Dwight Frizzell: Plastic Sax’s Person of the Year

The indefatigable enthusiasm possessed by a young Dwight Frizzell made him a persuasive guide for jazz appreciation in the early 1980s. As a clerk at the flagship location of Penny Lane Records, Frizzell consulted the teenager who would become the author of Plastic Sax on decisions such as which Miles Davis albums to purchase in CBS Records’ occasional Nice Price three-for-$10 promotions.

Frizzell also insisted I build my Sun Ra collection and buy cassettes documenting his own Sun Ra-inspired projects. The experimental sounds altered my worldview. Without the influence of Frizzell more than forty years ago, Plastic Sax might not exist. Frizzell was probably dismissed as a puerile eccentric by many people in the 1980s. Yet Frizzell has retained all of his effervescent energy. And his devotion to Sun Ra has only grown.

Four installations in Charlotte Street Foundation’s Sonic Art Series this year demonstrated how Frizzell continues to hone his vision. Well beyond mere homages to his lodestar, Frizzell’s immersive sonic works advanced the imaginative oeuvre of Sun Ra. By remaining true to his uncommon artistry, Frizzell is Plastic Sax’s 2024 Person of the Year.

The previous recipients of the designation are Matt Otto (2023), Seth Davis and Evan Verploegh (2022), Rod Fleeman (2021), Charlie Parker (2020), Logan Richardson (2019), Peter Schlamb (2018), John Scott (2017), Eddie Moore (2016), Larry Kopitnik (2015), Deborah Brown (2014), Stan Kessler (2013), Doug and Lori Chandler (2012), Jeff Harshbarger (2011), Mark Lowrey (2010) and Hermon Mehari (2009). Bobby Watson was named the Plastic Sax Person of the Decade in 2009 and again in 2019.

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.

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: 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.

Now's the Time: Ra Kalam Bob Moses

The legendary drummer Ra Kalam Bob Moses will perform with members of the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society at Charlotte Street Foundation on Wednesday, April 17. Details are available here.

Plastic Sax’s Favorite Performances of 2023

Top Ten Performances by Kansas City Artists
1. Mike Dillon, Brian Haas and Nikki Glaspie at the Brick
Plastic Sax review.

2. Hermon Mehari at the Folly Theater
Plastic Sax review.

3. Adam Larson, Matt Clohesy and Jimmy Macbride at Westport Coffee House
Instagram clip.

4. Rod Fleeman at Green Lady Lounge
Instagram clip.

5.  Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
Plastic Sax review.

6. Drew Williams, Alex Frank, Ben Tervort and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House
Plastic Sax review.

7. Cynthia van Roden at the Market at Meadowbrook
Instagram snapshot.

8. Chalis O’Neal at the Blue Room
Instagram clip.

9. Alan Voss, Benjamin Baker, Forest Stewart and Evan Verploegh at Swope Park Pavilion
Plastic Sax review.

10. Rich Hill, Arnold Young and Rob Whitsitt in Volker Park
Instagram clip.

Top Ten Performances by Artists from Elsewhere
1. Samara Joy at the Folly Theater
Plastic Sax review.

2. Devin Gray and Maria Elena Silva at the Firehouse Gallery
Plastic Sax review.

3. Bill Frisell, Greg Tardy, Gerald Clayton and Johnathan Blake at the 1900 Building
Plastic Sax review.

4. Artemis at the Gem Theater
Plastic Sax review.

5. CRAG Quartet and Joshua Gerowitz at the Bunker Center for the Arts
Instagram clip.

6. Miguel Zenón Quartet at the Folly Theater
Plastic Sax review.

7. Henrique Eisenmann and Eugene Friesen at the 1900 Building
Plastic Sax review.

8. Robert Stillman at the Midland Theater
There Stands the Glass review.

9. Jack Wright and Ron Stabinsky at Charlotte Street Foundation
Instagram clip.

10. Rob Magill and Marshall Trammell at Farewell
Plastic Sax review.

(Last year’s survey is here.)

