Concert Review: The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra at Muriel Kauffman Theatre

An admirable idea was exquisitely realized at Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Thursday, September 4.  Eight locally-based musicians were showcased in The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra's "Kansas City is Jazz" concert. 

Hermon Mehari, Allison Burik, Steve Lambert, Megan Birdsall, Dan Thomas, Matt Otto, Al Pearson and Bobby Watson demonstrated their talents for an audience of over 1,000.  Their efforts ranged from pleasing to spectacular. 

The virtuosic work of Lambert, Otto and Thomas thrilled unsuspecting listeners.  Mehari soared over a lush rendition of Frank Foster's "Simone."  I was brought to the verge of tears by Al Pearson's feature on a rapturously beautiful version of Pat Metheny's "Always and Forever."  The flamboyant brilliance of Watson, not surprisingly, stole the show.

Sound issues sullied the efforts of Birdsall and Burik.  Their vocals were distorted and blurry in the back of the venue where I was one of a couple dozen people who had purchased the least expensive tickets for $31.  Artistic Director Clint Ashlock also sounded as if he was speaking through a walkie talkie.  The glitches were an exception in an otherwise flawless concert. 

The big band has assumed a slightly different tone under Ashlock.  Renditions of "One O'Clock Jump" and "Swingmatism" possessed a newly acquired sense of informality.

Lest club owners hire additional staff to accommodate fledgling fans of the featured musicians, they should know that a significant portion of the audience was in town for a Rotarian convention.  Mayor Sly James read a portion of a proclamation prior to the concert designating the date as Rotary Day in Kansas City. 

The good news?  Hundreds of people from around the world were exposed to the ongoing artistic vitality of Kansas City's jazz scene.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Concert Review: Vine Street Rumble Jazz Orchestra at Celebration at the Station

Several thousand early birds at Sunday's Celebration at the Station heard vintage Kansas City jazz performed in a setting that would have been familiar to a young Charlie Parker. 

Vine Street Rumble Jazz Orchestra's delightful "pre-show" performance in front of Union Station resurrected 80-year-old ghosts that were visible to at least two patrons.

As saxophonist Brett Jackson soloed on Count Basie's "Blue and Sentimental," a seemingly unstable vagrant seated next to me shouted "this is the sound!"  I shared his phantasmal enthusiasm for the band's stated mission of "celebrating the legacy of Kansas City jazz in the 30's and 40's." 

The set began with a couple of Jay McShann numbers and included at least one Bennie Moten composition.  The ensemble features notable players such as saxophonist Steve Lambert, trumpeters Al Pearson and Jay Sollenberger, trombonist Jason Goudeau, guitarist Rod Fleeman and pianist Joe Cartwright. 

Vine Street Rumble's 45-minute excursion seemed far too short.  Organizers would be foolhardy not to make the ensemble a permanent attraction at the large-scale annual event.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Al Pearson at the KCK Street Blues Festival

It's awfully nice of the organizers of the Kansas City Kansas Street Blues Festival to feature a handful of jazz artists at their event.

Dozens of working blues bands in town would be honored to play at the free two-day showcase. With the absence of a proper jazz festival in Kansas City this year, I wasn't about to let hellish heat prevent me from catching a bit of Saturday afternoon's jazz segment.

Well aware that the audience of about 250 was largely composed of beer-guzzling boogie fanatics, veteran jazz trumpeter Al Pearson turned on familiar material like Spyro Gyra's "Morning Dance," James Brown's "Cold Sweat" and Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On."

It wasn't high art, but given that the heat index was in the three digits, Pearson's approach was just right.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)