The Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra, one of the region’s most robust party bands, performs at Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park in Lenexa, Kansas, on Sunday, September 15. The ensemble interprets a classic Tito Puente selection in the embedded video.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*The Danny Embrey Trio is featured on the most recent episode of Kansas Public Radio’s Live at Green Lady Lounge.
*Joe Dimino shared footage of the Prairie Village Jazz Festival.
Grading the 2024-25 Folly Jazz Series
Original image by Plastic Sax.
A spate of recent announcements continued a familiar pattern. Several prominent touring jazz artists will soon perform in Austin, Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and St. Louis while passing over Kansas City. In spite of those disappointments, the assessments that follow address only what’s presented in the invariably unadventurous bookings of the Folly Jazz Series rather than bemoan the absence of speculative alternatives.
Karrin Allyson
Saturday, September 21
Grade: A
The New York based Kansas City vocalist Karrin Allyson is touring in support of the fine new album A Kiss for Brazil. What’s not to like about her homecoming?
Benny Benack III, Stella Cole and Jabu Graybeal
Saturday, October 26
Grade: D
The grouping of Benny Benack III, Stella Cole and Jabu Graybeal should be a glorious night for people who miss Jerry Vale and Dinah Shore.
The Yellowjackets
Saturday, January 25
Grade: C
Based on the fluffy fusion band’s repeated bookings, The Yellowjackets must be money in the bank for the Folly Jazz Series.
säje
Friday, February 28
Grade: B
säje, the quartet of vocalists Erin Bentlage, Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick and Amanda Taylor, alternate between delicate chamber folk and deft vocalese.
Branford Marsalis
Saturday, March 15
Grade: A
Presumably performing with his longstanding quartet, Branford Marsalis’ appearance is the artistic apogee of the season.
Helen Sung with Bach Aria Soloists
Saturday, April 5
Grade: A
The pairing of jazz pianist Helen Sung and the Kansas City chamber music ensemble Bach Aria Soloists is inspired.
An assessment of the previous Folly Jazz Series engagements is here.
Now’s the Time: The New Red Onion Jazz Babies
Kansas City’s Dixieland institution The New Red Onion Jazz Babies perform at Old Mission United Methodist Church on Sunday, September 8. The afternoon concert is presented by K.C. Ragtime and Beyond.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Harold O’Neal and Dr. Dina Bennett praised Charlie Parker in a television news report.
*The American Jazz Museum offers a new Charlie Parker-related souvenir.
*From a press release: Verve Records announces Bird in Kansas City, an album featuring a new set of rare recordings dating from between 1941-1951, to be released globally on October 25, 2024 on vinyl, CD, and digitally and available to pre-order here. Much of this collection has never been heard before and some recordings have never even been known to exist… To celebrate the announcement of Bird in Kansas City, the first track, “Cherokee,” is available now. Listen & watch the visualizer "Cherokee". Chuck Haddix — scholar and author of Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker, who also produced and wrote liner notes for this album — says, “‘Ray Noble’s ‘Cherokee’ was one of Bird's favorite songs.
Album Review: OJT- Ground Level
What’s the best American band of the last 75 years? Variations of the question frequently pop up in barrooms and internet forums. Acceptable responses range from Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet to Creedence Clearwater Revival. The correct answer, however, is Booker T. & the MGs.
The three members of OJT- organist Ken Lovern, guitarist Brian Baggett and drummer Kenny Watson Jr.- display their affinity for the legendary Memphis group on the new album Ground Level. “Loose Space” is an interpolation of “Time Is Tight” while the title of “Baggy Blues Jeans” may allude to Booker T. & the MGs’ “Hip Hug-Her”.
The jazz filter OJT applies to the framework of timeless soul amplifies the profoundly groovy sound. Their ten-minute “It’s Not That Bad” touches on the history of organ jazz from Jimmy Smith to Medeski, Martin & Wood. The inclusion of the colossal performance makes Ground Level the year’s most robust Kansas City party album.
(Ground Level will be be available at streaming services on September 6. Green Lady Lounge hosts a vinyl and CD release party on Wednesday, October 2.)
Now's the Time: The Prairie Village Jazz Festival
Adam Larson headlines The Prairie Village Jazz Festival on Saturday, September 7. Pete Fucinaro, Back Alley Brass Band, Sons of Brasil and an ensemble representing Shawnee Mission East High School round out the bill. The embedded video features the Kansas City based saxophonist in instructional mode.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*The Kansas City Star notes the schedule of a new dueling piano bar includes a weekly jazz matinee.
*Joe Dimino interviewed Cynthia van Roden and filmed portions of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra’s tribute to Charlie Parker.
Album Review: Alber- Born at Sea
Alber’s elaborate presentation at the Charlotte Street Foundation on May 23 is among the most memorable of the more than 100 concerts, recitals, festivals and club performances I’ve attended in 2024. The ambition and imagination displayed by the Italian-born Kansas City resident were astounding. The spectacle raised the bar for all Kansas City musicians. Thankfully, the multi-media event is documented on video and on the new album Born at Sea. Not every segment of the project the trumpeter, composer and bandleader characterizes as an homage to “the immersive landscapes of the Southern Italian coastline” qualifies as jazz, but the entirety of Born at Sea is compatible with the inventive spirit of the form.
