Giovanni Russonello’s "Where Jazz Lives Now" treatise in The New York Times generated a kerfuffle in jazz circles last week. The controversial article asserts that most performances of groundbreaking improvised music no longer transpire in venues dedicated to jazz.
The claim rings true in Kansas City. A significant portion of adventurous jazz programming in the region during the past 15 years has been presented under the auspices of the Jeff Harshbarger Presents series at the rock-oriented venue recordBar.
Members of an attentive audience of about 100 paid $15 to hear a homecoming concert by the New York based guitarist Steve Cardenas at recordBar on Sunday, March 20. Cardenas was joined by bassist Forest Stewart and drummer Brian Steever in the series’ first presentation since the onset of the pandemic.
In spite of its unconventional setting, little of the internecine contention generated by Russonello’s feature applied to the outing. The trio’s elevated musicianship was beyond destructive turf wars. They implied avant-garde wooliness even as they evinced Kansas City-style swing.
Renditions of original compositions by Cardenas and Stewart were as potent as the standards performed by the trio. The strong show of support, superlative sound and exceptional music made debate irrelevant. Kansas City’s jazz scene seemed entirely cohesive, healthy and robust at a rock club last Sunday.
First set: Wail (Bud Powell), Newer Normal (Forest Stewart), Lost and Found (Steve Cardenas), Fleurette Africaine (Duke Ellington), Don Formation (Forest Stewart), untitled (Steve Cardenas), Ladies in Mercedes (Steve Swallow)