Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*John Scott of the Green Lady Lounge and Deborah Brown, Chuck Haddix and Bobby Watson were guests on KCUR’s Up to Date on Monday and Tuesday.

*Clint Ashlock discussed an upcoming concert by the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra on KCUR’s Central Standard.

*Bram Wijnands chatted with Joe Dimino.

*Giovanni Russonello of The New York Times praised an outing by the Logan Richardson Quartet.

*Tweet o’ the Week: Ryan Hennessey- My favorite Jazz has some funk in the sound. Good segment. I was at the Green Lady on Saturday. Always a good time. Anxious to try the Black Dolphin.

*From a press release: ‘Ask a Jazz Dude’, a live talk show/vlog presented by KKFI 90.1 FM and Marcus Lewis, where Marcus and selected guests answer questions about music, performing, the music business, social media, and pop culture, will take viewers on the bandstand and backstage into the mind of working musicians and creators.  The Facebook Live format gives viewers an easy way to interact with Marcus and his guests and ask questions in real time.  ‘Ask a Jazz Dude’ kicked off February 5 and can be found at facebook.com/askajazzdude Mondays at noon. 

*From a press release: Jazz vocalist Kathleen Holeman and her band will perform on Sunday evening, February 11, 6:00 pm at Kansas City Jazz Vespers, held at the historic First Baptist Church of Kansas  City...  KC Jazz Vespers features 100 minutes of professional jazz in two acts… There is no entry charge though a free-will offering is taken. 

*From a press release: The American Jazz Museum is expanding its Kansas City Jazz Academy by launching a partnership with the Charlie Parker Memorial Foundation’s Kansas City Arts Outreach, an established music education program with mission similar to that of the Museum’s Jazz Academy...  The Kansas City Jazz Academy (KCJA), the museum’s most comprehensive music education program, completed its first year in May 2017. The program was successful in bringing 150 K-12 students together every Saturday for hands-on classes in Big Band, Combos, Improvisation, and more… Beginning in 2018, KCJA will be led by Mr. Clarence Smith

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Ask Me If I Give a Schnitt

Curious about what happens when a stride pianist entertains day-drinkers, I dropped into KC Bier Co. to catch Bram Wijnands today.  The native of the Netherlands plays at the establishment every Saturday and Sunday afternoon.  I should have seen it coming, but I was nonetheless surprised to discover that Wijnands began his outing for more than three dozen revelers with 30 minutes of traditional German beer hall accordion music.  I found his efforts far more compelling than the action on the muted televisions displaying sports broadcasts.  When he turned his attention to a vintage upright piano to play the burly swing that made his reputation, Wijnands was joined by a man on spoons who evoked the artful percussion of an agile tap dancer. 

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Eddie Moore was awarded an unrestricted $10,000 cash grant from the Charlotte Street Foundation.

*Soliloquy, a new album by a group led by Matt Otto, was released this week.

*Representatives of the American Jazz Museum were interviewed by a television reporter.

*Marcus Lewis was interviewed by Joe Dimino.

*The Pitch recommends Bram Wijnands’ weekend residency at the Majestic.

*Chris Burnett made a presentation at the Self-Employment in the Arts Lecture Series at Drury University.

*Cheptoo Kositany-Buckner of the American Jazz Museum shared her vision for the institution with KMBZ.

*Peter Schlamb's Electric Tinks was featured on KCUR’s Local Listen segment last week.

*Tweet o’ the Week: Ryan Heinlein- So you don't get pinched next week. (photo)

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Recently at Inside Jazz Kansas City: John Kizilarmut encourages listeners “on the fence” about jazz to embrace the music.  Clint Ashlock comments on cell phone usage.  Ryan Heinlein praises Kansas City’s jazz scene and lists his favorite albums.

*The Pitch reports that New Jazz Order’s weekly sessions have moved to Broadway Kansas City.

*KCUR interviewed Lisa Henry about an upcoming performance piece titled "Dear White People: The Racism Monologues Set to Music."

*Nicholas Payton performed with the Dave Matthews Band at Cricket Wireless Amphitheater on Tuesday.  The Kansas City Star reviewed the concert.

*Bram Wijnands was featured in an extended KCUR profile.