Album Review: Brandon Cooper, Seth Andrew Davis, Krista Kopper, Evan Verploegh and Drew Williams- Compressed Space

An adventurous outing in the courtyard of Charlotte Street Foundation on May 18, 2022, was one of the most memorable performances presented by the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society. Ten days later, many of the same Kansas City musicians recorded Compressed Space. The document is even better than the concert. The improvisations of Drew Williams (woodwinds), Seth Andrew Davis (guitar and electronics), Krista Kopper (double bass), Brandon Cooper (drums and percussion) and Evan Verploegh (drums and percussion) range from pristine quietude to atomizing skronk.

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.

Plastic Sax's Favorite Performances of 2022

Top Performances by Kansas City Artists

1. Logan Richardson + Blues People at the Ship

Review.

2. Adam Larson, Clark Sommers and Dana Hall at Westport Coffee House

Review.

3. Black Crack Revue at Westport Coffee House

Review.

4. Steve Cardenas, Forest Stewart and Brian Steever at recordBar

Review.

5. Arnold Young and the RoughTet at the Ship

Instagram clip.

6. Bob Bowman and Peter Schlamb at Second Presbyterian Church

Review.

7. Evan Verplough and Ben Baker at World Culture KC

Review.

8. Rod Fleeman at Green Lady Lounge

9. Alter Destiny at Charlotte Street Foundation

Review.

10. Drew Williams, Ben Tervort and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House

Review.

Top Performances by Artists from Elsewhere

1. Nduduzo Makhathini at the Blue Room

Review.

2. Ohma at the Midland theater

Review.

3. Livia Nestrovski and Henrique Eisenmann at the 1900 Building

Review.

4. High Pulp at recordBar

Review.

5. Phillip Greenlief at Bushranger Records

Review.

6. Terence Blanchard at Atkins Auditorium

Review.

7. Keefe Jackson, Jakob Heinemann and Adam Shead at Black Dolphin

Instagram photo.

8. Esthesis Quartet at the Blue Room

Instagram clip.

9. Kind Folk at the Black Box

Instagram clip.

10. Bill Summers and Forward Back at Dunbar Park

Review.

Concert Review: Alter Destiny at Charlotte Street Foundation

Dwight Frizzell asked “what is reality” during the debut performance of Alter Destiny at Charlotte Street Foundation on Thursday, October 27.  Members of the audience of about three dozen were likely pondering the same question.  

After all, it seems impossible that Frizzell is still at the top of his game well into his sixth decade of making music in Kansas City.  Frizell has challenged assumptions about how improvised music in Kansas City might sound since the 1970s.

Alter Destiny, Frizzell’s theatrical new trio with guitarist Julia Thro and percussionist Allaudin Ottinger, is a fresh twist on the interplanetary jazz the musicians create with the Kansas City institution Black Crack Revue.  The larger ensemble observed its fortieth anniversary with a celebratory concert in August.

The trio shares BCR’s enthusiasm for traveling the spaceways blazed by Sun Ra.  Improvisations over a recording of the aurora borealis were enhanced by a video backdrop of celestial spaces and bursts of theremin from guest artist Kat Dison Nechlebová.  Quadraphonic sound furthered the interstellar experience.

The immersive sensibility wasn’t limited to the loudspeakers surrounding the audience.  Frizzell and Ottinger roamed the room during an inventive jam and Frizzell occasionally exhorted the audience to unleash their minds in an effort to “alter destiny.”  

Thro’s raw electric guitar riffs prevented Frizzell’s woodwinds and electronics and Ottinger’s airy rhythmic pulses from developing excessive ethereality.  Even so, Alter Destiny stretched credulity throughout an unreal performance that was beyond belief.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The Kansas City musician Marvin Jones has died.

*Johnnie’s Jazz Bar & Grille in downtown Kansas City will transform into a Harry Potter-themed space for seven days in April.

*Steve Paul filmed a portion of Steve Cardenas’ appearance at recordBar.  Joe Dimino documented Angela Ward Trio’s recent midday show at the Blue Room.

*Marc Myers admires Frank Foster at JazzWax.

*Tweet of the Week: Michael Eaton- I'm in Kansas City on April 20, playing with Second Nature Ensemble for the EMAS series at @CharlotteStreetaround 8:30pm. A great concert series worth your support! SN is a mix of free jazz, new music, and electronic music, aiming to do something different in KC jazz + improv.

