromising format. The concert is billed as “Unlimited Miles: Miles Davis at 100.” Consequently, the audience isn’t likely to hear material from Turner’s formidable new album Patternmaster.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Reed Jackson reviewed Bill Frisell’s appearance at Atkins Auditorium.

Now’s the Time: Bill Frisell

Bill Frisell, one of very few top-tier touring jazz musicians who regularly perform in the Kansas City area, returns to Atkins Auditorium on Saturday, March 21. “When Film Meets Guitar,” the guitarist’s collaboration with Bill Morrison, is presented by the Harriman-Jewell Series.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Recent episodes of Kansas Public Radio’s weekly Live at Green Lady Lounge program feature ensembles led by Jeff Shirley, Alex Abramovitz and Tim Whitmer.

Album Review: Drew Williams Trio- Demons Hate Fresh Air

Drew Williams saves his listeners a lot of speculative rumination. Rather than guessing at the Kansas City musician’s inspirations for his three-month-old release Demons Hate Fresh Air, Williams provided a syllabus for the album in which he reveals the film, literature and music that informed the recording. 

He cites albums by Michael Blake, Ornette Coleman, Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, Andy Shauf and Thom Yorke in the latter category. The stylistic diversity lends invigorating unpredictability to Demons Hate Fresh Air.

Collaborating with bassist Ben Tervort and drummer Brian Steever- the reigning Plastic Sax Person of the Year- Williams honors his jazz heroes by transcending genre. His cohorts demonstrate their elite chops on knotty selections such as Coleman’s “Street Woman.” 

The innovative “Green Girl” seems ready-made for 2036. The insinuating “Fix Your Heart (or Die)”- a holdover from Williams’ Live at Weights and Measures album- indicates he’s a standout composer. “Bend Your Ear” is similarly insinuating. The album closes with an effective reading of Yorke’s "Dawn Chorus".

Plastic Sax ranked the album release show for Demons Hate Fresh Air the second-best performance by a Kansas City artist in 2025. Anyone not at Stray Cat Film Center last December 4 needn’t feel left out. The album continues provides an equally memorable experience.

Now’s the Time: Cyrille Aimée

The French pop-jazz artist Cyrille Aimée returns to the Folly Theater on Saturday, March 14. Plastic Sax reviewed her Kansas City debut in 2018.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*From a press release: Kansas City Jazz Orchestra Artistic Director Clint Ashlock today announced the next concert for the 2025-2026 Signature Series, Benny Goodman Live at Carnegie Hall, for one performance on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 7 p.m. at Kansas City’s historic Folly Theatre… Featuring pre-eminent clarinetist, saxophonist and band leader Anat Cohen, KCJO will re-create a groundbreaking 1938 Carnegie Hall concert that marked a significant turning point, altering the direction of big-band jazz music, and becoming one of the most popular collections of live music ever produced... For Tickets and more information: kcjo.org/tickets.

Album Review: Pat Metheny- Side-Eye III+

Pat Metheny has been leagues ahead of all but a few musicians throughout his extensive career. Recent developments in electronic music, hyperpop and artificial intelligence now allow humans without Metheny’s daring intellect better shots at catching up.

His admirers might use Side-Eye III+, the Lee’s Summit native’s new album, as a blueprint of how musicians can use cutting-edge technology to lift the spirits of human souls and perhaps, inspire robotic mechanisms to commiserate with their flesh-and-blood counterparts.

The forty-five second breakdown beginning around the 6:30 mark of the opening track “In On It” is emblematic of Metheny’s aptitude for futurism. Members of a celestial choir are among the elements vacuumed into a sonic black hole.

Side-Eye III+ isn’t exclusively dedicated to glitchy Aphex Twin-style effects. Keyboardist Chris Fishman and drummer Joe Dyson are among more than a dozen musicians making tried-and-true Metheny signatures seem even bigger and bolder. 

“Don’t Look Down” is characterized by fist-pumping razzle dazzle. “Urban and Western” sounds as if Metheny programmed his proto-AI Orchestrion device to create a mashup of Ray Charles and Carole King. The organ trio jam “SE-O” resembles a sweat-stained sport coat accessorized with baubles, bangles and beads.

The sentimental melody of “Make a New World” is a throwback to the sort of television show theme song Bob James might have composed in the 1970s. Yet as its title suggests, Metheny continues to look ahead. The future is now and Side-Eye III+ is its soundtrack.

Now’s the Time: Arturo O’Farrill

Arturo O'Farrill headlines the Jazz Winterlude festival at Johnson County Community College on Sunday, March 7. The complete schedule for the two-day event is here.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*A recap of KC Winter Jazzfest was published by 90.9 The Bridge.

*Joe Dimino interviewed David Basse.

*Mary Lou Williams is one of twenty women recognized in an In Kansas City magazine feature.

Festival Review: KC Winter Jazzfest

The hand-scrawled sign at the entrance of KC Winter Jazzfest is an accurate representation of the event that took place in the West Bottoms on Sunday, February 22. Organic, DIY and sincere, the purity of the miniature festival was endearing.

I took in three-and-a-half hours of the scheduled thirteen-hour event in the space best known at Cap Gun Studios. Marcus Lewis, the festival’s gregarious organizer, told attendees that his intention was for “all the musicians (to) come together and play music for each other.”

In fact, the upbeat atmosphere resembled a clubhouse for Kansas City’s jazz musicians. About fifty musicians and approximately two dozen curious civilians shuffled between two stopgap stages during my time in the loft. I paid a $35 admission fee at the door.

Separate sets by saxophonists Pete Fucinaro and Matt Otto were incendiary. Trumpeter Nate Nall and saxophonist Matt Baldwin paid homage to the early work of Donald Byrd. Amber Underwood (aka Flutienastiness) and the Deshtet (led by rapper and trombonist Kadesh Flow) played crossover forms of jazz.

Lewis spoke between sets about ambitious plans for the future of the festival. While the prospect for expansion is exciting, I’ll harbor fond memories of the slapdash tone and uncommon innocence of the inaugural edition of KC Winter Jazzfest.

Now’s the Time: Matt Von Roderick

Locally based musicians usually fill in when Lonnie McFadden, the titular musician of Lonnie’s Reno Club, takes a night off. Every so often a touring artist appears at the supper club. Matt Von Roderick, a crooner and trumpeter from Los Angeles, entertains at Lonnie’s Reno Club on Thursday, February 26.