*The Pitch spotlights a recording of 12th Street Jump at Broadway Kansas City.

*Bill Frisell will perform at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art on February 21, 2016.  Diana Krall will return to the Midland theater on November 21.

*The ARC label offers a recapitulation of its concert series at the Blue Room.

*Tweet o’ the Week: Libby Hanssen- New Jazz Order sounds like they've been playing at The Broadway Kansas City for years.

*From a press release: KC Jazz meets Broadway as Tim Whitmer presents the Fifth Annual July Jazz Jam at Community Christian Church. The Wild Women of Kansas City, featuring Millie Edwards, Lori Tucker and Geneva Price, join the always amazing Tim Whitmer and The KC Jazz All-Stars- Jurgen Welge, James Albright, Rod Fleeman and Jim Mair,- for an evening of Broadway standards and jazz classics... Sunday, July 26, 2015, 7 p.m. at Community Christian ChurchTickets are available at www.community-christian.org for $10/advance or $15/door.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*The American Jazz Museum received a $15,000 grant to help fund the 18th & Vine Jazz and Blues Festival.

*Nathan Davis made an appearance on a local television program prior to his concert on Saturday.  Joe Dimino of Neon Jazz also interviewed Davis.

*KCJazzLark ponders the attendance at concerts by The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra.

*Lee Hartman reviewed last weekend's concert by the Brad Mehldau Trio.

*Chris Botti and Marilyn Maye will perform at Yardley Hall in December as part of the Performing Arts Series of Johnson County Community College.

*The Pitch recommends a Jerry Hahn gig at Broadway Jazz Club.

*Tweet o' the Week: Steve Kraske- @bradmehldau trio absolutely sensational @THEFOLLYTHEATER Sat night. Some of the longest applause I've heard at KC jazz show.

*Comment o' the Week: Anonymous- You think the AJM and the Folly would avoid having high profile gigs on the same night. I mean, do these two organizations even talk to each other? Lame! I wish I could go to both shows, but I bought Folly tickets back in September so I'm locked in for Mehldau.  (See note below.)

*The Kansas City Jazz Calendar has been updated for the remainder of April.

*From a press release: Kansas City Kansas Community College will be playing host to students from middle school, high school and college this week during the 2014 Kansas City Jazz Summit.  The summit is 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 23 to 25 in the KCKCC Performing Arts Center, 7250 State Ave. The event is free and open to the public.  “The goal (of the Jazz Summit) is to attract jazz band, combos and choirs from across the United States and hopefully Canada, making Kansas City a destination location,” said Jim Mair, Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Studies at KCKCC. “There will be great performances all three days, world class adjudication and on Thursday, there is the KC Heritage ‘Basically Basie’ competition with text voting - a first for jazz festivals.”… For complete schedules for all three days of the event, visit Kansas City Jazz Summit. 

*From a press release: Wednesday, May 7, 2014. The Stride Stylings of Bram Wijnands, Pianist, with Tim Whitmer & The Consort Band. Bram Wijnands began playing piano at an early age in Eindhoven, the Netherlands...  In July 1991, Bram made his debut on the KC Jazz scene at the City Light Jazz Club with Kansas City’s own Richard Ross... Tickets at the door only - $7.00.

*From a press release: Jammin' At the Gem May 17– Massey Hall 60th Anniversary | Bill Charlap and his trio of Kenny Washington and Peter Washington performing with special guests, virtuosi: Jon Faddis and Jesse Davis. The greatest jazz concert ever… Bill Charlap has connected Jazz Masters Jon Faddis and Jesse Davis with his Bill Charlap Trio for the 60th Silver Anniversary celebration of the concert at Massey Hall...

*An apology to Plastic Sax readers: Until this morning, none of the comments made at the site during the past two or three months were published.  The email notifications I'd previously received inexplicably ceased.  I'm sorry.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*The invaluable new site Bobby Watson Speaks contains "Deleted Scenes from A Candid Conversation with Bobby Watson."

*In a damning editorial, KC Jazz Lark characterizes initial plans for the 18th & Vine museum complex as "an oasis ringed by blight."

*Jazz Tokyo offers a seemingly comprehensive look at Chuck Haddix's biography of Charlie Parker.