Now’s the Time: Harold O’Neal
The American Jazz Museum closes August with three performances by pianist Harold O'Neal. The pianist with deep Kansas City roots performs at the Jay McShann Pavilion on Thursday, August 29, with Dan Thomas at the Blue Room on Friday, August 30, and with Logan Richardson at the Blue Room on Saturday, August 31.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*The fall jazz recital series at Johnson County Community College was recently announced. Participants include Rod Fleeman, Chris Hazelton and Paganova.
*The Kansas City Star reports that Soirée is closing. The Jazz District restaurant regularly featured live jazz performances.
Album Review: Eboni Fondren- The Journey: To Kansas City with Love
Eboni Fondren laments she was “born in the wrong decade” on the opening selection of her new album. Consistent with the nostalgic sentiment, the vocalist basks in a throwback form of jazz on The Journey: To Kansas City with Love.
Fondren recalls her apprenticeship with the organist Everette DeVan on the autobiographical introductory song. Fondren’s vibrant personality and rich voice have since become widely admired. Kansas City standouts including James Albright, Chris Hazelton and Mark Lowrey help Fondren realize her vision on the live recording made at the Uptown Lounge.
Contemporary accents such as the prominent electric bass on “Angel Eyes” don’t detract from her old-school sensibility. Fondren originals like the Broadway-ready “Hollow” hold their own alongside the standards “Satin Doll,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “Angel Eyes.”
The album is an agreeable amalgamation of the bluesy form of jazz associated with Kansas City. Fondren aptly subtitled the album “To Kansas City with Love.” The feeling is mutual in the storied jazz town.
Now's the Time: Smith and Jessen
The experimental Nebraska improvisors Kyle Jessen and Phill Smith perform at Charlotte Street Foundation on Wednesday, August 21. Representatives of the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society will also be on hand. Jessen is featured in the embedded video.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image of an artifact displayed at the Disney100: The Exhibition at Union Station by Plastic Sax.
Album Review: Peter Schlamb- Pliable Consciousness
The jazz community in Kansas City is a victim of negligence. Although it was released in February, Plastic Sax only recently stumbled upon Pliable Consciousness, the latest missive from Peter Schlamb. The excellence of the 22-minute recording compounds the oversight.
The vibraphonist, composer and bandleader has perfected the distinctive approach first documented on Tinks in 2014. The production of Pliable Consciousness is crisper and the guest artists- Hermon Mehari, Mike Moreno and Logan Richardson- are even more inspiring.
Schlamb has long been indifferent to self-promotion. Even so, managing to keep the superlative Pliable Consciousness a secret is a feat. The fact that Pliable Consciousness hasn’t received a smidgen of notice elsewhere doesn’t excuse Plastic Sax’s failure to keep tabs on one of Kansas City’s preeminent artists. I apologize.
Now’s the Time: Tatsuya Nakatani
Tatsuya Nakatani may be the only touring avant-garde improviser who regularly includes Kansas City on his itineraries. The percussionist will be joined by the locally based musicians Shawn Hansen, Jeff Harshbarger and Mike Stover at Grand Avenue Temple on Friday, August 9.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Kansas City magazine highlights three Spotlight: Charlie Parker events.
*A recent review of his new album Paganova suggests Michael Pagán is “a true magician”.
*From a press release: Jazz St. Louis is thrilled to announce Jazz St. Louis Presents Paquito D'Rivera and Chucho Valdés, Together Again!, a two-night fundraising event featuring Cuban jazz legends Paquito D'Rivera and Chucho Valdés Sept. 18-19, 2024 in St. Louis. Longtime friends and collaborators, the two renowned performers have a combined 29 GRAMMY Awards and Latin GRAMMY Awards between them. D'Rivera and Valdés will each perform both nights, with the first event taking place Sept. 18, 2024, at Steward Center, the home of Jazz St. Louis in Grand Center. The second night will happen Sept. 19, 2024, at The Sheldon, a larger venue to allow more St. Louisans to experience the legendary musicians… Details are available here.
Album Review: Pat Metheny- MoonDial
As with 2003’s One Quiet Night and 2011’s What’s It All About, Pat Metheny’s new album features the Lee’s Summit native working unaccompanied on baritone guitar. MoonDial is as rapturously beautiful, unflaggingly elegant and wonderfully restorative as its antecedents.
Metheny characterizes MoonDial as “a dusk-to-sunrise record, hard-core mellow.” Yet MoonDial isn’t altogether sedate. “Shōga” possesses the forward momentum of Metheny’s most popular compositions. And Metheny’s interpretations of Beatles songs- in this instance “Here, There and Everywhere”- are invariably arresting.
Devotees of Pat Metheny greet every release as additions to their extended families. Due to the artist’s admirable unpredictability, a bit of trepidation accompanies the arrival of a new album. The curative MoonDial will be hailed as an immediate favorite that’s likely to remain in the permanent rotations of fans.
Now’s the Time: Ernest Melton
The shape-shifting Kansas City saxophonist Ernest Melton performs at the fashionable dance club In the Lowest Ferns on Thursday, August 1, and leads the weekly jam session at the Blue Room on Monday, August 5. Melton tackles Jimi Hendrix in the embedded video.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*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.