Album Review: Seth Andrew Davis, Kyle Hutchins, Aaron Osborne and Evan Verploegh- Quartet, Vol. 1

The subversive artists of the Extemporaneous Music Society are picking up where they left off their extraordinarily productive 2021.  The January 1 release of Quartet, Vol. 1 on Mother Brain Records is another provocative missive in the collective’s bold overhaul of Kansas City’s improvised music scene.

The album’s intentionally jarring contents will be familiar to those who encountered a concert by Seth Andrew Davis (electric guitar/laptop/electronics), Kyle Hutchins (saxophones), Aaron Osborne (bass/electronics) and Evan Verploegh (drums/percussion) at Charlotte Street Foundation last July.

The anarchic opening segment of the 32-minute “Of Other Mirrors” may cause even the most intrepid listeners to flinch.  The confrontational blaring, obnoxious bleating and insidious braying seems designed to repel all comers.  There’s a method to their madness.  While retaining a harsh edge, the subsequent quieter passages reveal the quartet’s attentive interplay.  

Jazz-oriented listeners are likely to gravitate to the contributions of Hutchins.  His Dolphy-esque playing provides an analog counterpoint to industrial grating on “Of Other Mirrors,” the glitchy futurism of “Under a Strange Legend” and the somber malevolence of “So Many Stars Take Care of Me.”  Viva la revolución!

The Kansas City's Jazz Scene's Top Trends and Stories of 2021

1. Mask off

Kansas City never entirely embraced pandemic precautions.  Much of the populace treated official mandates as gratuitous suggestions.  Even so, Kansas City’s live music landscape shifted during the difficulties.  The good news is that new jazz-friendly venues replaced many of the rooms that didn’t survive.

2. Saying the quiet part out loud

Some readers of Plastic Sax are annoyed by this site’s penchant for disclosing disheartening attendance figures.  Pat Metheny acknowledged the town’s limited appetite for jazz in an interview with In Kansas City magazine.

3. Fiver

Many observers insist that the customary absence of cover charges at performances of jazz devalues the music.  Green Lady Lounge, Kansas City’s most popular jazz venue, instituted a five dollar admission fee this year.

4. Underground surge

Thanks largely to the initiatives of the enterprising young musicians Seth Davis and Evan Verploegh, avant-garde jazz and experimental music was much easier to find in 2021.

5. 3333

After relocating to 3333 Wyoming Street, the Charlotte Street Foundation became a welcoming home for left-of-center improvised music.

6. The beat goes on

The storied drummer Carl Allen replaced Bobby Watson as Endowed Chair of Jazz Studies at UMKC.  Much of the jazz scene’s fate rests on Allen’s ability to attract and develop promising talent.

7. Dunn good

Gerald Dunn, the person who has become the institutional memory of the American Jazz Museum and has long served as an essential component of Kansas City’s music scene, was named a Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalists Association.

8. Missouri uncompromised

Carolyn Glenn Brewer’s new study Under Missouri Skies: Pat Metheny in Kansas City 1965-1972 provides essential insights into a previously under-documented era.

9. Next level

Hermon Mehari’s progression as a refined practitioner of European jazz and the ascension of Lucy Wijnands’ career were among the most notable artistic developments by artists associated with Kansas City.

10. Rest in peace

The passing of organ kingpin Everette DeVan was the most prominent of several heartbreaking deaths.

The Top Ten Jazz Performances of 2021

I caught several dozen jazz performances in an unsettling year characterized by starts and stops.  With a literal sense of danger in the air, each outing felt vital.  The listing my favorite jazz-based performances in the Kansas City area includes a jaunt to Columbia for an essential bout of free jazz and a trek to Detroit to catch a Lee’s Summit native who no longer performs in his old stomping grounds.

1. J.D. Allen, Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits- Blue Room

Plastic Sax review.

2. Pat Metheny, James Francies and Joe Dyson- Orchestra Hall (Detroit)

Plastic Sax review.