*A site dedicated to the genealogy and a forthcoming reunion of the Moten family is of interest to Kansas City jazz fans. Here are the pages for Bennie and Buster Moten. (Tip via KC Jazz Lark.)

*Downbeat reviewed Bobby Watson's Check Cashing Day.

*A Ted Talk given by Harold O'Neal two months ago is online.

*A preview of a concert featuring Bram Wijnands notes the Dutchman's interesting biography. Chuck Berg reviewed the performance in Topeka.

*Here's another round of 12th Street Jump's "Blues In the News".

*Tweet o' the Week: Brian Scarborough- @theprojecth sounded great tonight out at Take Five. Phenomenal playing and writing. Glad I made it out. #kcjazz

*Comment o' the Week: Anonymous- I wouldn't say nobody wants the AJM, but currently it is less than impressive. I like the Blue Room (part of the AJM) and go once or twice a month. I haven't been in the museum for about three years as there's not much new. I wish the museum would do more special events combining education and performance…

*From Take Five Coffee + Bar: (O)ur December is fierce.  Every date but one features an out-of-town artist… We've dubbed it "Homecoming Month".  Friday, December 6, 8 pm:  Brian Scarborough Quintet- Kansas City native composer and trombonist Brian Scarborough is back home from his studies in Chicago and he's bringing a ferocious quintet to take over Take Five: Jeff Harshbarger on bass, Matt Otto on saxophone, TJ Martley on keys and Brandon Draper on drums. $5 cover.  Saturday, December 7, 8 pm:  Clint Ashlock with Ben Markley- Denver pianist Ben Markley… will perform Saturday. Coming down from the mountains with Ben that night is saxophonist Josh Quinlan, instructor of Jazz Studies at the University of Colorado. A powerhouse threesome of Kansas City talent will help us welcome the guests from the west - trumpeter Clint Ashlock, drummer John Kizilarmut and bassist Ben Leifer. $5 cover.

*From a press release: Spirituality & All That Jazz. First Wednesday of every month. Unity Temple on the Plaza Tickets at the door only - $7.00. Children under 16 free. Wednesday, December 4, 2013: Magical Musical Moments with vocalist Bukeka Shoals and Tim Whitmer & The Consort Band. Wednesday, February 5, 2014: The incomparable Joe Cartwright, Pianist with Tim Whitmer & The Consort Band.

*From a press release: Kansas City’s newest jazz destination, The Broadway Jazz Club, officially opens its doors to the public on Friday, Dec. 6 with a grand opening celebration from 4 p.m. – 1 a.m. and an encore celebration scheduled Saturday, Dec. 7 from 9 p.m. – 1 a.m. The Broadway Jazz Club is proud to create a destination that is celebrating and reviving Kansas City’s musical roots and rich jazz heritage. The weekend will also introduce the complete menu offerings prepared by The Broadway Jazz Club Chef Richard Martin. Friday, Dec. 6: The Broadway Jazz Club will kick its grand opening into full swing with a full night of live music featuring the Dan Doran Band, a high energy, local KC jump blues and jazz band. A special happy hour with drink specials is planned from 4 – 8 pm. Saturday, Dec. 7: The local jazz celebration continues at The Broadway Jazz Club on Saturday night with the musical talents of local songstress Megan Birdsall from 9pm – 1 am. 

*The Kansas City Jazz Calendar has been updated.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Bram Wijnands

Here's something you don't see (or hear) every day.  Bram Wijnands cavorts on some sort of pipe organ in the embedded video.  Curiosity seekers might also enjoy watching Wijnands use a "home built piano tilter".  The Dutch transplant plays a conventional stationary piano at the Majestic on Friday and Saturday and at the Green Lady Lounge on Sunday.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Guitarist Brian Baggett is the latest area jazz musician to be interviewed by Joe Dimino on Neon Jazz.

*Vine Street Rumble made a television appearance.

*The Kansas City Star reports on a possible new museum dedicated to Negro league baseball in Birmingham, Alabama.  The institution would ostensibly compete for funding and artifacts with Kansas City's Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.  The adjoining American Jazz Museum already faces competition from entities including The Jazz Museum in Harlem.

