Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Jazzy B’s Diner, a Lee’s Summit establishment that occasionally hosts jazz performances, is featured in The Kansas City Star.

The Top 25 Kansas City Jazz Albums of the Past 25 Years

Despite enduring constant turbulence during the first 25 years of the new millennium, Kansas City’s jazz musicians never ceased creating timeless art. The following list highlights a fraction of the vital recordings released since 2000. The recency bias on display reflects Plastic Sax’s founding in 2007 as well as the uptick in the quantity and quality of releases in recent years. A corresponding non-jazz albums ranking is here.

1. Peter Schlamb- Tinks (2004)
2. Logan Richardson- Shift (2016)
3. Bobby Watson- Back Home in Kansas City (2022)
4. Hermon Mehari- Asmara (2022)
5. Bob Bowman- Songs for Sandra (2014)
6. Pat Metheny- Orchestrion (2010)
7. Ahmad Alaadeen- And the Beauty of It All (ASR 2007)
8. Karrin Allyson- Imagina: Songs of Brasil (2008)
9. Steve Cardenas- Panoramic (2002)
10. Mike Dillon- Inflorescence (2023)

11. Deborah Brown- Songbird (2003)
12. Adam Larson- With Love, From Kansas City (2022)
13. Myra Taylor- My Night to Dream (2001)
14. Matt Otto and Ensemble Ibérica- Ibérica (2017)
15. The People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City- The People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City (2010)
16. Kevin Mahogany- Pride & Joy (2002)
17. Micah Herman- The Ship, Vol. 1: The Studio Sessions (2011)
18. EMAS Quartet- EMS (2022)
19. Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle- Kings & Queens (2016)
20. Rod Fleeman Trio- Saturday Afternoon Live at Green Lady Lounge, Volume 3 (2024)

21. Alaturka- Tamam Abi (2010)
22. Betty Bryant- Lotta Livin' (2024)
23. Everette DeVan- For the Love of You (2014)
24. Gregory Hickman-Williams- Passages (2006)
25. Marcus Lewis Big Band- Brass and Boujee (2018)

Now’s the Time: Sachal Vasandani

The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra will be joined by vocalist Sachal Vasandani at the Folly Theater on Friday, October 11. The slick crooner interprets the standard “Unforgettable” in the embedded video.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Dan Kelly of The Kansas City Star and Steve Kraske of KCUR interviewed Angela Wildflower about her role in the Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s production of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.”

*Dr. Dina Bennett and Gerald Dunn of the American Jazz Museum discuss Dunn’s career in a forty-minute video.

Concert Review: Heliophonie at Charlotte Street Foundation

Adventurous passengers traveled the spaceways at Charlotte Street Foundation on Thursday, October 3. Heliophonie, the second of four performances in the Sonic Art Series overseen by Sun Ra adherent Dwight Frizzell acted as a celestial excursion.

Sound effects virtuoso Tony Brewer and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Alonzo Conway served as the centrifuge of the spaceship. Four additional musicians- saxophonists Frizzell, saxophonists Thomas Aber and Norbert Herber and cellist William Plummer- were positioned outside the concentric seats commandeered by sonic pilgrims.

Each four-minute and 48-second component of the suite opened and closed with the tolling of a gong and was augmented by dramatic lighting and video projections. The Sun Ra-inspired grooves featuring bass clarinet duets, Frizzell’s EWI saxophone and a plethora of Brewer’s noisemakers compelled one fellow traveler to noodle dance.

In his introductory remarks, Frizzell suggested Heliophonie is a religious work. The sacred rite invoking the sun god Ra was convincing. For a transcendent hour in the cosmic spaceship, I worshiped like an ancient Egyptian.

Now’s the Time: Nick Finzer

The touring trombonist Nick Finzer performs with a student band at Johnson County Community College on Wednesday, October 9, and in a quartet format at Westport Coffee House on Thursday, October 10.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*David Hudnall of The Kansas City Star reports on the announcement of the eventual shuttering of 7th Heaven’s flagship store at 7621 Troost Avenue. The retailer played a major role in the careers of many area musicians. 7th Heaven hosted dozens of in-store performances by jazz and experimental musicians in recent years.

