Even if Kansas City isn’t quite ready to embrace the music’s future, jazz is going to be just fine. An invigorating performance by High Pulp at recordBar on Thursday, April 28, belied the fact the room was nearly empty. The giddy Seattle collective’s thrilling effort was an affirmation of jazz’s ongoing adaptability.
Countless pundits continue to wring their hands about the declining popularity of conventional forms of jazz. I’m guilty of occasionally joining the doomsayers. High Pulp’s mind-expanding and deliriously edifying set should inhibit negativity about the commercial prospects of improvised music for the foreseeable future at this site.
Had the same sounds been presented at a festival between sets by the like-minded young duo Domi & JD Beck and the jazz-loving rapper Tyler, The Creator, High Pulp would likely be hailed as the event’s breakout act. The fun-loving jazz-based cosmic grooves freely incorporate elements of hip-hop and electronic music.
The members of High Pulp are among the scores of sonically inclusive musicians working in the wake of Flying Lotus. Far from stooping to the lowest common denominator, High Pulp attempts to elevate listeners to the highest spiritual sphere. While many solos were outstanding, every note was intended to advance an ecstatic sensibility.
The only thing missing at Thursday’s show was an audience. Not counting the venue’s staff or the members of the other three bands on the bill- a power trio led by Jered Mattson of The Mattson 2, the electro-funk duo Kid Pari and the plugged-in singer-songwriter Meyadi- a dozen Kansas Citians heard a tantalizing sample of a flourishing future.