3. Irreversible Entanglements- Stephens Lake Park Amphitheatre (Columbia)

Plastic Sax review.

4. Bird Fleming and Bill Summers’ “Voyage of the Drum”- Dunbar Park

Plastic Sax review.

5. Rod Fleeman- Green Lady Lounge

6. Eddie Moore, Ryan J. Lee and Zach Morrow- Charlotte Street Foundation

Plastic Sax review.

7. Thollem McDonas- 9th and State

Plastic Sax review.

8. Jeff Kaiser, Kevin Cheli and Seth Davis- Charlotte Street Foundation

Plastic Sax review.

9. Mike Dillon and Nikki Glaspie- 1900 Building

Plastic Sax review.

10. Second Nature Ensemble- Westport Coffee House

Plastic Sax review.

Lists of the top albums of 2021 are here. Links to similar annual top-show surveys for the past 11 years begin here.

Concert Review: Benjamin Baker, Kevin Cheli, Seth Davis, Jeff Kaiser, Aaron Osborne and Evan Verploegh at Charlotte Street Foundation

That’s not music!  The common objection to experimental noise came to mind during separate performances of manic improvisations presented by the Extemporaneous Music Society at the Charlotte Street Foundation on Wednesday, October 20.  Quadraphonic sound enhanced the maelstrom created by Jeff Kaiser (trumpet, electronics, gadgets), Kevin Cheli (drums, percussion) and Seth Davis (guitar).  A dizzying racket spiraled around the audience of 25 from speakers in four corners of the room.  Kaiser is a stupendously industrious trickster, so I didn’t mind the failure of Cheli and Davis to showcase material from their recently released album as a duo.  My tolerance didn’t extend to the second set.  Aaron Osborne (bass, percussion) made several interesting contributions to a collaboration with Benjamin Baker (saxophone) and Evan Verploegh (drums), but I’d hoped to hear the saxophonist and drummer present music from their outstanding new Singles album.  Missed opportunities aside, the bold caterwauling was music to my ears.

Concert Review: Eddie Moore, Ryan J. Lee and Zach Morrow at Charlotte Street Foundation

A thrilling performance by a band led by Eddie Moore at the Tank Room five years ago was a factor in his selection as the 2016 Plastic Sax Person of the Year. The keyboardist’s appearance with Ryan J. Lee (keyboards/electronics) and Zach Morrow (drums) at Charlotte Street Foundation on Thursday, July 22, was no less triumphant. Bolstered by excellent sound, captivating video projections and a capacity audience of about 100 spirited admirers, Moore’s trio offered a vital fusion of jazz, neo-soul and hip-hop. Renderings of “Misunderstood” and “Single Double”, the new songs that opened and closed the hour-long set, were bigger and bolder than the recorded versions. Time will tell if the memorable concert was merely a satisfying summation of Moore’s career to date or the cornerstone of a new era for Kansas City’s music scene.

Concert Review: Kyle Hutchins, Aaron Osborne, Seth Davis and Evan Verploegh at Charlotte Street Foundation

Plastic Sax’s rave review of Second Nature Ensemble’s June performance at Westport Coffee House seems subdued compared to another observer’s analysis of the event that references Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre.  As the cliché has it, hold my beer.

A concert including two of the same musicians- Seth Davis (electronics and guitar) and Evan Verploegh (drums)- at Charlotte Street Foundation on July 14 inspires additional purple prose.  Abetted by Kyle Hutchins (saxophones) and Aaron Osborne (bass), Davis and Verploegh played two sets of sinister improvised music for about 20 attentive listeners.

The opening portion of the first set evoked a whale in distress before the liquid atmosphere gave way to deep space.  A glitchy segment sounded as if a denizen of a distant planet was monitoring a decades-old radio broadcast of a Duke Ellington Orchestra concert.  The final salvo could have been the soundtrack for a disaster film about an accident at a gene-editing laboratory.

The second set was a two-part guitar-based freakout. A jam in the vein of Mary Halvorson and Susan Alcorn gradually morphed into (Robert) frippery. The veracity of these flights of fancy can be checked against video documentation of the first and second sets. Cross-referencing texts by Nietzsche and Sartre is optional.