*The author of a letter recalls an encounter with the late John Elliott.

*The Pitch plugs a performance by the Bram Wijnands Swingtet.

*Jazz pianist Paul Smith has died.  Thankfully for the regional jazz scene, the Kansas City jazz pianist Paul Smith is still very much alive.

*Tweet o' the Week: Brian Scarborough- Standing room only at The Record Bar tonight for People's Liberation Big Band. Great music, great crowd, great band. #kcjazz #fivemoreyears

*Comment o' the Week: Anonymous- I could care less what Stanley Crouch has to say about Charlie Parker. I'm way more interested to read the new Parker bio coming out by Kansas City's own Chuck Haddix!

*Via Anita Dixon regarding The Foundation Big Band: Come hear a fresh new big band in Kansas City's original home for jazz: The Mutual Musician's Foundation.  The band, comprised of KC-area musicians, will perform original works as well as staples of the big band repertoire, including tunes from the Count Basie Orchestra - the lead purveyors of the KC big band sound.  $5 cover goes to the musicians. Come be a part of a new thang in a historic place. (Wednesday, July 10, 7:30 p.m.)

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Steve Kraske chatted with Marc Myers and Hermon Mehari on KCUR's Up To Date last week.  The conversations are archived here and here.

*The Kansas City Star offers a review of the first night of the Jazz Winterlude festival.  KCJazzLarkk posted photos of the event.

*A new review of Mapache, the 2012 album by the Jorge Arana Trio, compares the band to John McLaughlin and Naked City.

*The second half of Demencha's interview with Eddie Moore is here.

*The Black House Improvisors' Collective provides an update on its current session.

*Mark Lowrey's music is utilized in "A Pairing of Cocktail & Song".

*The People's Cathedral of Wavelengths is a new EP by Kansas City's The Great Vehicle.  It's recommended to fans of Steve Morse, Guitar Hero and Joe Satriani.

*Tweet o' the Week: KillDevilClubKC- Hey Friends- who would you like to see on the Kill Devil stage this spring? Nothing is off limits! Except for the Barenaked Ladies.

*Comment of the Week: Anonymous- Did anyone go to see and hear Joe Lovano's Us5 when they were here? If not, do yourself a favor and YouTube the Lovano group. Is the KC scene this ignorant or stupid that we collectively think this type of on-going aping is original, innovative or new? Come on, we can do better. There are too many high quality artists here to cover the same players over and over and over. Jingoism. Self-congratulating. Leave your UMKC bubble please and grow!

*From a press release: Classic Hits & Jazz Standards by Bram Wijnands, Piano & Laura Glaeser, Vocals.  Hosted by Tim Whitmer & The Consort Band.  Wednesday, February 6, 2013. Bram Wijnands began playing piano at an early age in Eindhoven, the Netherlands…  In July 1991, Bram made his debut on the KC Jazz scene at the City Light Jazz Club with Kansas City’s own Richard Ross…  A lifelong resident of Kansas City, Laura Glaeser attended the UMKC Conservatory of Music where she studied Vocal Performance for 6 years… her heart belongs to Jazz and she jumps at every chance to perform it.  Spirituality & All That Jazz.  First Wednesday of every month – 7:00 p.m. Unity Temple on the Plaza… Tickets at the door only - $7.00.  Children under 16 free.

(Original image of Alaturka performing at last weekend's Jazz Winterlude by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*KCJazzLark hauls out heavy artillery- two previously unreleased live tracks by Jay McShann- in an adamant retort to this Plastic Sax post.  My friend knows that I'm deeply devoted to McShann.  For the record, I stand by my assertion that "(s)wing-based jazz will never die, but I expect it to take a permanent seat next to Dixieland on the cultural sidelines by 2042."

*A lengthy essay by Bob McWilliams praises the efforts of Take Five Coffee + Bar and the Blue Room.

*Robert Trussell admires a Marilyn Maye performance at the Quality Hill Playhouse.

*Pat Metheny was voted "Guitarist of the Year" in the 2012 DownBeat Readers Poll.

*Bobby Watson is the subject of an interesting interview in a Pennsylvania newspaper.

*A video documents the construction of the Folly Theater's new signage.

