Norman Brown makes another appearance in the Folly Jazz Series on Saturday, March 9. A cover of Janet Jackson’s 1993 hit “That’s the Way Love Goes” was the breakout track on the Kansas City guitarist’s 1994 album After the Storm.
Grading the 2023-24 Season of the Folly Jazz Series
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Tickets for individual concerts in the 2023-24 season of the Folly Jazz Series go on sale June 6. The following commentary might be used as a consumer guide. While it’s unfair to grade individual bookings against more appealing hypotheticals, the penchant of Kansas City’s jazz presenters to return to familiar standbys is an ongoing source of frustration. More than 500 of the more than 4,000 jazz albums released last year received votes in the 2022 edition of the 17th annual Francis Davis Jazz Poll. With such a vast pool from which to draw, it’s unfortunate that the same fifty acts are repeatedly engaged.
Samara Joy: October 14, 2023
Grade: A+
Samara Joy is the Folly Jazz Series’ most opportune booking in years. The charming vocalist won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in February.
Alexa Tarantino Quartet: November 11, 2023
Grade: B
Alexa Tarantino appeared in the American Jazz Museum’s Jammin’ at the Gem series in March as a member of Artemis. (Plastic Sax review.) The young saxophonist acquitted herself well.
The Hot Sardines: January 27, 2024
Grade: B
The hot jazz band The Hot Sardines is making its third or fourth appearance in the Folly Jazz Series.
Diane Schuur: February 24, 2024
Grade: B
Vocalist and pianist Diane Schuur was one of the most popular jazz artists of the 1980s and 1990s.
Norman Brown: March 9, 2024
Grade: B
Norman Brown is a smooth jazz guitarist from Kansas City. His 2022 album Let’s Get Away was favorably reviewed at Plastic Sax.
Matthew Whitaker Quintet: April 6, 2024
Grade: B-
The agreeable music of pianist Matthew Whitaker seems designed to appeal to fans of Jon Batiste and Emmet Cohen.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Kevin Whitehead considered Bobby Watson’s new album Back Home in Kansas City for NPR. A critic in New York analyzed a Watson concert in Schenectady.
*Fans named Norman Brown’s “Back at Ya” the Song of the Year in the Jazz Music Awards. Christian McBride & Inside Straight, a band featuring the Kansas City based drummer Carl Allen, won the title of Best Mainstream Artist.
*Laura Spencer created an audio feature about the Hannover Jazz Orchestra’s visit to Kansas City for KCUR. Members of the ensemble visited a television station.
*A sculpture inspired by Charlie Parker will be displayed at Kansas City’s new airport.
*Joe Dimino chatted with John Stein and shared footage of a performance by the Marcus Lewis Quintet.
*Tweet of the Week: Lipid Scientist- Visiting Kansas City - just went to the Negro Leagues Museum and the American Jazz Museum. Now we are listening to Caribbean Jazz at the Blue Room. Bryan Alford Jazz Experience: (photo)
Album Review: Norman Brown- Let’s Get Away
It’s easy to undervalue Norman Brown. The guitarist’s frictionless music seems effortless. Prioritizing sumptuous grooves rather than showy soloing has kept the Kansas City-raised Brown in the upper tier of smooth jazz musicians for two decades. His sound is the logical extension of the crossover innovations of jazz guitar icons Wes Montgomery and George Benson. Brown continues to refine the melodic flourishes and elaborate production of landmark recordings like Montgomery’s A Day in the Life (1967) and Benson’s Breezin’ (1976) on his 13th album Let’s Get Away. Brown’s consummate craftsmanship makes indulging in Let’s Get Away a gloriously escapist experience.
Now's the Time: Norman Brown
Norman Brown is one of the most prominent musicians to emerge from the Kansas City area in the past three decades. The guitarist’s velvety rendition of the Earth, Wind & Fire hit “After the Love Has Gone” was released in 1996.
Album Review: Norman Brown- Heart to Heart
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Céline Dion’s backing band impressed me almost as much as the hitmaker’s celebrated voice when I saw the diva perform at the Sprint Center last year. The musicians were as slick as black ice on a Canadian turnpike.
The affable trifles of Heart to Heart, the 12th studio album by the former Kansas City resident Norman Brown, resemble the frothy anonymity of the vamping that accompanied Dion’s off-stage costume changes. Brown’s improvisation-laced blend of diluted funk and subdued pop is luxuriantly utilitarian background music.
Brown hasn’t forsaken the exceptional guitar prowess that made him one of the biggest names in smooth jazz. His playing on “She’s Mine” and “Unconditional” places him squarely in the crossover lineage of Wes Montgomery and George Benson.
“Outside the Norm,” the closing track of Heart to Heart, comes as a bit of shock after 40 minutes of unobtrusive murmuring. The unexpected burst of unvarnished smooth jazz hints at a tantalizingly different aspect of Brown’s talent that doesn’t elicit comparison to an easy listening act.