*"I Found a New Baby", the second track from the forthcoming Charlie Parker album Bird in Kansas City, is available on streaming services.

Album Review: Zachary Barthelman and Evan Verploegh- Sound/Color

The back of my head is pictured in a photograph documenting Sonic Youth’s appearance at the Outhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, on November 5, 1986. The seminal band’s performance in the dank space altered my understanding of music. I’ve been chasing that high ever since.

The impactful evening confirmed my suspicion that the standard distinctions used to divide genres are unnatural. I’ve since embraced a multitude of sounds without reservation. Zachary Barthelman and Evan Verploegh have similarly expansive perspectives. The locally based duo disregard stylistic boundaries on Sound/Color.

Although he’s an indie-rock enthusiast, guitarist Barthelman channels the aggressiveness of the early recordings by the jazz fusion master John McLaughlin on Sound/Color’s two 26-minute tracks. Verploegh, arguably Kansas City’s most exciting drummer, echoes the sensitivity and power of Billy Cobham.

Alternately noisy and tranquil, Sound/Color erases the tenuous lines between post-rock and free jazz. The liberation I experienced 38 years ago at the Outhouse is revived every time I queue up Sound/Color.

Now’s the Time: Rob Magill

Experimental saxophonist Rob Magill is on a cacophonous bill headlined by the Maryland based grindcore band Entrail Asphyxiation at Howdy on Thursday, September 26. Based on his powerful 2023 outing at Farewell, Magill will hold his own amid the array of extreme music.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The prominent Kansas City jazz advocate Sharon Daugherty Valleau has died.

*From a press release: Kansas City Jazz Orchestra launches its 2024-25 Signature Series with Unforgettable featuring vocalist Sachal Vasandani, at 7pm on October 11, 2024 in Helzberg Hall of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Sachal Vasandani is a critically acclaimed and widely admired jazz vocalist who commands the stage, blending contemporary sensibilities with an old crooner’s soul.

Album Review: Logan Richardson- The Science of Superstition

Umpteen musicians have paid tribute to J Dilla’s 2006 masterpiece Donuts. The Science of Superstition, Logan Richardson’s homage to the influential collection of beats crafted by the late producer, is an important addition to the crowded subgenre.

As with J Dilla, the Kansas City saxophonist follows a distinctive muse. Richardson’s signature attack- aggressive post-bop paired contemporary wall-of-sound production- receives several new twists on The Science of Superstition.

“Birth of the Machine” is racked with industrial noise while “Sarah Conner” is possessed by apocalyptic robotics. “Economics” contains elements of Chicago footwork. European electro-folk propels “Post Lullabye”. 

Not all of Richardson’s experiments work, but none of his undertakings are routine. The innovations of The Science of Superstition cements Richardson’s reputation as Kansas City’s most iconoclastic artist.

Now’s the Time: Karrin Allyson

The new season of the Folly Jazz Series opens with the return of Karrin Allyson on Saturday, September 21. She chatted with Steve Kraske about the homecoming concert.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The first two episodes of Bill McKemy’s Nameless and Unremembered podcast are available at streaming services. McKemy, Toni Gates, Lisa Henry and Rich Wheeler consider the lives of the underappreciated regional heroes N. Clark Smith and “Blind” Boone in the discussions.

*Joe Dimino interviewed Kansas City bassist Spencer Reeve.

Album Review: Dave Scott- Setting Standards

Dave Scott, one of Kansas City’s most accomplished jazz exports, plays a few transcendently heartbreaking solos on his new album Setting Standards. Forsaking technical perfection, the trumpeter conveys the melancholy that comes with a mature awareness of the temporal nature of life on ballads including “Embraceable You”, “Emily” and “Once Upon a Summertime”. Pianist Jacob Sacks, bassist John Hébert and drummer Russ Meissner also avoid sentimentality while acknowledging the inevitability of loss. While the quartet’s readings of uptempo material are less distinctive, Scott’s exquisite statements on ballads make Setting Standards essential.

Now’s the Time: The Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra

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

*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

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

*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.)