Swing Low

Mocking old folks and the music they love is a regrettable tradition. Yet the joke was on latecomers at The Market at Meadowbrook on Saturday, January 14. Each of the approximately four dozen chairs in the cafe were occupied by geriatric fans of dixieland jazz for the entirety of a two-hour performance by a sprightly trio led by Lynn Zimmer. Old-timers braved sub-zero temperatures to warm their souls to satiny renditions of tunes like “Wolverine Blues,” “Amazing Grace” and “Stardust.” The clarinetist and his colleagues worked the room like vote-hungry politicians at the break. Zimmer has earned what many of the more artistically stylish Kansas City based jazz musicians lack- a large and enthusiastic fan base eager to show up for every performance. There’s nothing old-fashioned about that.

Now’s the Time: Lynn Zimmer

The closure of the Gaslight Grill didn’t just disappoint regular diners at the once-bustling restaurant in Leawood, Kansas.  It was a devastating setback for fans of traditional jazz.  Dick Hawk, the late owner of Gaslight Grill, was an avid Dixieland enthusiast.  He installed clarinetist Lynn Zimmer as the longstanding leader of the house band at his establishment.  Zimmer returns to Johnson County to perform a matinee show at The Market at Meadowbrook on Friday, May 19.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Jazz at Lincoln Center created a 17-minute video portrait of Kansas City’s jazz scene.

*Adam Larson was interviewed by Nick Spacek for The Pitch.

*Jon Poses, the raconteur behind the We Always Swing concert series in Columbia, Missouri, is the subject of an All About Jazz feature.

*Joe Dimino captured footage of a Lynn Zimmer performance.

*Details about the Hannover Jazz Orchestra’s forthcoming visit to Kansas City are here.

*Tweet of the Week: MCC Kansas City- Jazz in the Valley, a free festival at MCC-Penn Valley, will be held rain/shine, 6-9 pm, Sept 30. Musicians include: Minus2, Jim Lower Big Band, Eddie Moore and a popup Jazz Academy performance at 5 pm. Free parking. Event will move inside if raining. (link)

Album Review: John Armato- The Drummer Loves Ballads

The most emblematic Kansas City jazz album of 2021 is the work of a drummer who currently lives in Sacramento.  John Armato oversees a bevy of prominent Kansas City musicians on his ambitious concept album The Drummer Loves Ballads.

Armato turns to the contacts he made during the years he spent on Kansas City’s jazz scene to realize his imaginative vision.  Two storied outsiders- saxophonist Houston Person and cornetist Warren Vaché- also get in on the action on the project released in May.

A survey of a few highlights reflects the album’s breadth.  Brett Jackson pays tribute to the late baritone saxophonist Kerry Strayer on “Night Lights.”  Lucy Wijnands, the daughter of the Kansas City mainstay Bram Wijnands, croons the dreamy chanson “The Shadows of Paris.”

A duet by vocalists Ron Gutierrez and Molly Hammer is ravishing.  Veteran pianist Wayne Hawkins and clarinetist Lynn Zimmer make sentimental contributions.  An interpretation of “Lonely Woman” features characteristically stunning work from guitarist Rod Fleeman and bassist Gerald Spaits.

The inclusion of so many scene stalwarts on the stylistically conservative, musically impeccable and deliberately hushed The Drummer Loves Ballads makes the album an invaluable document of the mainstream sound that continues to dominate Kansas City’s jazz clubs.