Jazz Night in Kansas City (Is Every Night)

Attending performances by locally based jazz musicians is what I miss most about Kansas City while traveling. While I regularly take advantage of high-profile concerts by cutting-edge improvisers who rarely appear in Kansas City in my destinations, few locales match the depth of artistry showcased nightly in the Kansas City area.

Following a trip to the tropics, I caught up with a portion of the embarrassment of riches on Thursday, November 15. My outing began at the Music House School of Music in Prairie Village. The storied trumpeter Stan Kessler joined the house band of guitarist Aaron Sizemore, bassist Forest Stewart and drummer Michael Warren.

Sizemore tends to incorporate European innovations of recent decades into his sound, a disposition that differentiates him from his peers in Kansas City. The singularity didn’t make an impression on harried music students on strict schedules at the busy facility. The small audience at Thursday’s no-cover event consisted of the usual suspects. A video of the concert streams here.

In the Lowest Ferns couldn’t be more different. The West Bottoms club specializing in electronic dance music occasionally hosts jazz musicians. About 25 fashion-conscious people paid a $15 cover charge to take in the first set by saxophonist Ernest Melton, keyboardist Parker Woolworth, bassist Jordan Faught and drummer Jaylen Ward. The quartet’s spiritual soul-jazz was enhanced by a fog machine.

Two blocks away, Peter Schlamb unveiled an instrument he described as his “new toy” in a free show at The Ship.  The slippery tones of the MalletKAT added another weapon to the vibraphonist’s formidable arsenal. The high-energy improvisations of Schlamb, saxophonist Matt Otto, keyboardist Matt Villinger, bassist Sebastian Arias and drummer Zach Morrow were stunning.

In an act that felt like a cultural misdemeanor, the two eldest people among the audience of 20 left at the conclusion of the first set at 10:15 p.m. I nodded in agreement when a savvy old head suggested “that’s the best band in Kansas City” as we shuffled to the door. For me, Shlamb’s electric band sounds like home.

Concert Review: The Hermon Mehari Quartet at the Folly Theater

Citywide celebrations following the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory in the Super Bowl earlier this month included school cancellations and a parade.  Yet the sense of joy throughout Hermon Mehari’s concert at the Folly Theater on Saturday, February 18, may have been an even truer expression of hometown pride.

The evening possessed the giddiness of a high school dance at which Mehari had been elected prom king.  The musician’s personal friends seemed to outnumber committed jazz enthusiasts among the more than 600 celebrants.  All the better.  Monitoring newcomers’ awestruck reactions to Mehari’s outstanding band underscored the excitement.

Even though he didn’t play the electric vibraphone that’s his most distinctive instrument, Peter Schlamb’s statements on piano and acoustic vibraphone were characteristically stupendous.  An evocation of McCoy Tyner in a thunderous solo on “Anthem for Independence” awed the unsuspecting audience.

The tactful bassist Rick Rosato was paired with the muscular drummer Zach Morrow.  The tandem elevated Mehari’s demonstrative solo on “All Alone” and tenderly accentuated the leader’s gorgeous trumpet work on “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.”

Mehari’s stellar musicianship was matched by his dazzling repertoire.  Many of the memorable compositions he and Schlamb have written are admirably unconventional.  Explaining that he “dived into my Eritrean heritage” for the 2022 album Asmara, Mehari has clearly come into his own while living in France the past several years.

Mehari told his admirers that while he enjoys life in Paris, Kansas City is never far from his mind.  “When I’m there I like to represent Kansas City, he said.  “I’m not here, but I’m with you.” That sense of loyalty- along with his prodigious talent- made Mehari’s appearance in the Folly Jazz Series a heartwarming homecoming.

Set list: Call Me Habesha, Tatra, Melsi, All Alone, A Conversation with My Uncle, Eritrea, Anthem for Independence, Call Me Habesha, If I Were a Bell, Awakening, Soul Chant, I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face, Tenafaquit, Shenandoah

Album Review: Matt Villinger’s All Night Trio- All Faded

The most vital sounds emanating from Kansas City occur when Peter Schlamb goes goblin mode on electric vibraphone. “Eternal Dollars,” the standout track on All Night Trio’s new album All Faded, is a prime example of the phenomenon. Following an admirable solo by guest trumpeter Herman Mehari, Schlamb makes a stupendously gonzo statement. Propelled by Matt Villinger (keyboards, vocals) and Zach Morrow (drums, vocals), Schlamb repeatedly demonstrates why he’s one of the most exciting young talents in improvised music. While nothing else is as indispensable as “Eternal Dollars,” All Faded is loaded with wavy grooves. The title track and “Hazeology” are low-key party songs. Subtler instrumental tracks including “Benny” and “Slow Jam” are even more intoxicating.

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.

Now’s the Time: The All Night Trio

People look at me as if I’m speaking gibberish every time I say Matt Villinger’s All Night Trio is among my favorite bands in Kansas City.  The limited awareness of the outstanding group is reprehensible.  I’m posting this extended video documentation of the vital collaboration between Villinger, Peter Schlamb and Zach Morrow as a public service.

Now's the Time: Marcus Lewis

Marcus Lewis performs at Ça Va, a champagne-themed Westport establishment, every Thursday this month. The trombonist will be joined by keyboardist Eddie Moore and drummer Zach Morrow on Thursday, November 11.

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.