An auspicious assemblage of improvisers will convene at the 1900 Building on Wednesday, March 22. Guitarist Bill Frisell, saxophonist Greg Tardy, pianist Gerald Clayton and drummer Johnathan Blake will draw on compositions from their 2022 album Four. Additional information is available here.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Ronald McFadden has died.
*Lawrence Brooks IV highlighted the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra’s outreach programs for KCUR.
*Startland reports on plans for Ruthell’s in the Jazz District.
*Bill Frisell’s concert at the 1900 Building is among KCUR’s March concert recommendations.
*The Pitch checks out Con Chapman’s new book about Kansas City’s jazz history.
*Tweet of the Week: American Jazz Museum- Sending our dearest condolences to the McFadden Family on the loss of Ronald McFadden, the great vocalist, saxophonist and tap dancer. Thanks for your talent and for making us proud. We’ll miss every beat. Rest in Heaven, your family at the American Jazz Museum.
Concert Review: The Hermon Mehari Quartet at the Folly Theater
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Citywide celebrations following the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory in the Super Bowl earlier this month included school cancellations and a parade. Yet the sense of joy throughout Hermon Mehari’s concert at the Folly Theater on Saturday, February 18, may have been an even truer expression of hometown pride.
The evening possessed the giddiness of a high school dance at which Mehari had been elected prom king. The musician’s personal friends seemed to outnumber committed jazz enthusiasts among the more than 600 celebrants. All the better. Monitoring newcomers’ awestruck reactions to Mehari’s outstanding band underscored the excitement.
Even though he didn’t play the electric vibraphone that’s his most distinctive instrument, Peter Schlamb’s statements on piano and acoustic vibraphone were characteristically stupendous. An evocation of McCoy Tyner in a thunderous solo on “Anthem for Independence” awed the unsuspecting audience.
The tactful bassist Rick Rosato was paired with the muscular drummer Zach Morrow. The tandem elevated Mehari’s demonstrative solo on “All Alone” and tenderly accentuated the leader’s gorgeous trumpet work on “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.”
Mehari’s stellar musicianship was matched by his dazzling repertoire. Many of the memorable compositions he and Schlamb have written are admirably unconventional. Explaining that he “dived into my Eritrean heritage” for the 2022 album Asmara, Mehari has clearly come into his own while living in France the past several years.
Mehari told his admirers that while he enjoys life in Paris, Kansas City is never far from his mind. “When I’m there I like to represent Kansas City, he said. “I’m not here, but I’m with you.” That sense of loyalty- along with his prodigious talent- made Mehari’s appearance in the Folly Jazz Series a heartwarming homecoming.
Set list: Call Me Habesha, Tatra, Melsi, All Alone, A Conversation with My Uncle, Eritrea, Anthem for Independence, Call Me Habesha, If I Were a Bell, Awakening, Soul Chant, I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face, Tenafaquit, Shenandoah
Now’s the Time: Adam Larson
The J. Rieger & Co. distillery has revived the legacy of Kansas City’s The Hey! Hey! Club. Jazz is performed at the East Bottoms complex on Thursdays. The outstanding Kansas City based saxophonist Adam Larson is featured on March 2. Larson also performs at Black Dolphin on Saturday, February 25.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Geneva Price, a vocalist best known in recent years as a member of the Wild Women of Kansas City, has died.
*Hermon Mehari chatted with Steve Kraske on KCUR’s Up To Date program.
*Joe Dimino interviewed Jack Mouse and posted footage of performances by Joanna Berkebile and Hermon Mehari.
**Tweet of the Week: Chris Burnett- @KCStar needs to have a weekly Jazz column that actually covers the thriving jazz music scene (businesses, performing artists, educational events, and historical documentation) in the greater KC area. Jazz music is part of the historical DNA of Kansas City. @QuintonLucasKC
*From a press release: (The)“Tribute to Black Composers” concert will be presented at Unity Temple on the Plaza… on Sunday, March 19, at 4 p.m. in conjunction with the 15 and the Mahomies Foundation… (P)erformers include Angela Hagenbach, David Basse, Lori Tucker, and City Light Jazz Orchestra with… JWB... The show… is a history of Black songwriting and publishing in the 20th century. (Tickets are available here.)