*A stammering buffoon extolled the virtues of Pat Metheny, Deborah Brown and The Project H on KCUR's Up to Date last week.  The show about Kanas City's music scene is available as a stream or as a download.

*Tweet o' the Week: IsleOfCapriKC- #FREE LIVE Jazz and Blues EVERY SUNDAY in the Lone Wolf Bar @IsleOfCapriKC! (performance schedule)

*Comment o' the Week: Matt Leifer- As to anon's comment and the responses to it...  I think it's safe to say that the primary base of readers of this blog are A) musicians or B) jazz fans, most of whom fall in to that born before 1960 category. Aside from the fact that it's obviously not the opinion of someone who would belong to category B, people born before 1960 have higher standards of grammar and generally present themselves in a more educated way.  So, since I would put money on Anon being a musician of some sort I'd deduce that either 1) everybody just was trolled, hard, or...  2) Anon is a musician, and a plebe, destined to continue on a course of musical mediocrity until he either dies or gives it up. (The former, if we're lucky.) Now, I'm not saying that musicians that don't play jazz are plebes, I'm saying that musicians who don't RESPECT jazz are destined for f***ing failure. Whatever musical path someone is on, I don't think there's anyone worth a god damn who doesn't at least accept its validity and importance, whether or not they choose to be a practitioner of it. If you are that musically shallow and narrow minded, your music is going to suck.  I'm going to go with troll, however.

*From AfterGroove: Some of you may not be aware, but we lost our good friend (& drummer) Quinton McDonnell to cancer in August. We have planned a fund raiser/celebration event on what would have been his 46th birthday at Aftershock Bar & Grill. AfterGroove will be performing with the various great musicians who have had the opportunity to play with Quinton throughout the years. It will be an exciting evening with LOTS of great music. There will be a $5 cover and we will also be selling raffle tickets for $5 each. We have $1000.00 worth of merchandise donated by various businesses. So your odds of winning are extremely good! The lose of Quinton has left his family in a very bad financial position. Please come out and support the cause. (November 18, 5-8 p.m.)

*From Jim Mair: A full house stood and applauded the Bram Wijnands Trio long and loud at Kansas City Kansas Community College Thursday.  The second in a “Jazz by the Lake” noon concert jazz series held the first Thursday of the month, the performance drew a standing room only crowd in the College’s Conference Center adjacent to the campus lake… The Joe Cartwright Trio will be featured in the third concert of the series from noon-1 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6. The 2013 schedule will feature Diverse Feb. 5, Chris Hazelton and Friends March 7 and Tim Whitmer April 4.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Susan B. Wilson of KCUR's KC Currents interviewed Deborah Brown.

*Shunzo Ohno is interviewed by Joe Klopus.

*KCUR notes the 100th anniversary of the Gem Theater.

*KCJazzLark commends the promotional efforts of the Blue Room, the Majestic and Take Five Coffee + Bar.

*Ed Ward recounts Joe Turner's career for NPR's Fresh Air.  (Tip via KCJazzLark.)

*A reviewer for The Kansas City Star seemed to enjoy Vijay Iyer's concert Friday at the Folly Theater.  Phonologotronic also raves about the show.

*The Joplin Globe provides an update on Ken Rosberg's Jazz For Joplin project.

*"Ballad For an Optimist" is among the new compositions Chris Burnett will perform November 3 at Take Five Coffee + Bar.

*Chuck Haddix received an award from the Johnson County Library Foundation.

*A YouTube user named Leo Grass uploaded a batch of scratchy videos that ostensibly contain footage shot at the Kansas City Women's Jazz Festival in 1979.

*Multi-instrumentalist Mike Stover has assured me that Lauren Krum's debut at Take Five Coffee + Bar on Saturday, October 27, will be a jazz-oriented performance.  Krum is the vocalist for alt-country act The Grisly Hand.

*Plastic Sax received a shout-out from a "veteran celebrity journalist" at the 4:30 mark in a jazz blogging webinar produced by the Jazz Journalists Association.

*Tweet o' the Week: vijayiyer- the show already happened, but this 15-second promo video is fire. Vimeo video.

