The Kansas City musician Alber characterizes his music as vaporwave. Even so, much of his new album Journey is a logical extension of the smooth jazz made by Max Groove in the 1980s. Gently rippling melodies are rendered with Alber’s fragile analog trumpet and lo-fi synthetic tones. Only the jittery post-Dilla beats prevent portions of Journey from being mistaken for a worn-out cassette of Miles Davis’ 1984 album Decoy or a sun-warped vinyl copy of a mid-’70s Bob James recording. Everything clicks- literally and figuratively- on the exemplary title track while the glitchy "In Absentia" is a small sample of state-of-the art ambient music. Journey may be consummate chill-out music for the cool kids of today, but old-school smooth jazz fans will also take enormous pleasure in Alber’s music.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*CBS Sunday Morning checked in with Marilyn Maye.
*Chris Burnett pays tribute to the late Bob Cowan.
*Joe Dimino interviewed musicians affiliated with the late Everette DeVan, shared snippets of a show at Lonnie’s Reno Club, and documented an event memorializing DeVan.
*The Pitch admires the efforts of the Kansas City Jazz Academy.
*The Fisher Center in New York presents a concert titled Genius Mother Mary: A Sonic Retrospective of Mary Lou Williams on July 29.
*Tweet of the Week: Barrio KC- Get ready for a good time because we’ve got the Max Groove Duo from 7-10pm at Red Bridge! #tequilaandtunes
*Announced four months ago, but only recently uncovered by Plastic Sax: The UMKC (Conservatory) is pleased to announce that Carl Allen will join our faculty Fall 2021 as the newly appointed William D. and Mary Grant/Endowed Professor of Jazz Studies. Mr. Allen is one of the most celebrated jazz artists of his generation, having performed and taught all over the world and recorded with legendary jazz greats Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean, Michael Brecker, Sammy Davis Jr., Branford Marsalis, Lena Horne, Herbie Hancock, Benny Golson, Christian McBride and many others.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
*Ben Leifer, Herman Mehari and Logan Richardson are among Tony Tixier’s collaborators on the pianist’s new album I Am Human.
*A virtual performance of “Black in America” created by the Marcus Lewis Big Band for the Jazz Education Network streams at YouTube.
*Max Groove spoke to Joe Dimino.
*Tweet of the Week: DerekM07- I’m rooting for the chiefs just cause all the Jazz documentaries I been watching go Kansas City
*From a press release: Charlie "Bird" Parker's Grafton saxophone, one of Kansas City's most treasured jazz artifacts, will embark on a journey to Lake Buena Vista, Florida today for an extended stay at EPCOT® Theme Park at the Walt Disney World Resort. On Monday, Walt Disney Imagineering unveiled “The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure,” a salute to cities across America that had a major impact on jazz music: Los Angeles, New Orleans, Chicago, New York City, and San Juan. And the American Jazz Museum and Mayor Lucas recently offered the crown jewel from the museum's collection to be added to the exhibit… This addition to the exhibit puts a national spotlight on Kansas City and is a huge opportunity for the American Jazz Museum at a critical time. Despite many public challenges throughout the museum's history, a refreshed board and new staff leadership have ushered in a new era of growth and transformation, after just one year with new Executive Director Rashida Phillips at the helm… The Grafton saxophone is scheduled to remain at EPCOT for six months.