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.
Now’s the Time: Trent Austin
The Kansas City trumpeter Trent Austin is featured in the Jazz Winterlude series at Polsky Theatre on Sunday, February 19.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*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)
Are You Going With Me?
Original image of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts by Plastic Sax.
Our long municipal nightmare will soon be over. Pat Metheny is slated to appear at Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Thursday, June 15. The guitarist, one of the most artistically significant and commercially successful musicians to originate from the Kansas City area, will be joined by pianist Chris Fishman and drummer Joe Dyson in the current iteration of the Side-Eye project. Metheny last performed inside the city limits of Kansas City in 2012. His relentless tour schedule has made the drought particularly reprehensible. Welcome back, hometown hero!
Now’s the Time: Hermon Mehari
Two legendary musicians are performing in downtown Kansas City on Saturday, February 18. The rock icon Bruce Springsteen returns to the arena currently known as the T-Mobile Center. The new music innovator Laurie Anderson performs with Filharmonie Brno at Helzberg Hall. Meanwhile, a legend-in-the-making is featured at the Folly Theater. Hermon Mehari, Plastic Sax’s 2009 Person of the Year, is an ascendant star.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*A band led by Hermon Mehari performed for the influential Seattle radio station KEXP.
*Late Night Basie, an all-star reimagining of the music of Count Basie, will be released on April 7.
*Butch Miles, a longtime drummer for the Count Basie Orchestra, has died.
*Tweet of the Week: MidContinent Library- Explore the “golden era” of Kansas City Jazz through historic images and audio recordings with Kent Rausch of the Vine Street Rumble Jazz Orchestra. Learn how unique circumstances in the 1930s and 40s led to an enduring Kansas City legacy….Jazz! Register: (link)
Album Review: Mike Dillon and Punkadelick- Inflorescence
The longstanding radio program Retro Cocktail Hour specializes in the charmingly quaint and amusingly outmoded jazz-based exotica associated with space-age bachelor pads. Mike Dillon, Brian Haas and Nikki Glaspie turn the concept inside-out on Inflorescence. The trio goofs on the ersatz vocalese of Yma Sumac on “Desert Monsoon,” the opening track of the new album, and toys with the French chansons of Édith Piaf on the closing selection “Never Been to Paris.” Everything in between is a wild-eyed percussive romp. The interplay between vibraphonist and longtime Kansas City troublemaker Dillon, keyboardist Haas and drummer Glaspie provides thrilling immediacy. But forget about elaborate cocktails. Fireball shooters from a gas station are a more suitable companion for the proper appreciation of Inflorescence.
Now’s the Time: Logan Richardson
Prior to a four-night stand at The Blue Note in New York City later this month, Logan Richardson is booked for a three-night run at The Ship in Kansas City on Wednesday, February 1, Thursday, February 2, and Friday, February 3. The saxophonist’s show at The Ship in 2022 was Plastic Sax’s Favorite Performance of 2022. The embedded video is a portion of Steve Paul’s documentation of the February 1 set.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Joyce Smith of The Kansas City Star reports that Westport Coffee House, an important cog in Kansas City’s jazz scene, is for sale.
*Radio France looks back on the Kansas City Women’s Jazz Festival.
*An archive recording recently released by Chris Burnett is reviewed at All About Jazz.
*Michael Shults is featured on Steve Kortyka’s YouTube channel.
*Marc Myers shares recently uploaded footage featuring Count Basie.
*Tweet of the Week: Jessica Moulin- Green Lady Lounge is so underrated in Kansas City. I can’t wait to listen to live jazz Friday and then play skee ball at Updown #ilovekc
Concert Review: Oran Etkin at Polsky Theatre
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Oran Etkin resembled Victor Frankenstein at an audacious concert at Polsky Theatre on Sunday, January 22. Manipulating recorded sounds on a laptop while overseeing a mix-and-match quartet, Etkin seemed like a mad scientist teaching an ungainly mutation to hum “Kumbaya, My Lord.”