*Comment o' the Week: Anonymous- Pointless anachronism??? Stop trying to be cute. IMO the world could use more Jim Hall and less rap. I'm all over this one!

*From Stan Kessler: Passport CD Release Party.  Stan Kessler/Beau Bledsoe.  Music From Everywhere.  October 26.  Take Five Coffee Bar.  8-10.  Free.  CDs $15.

*From Jim Mair: Swing jazz at its best is on tap for the second in the “Jazz by the Lake” series at Kansas City Kansas Community College Thursday, Nov. 1.  Featuring the Bram Wijnands Trio, the free concert will be held from noon-1 p.m. in the Conference Center adjacent to the Campus Lake at the State Avenue end of the College campus at 7250 State Avenue...  He will be joined by two other KCKCC adjunct instructors, guitarist Rod Fleeman, a three-time Grammy nominee, and percussionist Jurgen Welge, a native of Germany who came to the U.S. more than 20 years ago…    The “Jazz by the Lake” series is held the first Thursday of each month. The Everette DeVan Quartet featuring Eboni Fondren drew a standing room only crowd in the opening performance. Still ahead in the series is the Joe Cartwright Trio Dec. 6, Diverse Feb. 5, Chris Hazelton and Friends March 7 and Tim Whitmer April 4.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Bobby Watson shares his thoughts on the jazz scene with the Columbia Tribune. He performs at Murray's on New Year's Eve.

*The photographs of a recent Shay Estes gig by KCJazzLark are stunning.

*The Count Basie Orchestra is under new management. Here's the press release. There's a vastly superior new site as well. Before it disappears, I suggest taking one last look at the organization's absolutely brutal old site. (Tip via KCJazzLark.)

*Darcy James Argue offers an elegant appreciation of Bob Brookmeyer.

*Pat Metheny obsessives will want to take a look at this Flickr photostream chronicling his ambitious new project.

*Pat Metheny ranks #21 on Billboard's chart of the 25 best-selling jazz artists of the decade. A Swingin' Christmas, by Tony Bennett and the Count Basie Orchestra, ranks #40 on Billboard's chart of the best-selling jazz albums of the decade. And Ray Sings, Basie Swings comes in at #47 on the same chart. No other artists with Kansas City ties are listed. It's telling that not a single living purely acoustic jazz instrumentalist made either list.

*Mark Edelman runs down the week in live jazz.

*From Bram Wijnands' site: Bram Wijnands is back at the Majestic... In January, Bram Wijnands Trio will be performing at the Majestic on Friday and Saturday, 7-11 pm (except Friday 1-8 when Paul Shinn's Trio fills in).

*Mouth, the band that's not really a jazz band, offers yet another free download containing selections from a recent performance. How does this relate to "real" jazz musicians? Well, Darcy James Argue (referenced above), developed interest in his big band by disseminating live recordings. His proper 2009 release ranks highly on the year-end lists of many jazz critics. I implore local jazz artists to consider following this lead.

*Here's an amended version of a comment I left at KCJazzLark's site in response to his reference to the commonly cited statistic that three percent of music sales are jazz.

That 3% statistic is horribly misleading. Here's Billboard's ten best-selling jazz artists of 2009, in order: Michael Buble, Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, Chris Botti, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand, Melody Gardot, Nat King Cole and Boney James. And here are the ten best-selling jazz artists of the decade, in order: Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Michael Buble, Kenny G, Harry Connick, Jr., Chris Botti, Tony Bennett, Boney James, Dave Koz and Herbie Hancock. My hunch is that these 14 crossover artists account for 90% of all jazz sales. If I'm correct, the so-called long tail of jazz is exceedingly thin and malnourished.

*Unlike previous years, I'm not dedicating a post to live jazz on New Year's Eve. Here are a few options:

-The Blue Room- Everette DeVan and Greg Carroll perform from 8-10:00. The James Ward Band plays from 10:30-12:30.
-Davey's Uptown- Plastic Sax favorites Hearts of Darkness will be the life of the party.
-Jardine's- The Wild Women of Kansas City go on at 6:00 and Ida McBeth performs at 9:00.
-Lucky Brewgrille- AfterGroove will make for a smooth celebration.
-The Majestic- The Bram Wijnands Quartet performs.
-Candace Evans plays the Lodge of Four Seasons in the Ozarks.
-Bobby Watson and Horizon bring in the new year in Columbia.

Me? I'm celebrating New Year's Eve a day early with Hot Club of Cowton at Knuckleheads.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Here's a bit of welcome news. According to an article in the Star, the Majestic is reopening under new ownership. Jazz, apparently, is still in the mix. "The Sebrees put a 1910 piano in the dining room for live jazz during happy hour. The basement jazz club will be open on Friday and Saturday nights."

*Kim Park has returned. "It is great to be back in Kansas City after spending two years in Nashville," Park writes. "There is a thriving jazz community here, and it is a pleasure to be back." He performs this Saturday afternoon at Jardine's.

*I learned of a major schedule change at the Blue Room through the KCJazzLark blog. The November 5 appearance by Pat Martino has been canceled. It's been replaced by an all-star bill of T.S. Monk, John Faddis and Bobby Watson.

*The Star's Tim Finn profiles The Hearts of Darkness.

*KCUR program KC Currents featured pianist Bram Wijnands.

*A song from Angela Hagenbach's new album is available for free download here.

*Here's the Star's review of Saturday's stunning Afinidad concert at The Folly Theater.

*Guitarist Will Matthews is recognized in Steve Penn's column.

*Mark Edelman's weekly jazz column runs here and here.

*From a CampKC guide to Kansas City nightlife: "My lover and I were urged to leave the Mutual Musicians Foundation for holding hands. Not fun. How we miss bar Natasha, where we could always pay the servers to camp it up and sing 'Defying Gravity' before closing."

*From Gary of AfterGroove: "This has been another good week for us receiving national airplay. For the 2nd week, we made to top 10 for "new adds" and "spincrease", according to Smoothjazz.com. We are also on www.citysoundsradio.com . We have a web radio interview scheduled in December with KCLIVE.com."

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Not So Majestic

Poor Bram Wijnands.

That was the first thing that came to mind when I read that the Majestic Steakhouse was, as the Star put it, gone for good. As is regularly noted at Plastic Sax, the outstanding entertainer is perhaps the single finest purveyor of Kansas City's classic jazz sound. The Majestic's basement, in my mind at least, was his room.

Beyond the misfortunes of Wijnands and other musicians, however, is an even more significant loss. The Majestic featured what most casual listeners and visitors from out of town have in mind when they think of "Kansas City jazz."

Here's an example. While attending Steve Coleman's performance at The Blue Room in April, a very nice couple asked me if the experimental musician intended to "play like that all night." What the pair wanted to hear instead was old-fashioned swing music. It was nice knowing that I could confidently direct them to The Majestic. The likes of The Scamps, Joe Cartwright, Julie Turner and Tommy Ruskin would be sure to please them.

The three primary jazz-oriented rooms remaining in Kansas City feature a much broader stylistic range than did The Majestic. The music offered at The Blue Room, Jardine's and The Phoenix isn't always a natural fit for tourists and convention-goers.

Visitors to New Orleans know they'll hear "When the Saints Go Marching In" in the French Quarter. "Sweet Home Chicago" is played nightly in many of the Windy City's blues bars. With The Majestic gone, a tourist in Kansas City is no longer guaranteed the opportunity to hear a jazz band performing a Count Basie number.

That hurts.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*The publishing catalog of Charlie Parker is changing hands according to this report.

*Barbecue, jazz and dance receive a Kansas City-style mashup.

*Hours after publishing a post in which I whined about the dearth of locally produced jazz videos, I uncovered this two-minute film featuring the music of The People's Liberation Big Band. It's not exactly what I had in mind, but it's quite amusing.

*A new treasure trove of performance videos captures Bram Wijnands at The Majestic.

*"The sshhing is more annoying." That's the handwritten message on a table tent at Jardine's documented in this photo. (Tip via Plastic Sax reader.)

*My friend and colleague Joel Francis traveled to Arkansas to catch a Sonny Rollins gig. Here's his review. What gives, Joel? I would have pitched in for gas money...