An explanatory video preceding the concert outlined Etkin’s Open Arms Project. The itinerant idealist’s band delivered a message of social justice and multicultural unity in a concert that refused to recognize national boundaries or musical borders. A gallery of 75 observed the sonic laboratory.
The band embodied Etkins’ inclusive world music philosophy. The multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Etkin, guitarist Vinicius Gomes, bassist Sam Minaie and drummer Alvester Garnett traversed the globe during 80 minutes of improvised music.
The delicate playing of Brazilian guitarist Gomes is heard to great effect on Home, a 2022 duet album with vocalist Song Yi Jeon. Yet the insistent style of Garnett, an American artist best known for his work with Regina Carter and Abbey Lincoln, didn’t always allow Gomes’ soloing room to breathe.
A concept initiated by Minaie, an Iranian-American who has recorded with Tigran Hamasyan, was unceremoniously nixed. Diligent researchers expect unsuccessful trials. The quartet transcended the failed experiments with several inspired moments including an evocation of Eric Dolphy that resounded like a priceless breakthrough.
Now’s the Time: Jack Wright
Jack Wright is a free jazz warhorse. The saxophonist has specialized in improvised noise for more than 40 years. Wright will perform with his frequent collaborator Ron Stabinsky and members of the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society at Charlotte Street Foundation on Tuesday, January 31.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Paula Saunders, Amber Underwood and Angela Ward anticipate a cultural exchange in Chile in a television news report.
*Hermon Mehari looks forward to his performance in the Folly Jazz Series in a Kansas City magazine feature.
*Following a month-long stoppage, The Blue Room reopens with a jam session led by Matt Villinger on Monday, January 30.
*The Pitch relays an update from Chaz on the Plaza.
*Jakob Baekgaard composed an overview of Mary Lou Williams’ career for All About Jazz.
*Portions of the Miguel Zenón Quartet’s concert at the Folly Theater were captured by Joe Dimino.
*Tweet of the Week: Green Lady Lounge- In 2022, Green Lady Lounge & Black Dolphin musicians earned $942,582.81 in performance pay & credit card tips from fans. By the merit of their performances & demand from fans, these Kansas City jazz musicians showed their success & robust viability in the free market.
Concert Review: The Miguel Zenón Quartet at the Folly Theater
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Miguel Zenón substantiated the scores of accolades he’s received in the past two decades with a stunning three-minute unaccompanied alto saxophone solo soon after his quartet’s concert at the Folly Theater began on Friday, January 20. The majestic statement by the 2008 recipient of the MacArthur Foundation’s so-called genius grant encompassed everything that ever has been and everthing that ever will be in acoustic jazz.
Aside from a lovely reading of “El Vida es Sueno” that served as an encore, the entirety of the 90-minute performance consisted of material from the Grammy-nominated 2022 album Música De Las Américas. Zenón’s third Kansas City appearance possessed a dangerously high degree of intensity. Even the most committed Zenón fans amid the audience of about 200 might have felt no less drained at the conclusion of the Folly Jazz Series presentation than bruised and battered punk rockers after an evening spent in a mosh pit.
Zenón, pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Luca Alemanno and drummer Henry Cole didn’t offer any conciliatory platitudes. Burning like a regenerated Charlie Parker steeped in Puerto Rican traditions rather than Kansas City blues, Zenón is among the planet’s most indispensable musicians. The quartet’s rhythmic machinations caused much of the second set to resemble a cerebral form of salsa. Their performance wasn’t merely great. It was unadulterated genius.
Now’s the Time: Oran Etkin
Multi-instrumentalist Oran Etkin is joined by four of the world’s best musicians in the embedded video. His accompanists for a concert at Polsky Theatre on Sunday, January 22, will include the extraordinary guitarist Vinicius Gomes and the accomplished bassist Sam Minaie.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*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)