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Nuit du Jazz at Jardine's

Did you miss the Nuit du Jazz show at Jardine's earlier this week? Fear not- a representative sampling is already on YouTube. While no video can capture the essence of the live experience, the murky footage makes it quite clear that the trio of Bram Wijnands, Jurgen Welge and Rod Fleeman was vastly entertaining. Critics of Plastic Sax would be right to suggest that videos of Bram Wijnands are disproportionately represented at this site. Here's why- someone actually bothers to film and post his shows. Allow me to remind Kansas City's jazz community of a little secret.

Jazz Carol Fest 2008

The annual Carol Fest at Community Christian Church serves as an excellent survey of Kansas City's mainstream jazz scene. Yesterday's rendition was no exception. Even Scrooge- a character sometimes identified with Plastic Sax- would have tapped his toes with vigor.

Here are a few of the evening's highlights:

*Millie Edwards was the clear favorite of the capacity audience of about 600. The louder she sang, the more they loved her.

*I preferred Ida McBeth's controlled, emotional reading of "The Christmas Song."

*Angela Hagenbach, accompanied only by James Albright's bowed bass and Tim Whitmer's piano, was also outstanding on "I Wonder As I Wander."

*Bram Wijnands shone brightly on "Let It Snow" and "White Christmas." He played accordion to great effect on the latter.

*Guitarist Rod Fleeman anchored the house band. He demonstrated impeccable taste and versatility on every selection.

*Folk musician Danny Cox was a nice addition. His heartfelt original song allowed Fleeman to cut loose a la Duane Allman.

*Jurgen Welge's fine drumming was punctuated by festive seasonal flourishes.

*Other participants included Max Berry, Tom DeMasters, Everett DeVan, Jim Mair, Al Pearson, Diane "Mama" Ray and Lucky Wesley.

(Original blurry image by Plastic Sax.)

Sandomirsky & Wijnands

KANU recently spoiled my afternoon.

Even though I knew that the station diligently publishes its playlists online, I simply couldn't leave my sedan until I discovered who was responsible for the magical duet being broadcast. When the selection was finally back-announced twenty minutes later, I discovered that I'd been listening to a recording of a February 18 performance by Bram Wijnands and Gregory Sandomirsky from the Ruel Joyce series at Johnson County Community College.

The duo performed again this week at Community Christian Church. Luckily for fans of innovative music, the performance was filmed. Eleven selections are up at YouTube.

What the radio broadcast failed to reveal is the amusing physical interplay between Kansas City pianist Wijnands and Sandomirsky, the Associate Concertmaster with the Kansas City Symphony. Their playful antics don't disguise the revealing connections the men make between the worlds of jazz and classical music.

The Plastic Sax Muxtape

The good old days were a drag. Warped albums, crummy cassettes and universes of unheard music made discovering and collecting sound recordings an often frustrating endeavor.

Savvy musicians take advantage of today's enlightened environment by making samples of their music- an increasingly free commidity anyway- readily available to listeners.

Plastic Sax decided to join the cool kids by creating a Plastic Sax Muxtape of Kansas City jazz artists. I tossed this mix together Sunday afternoon using only downloadable material from MySpace, artist sites and record labels. The exception is the rarity by Pete Eye, which I snagged from an MP3 blog.

My mix opens with Megan Birdsall's bright signature song and ends with skronk from Dwight Frizzell and This Is My Condition. Also included are Chris Burnett, Bram Wijnands, Harold O'Neal, Kim Sivils and Steve Rigazzi, Ryan Jesperson, the New Red Onion Jazz Babies and Craig Akin. Enjoy.

(Original image by Plastic Sax. I still own hundreds of useless cassettes.)

Kansas City's Dutchman

Consider this- Bram Wijnands so loved Kansas City's music that he moved here to perform it. The Dutchman has dedicated his career to reviving the roaring sounds of vintage Count Basie, Jay McShann and Bennie Moten. He may be the music's single most convincing recreationist.

A good Samaritan filmed several performances by Wijnands' Majestic Seven at Jardine's last week. Additional selections can be viewed here, here and here.

The band plays the club the second Wednesday of every month. Wijnands also works in a trio format every Friday and Saturday at the Majestic.

Here's one final tip- over a dozen excellent Wijnands recordings are available for download at his site.