Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Bobby Watson chatted with Steve Kraske during the last 18 minutes of an episode of KCUR’s Up To Date program.  Their conversation touched on Watson’s forthcoming concert in Kansas City.

*We the People created a music video for “Misunderstood.”

*Logan Richardson is featured on Gerald Clayton’s new album Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard.

*Miles Bonny was interviewed by Joe Dimino.

*Tweet o’ the Week: American Jazz Museum- On 7/19 we're hosting an opening reception to celebrate our new exhibition! It commemorates the centennial birthday of famous Kansas City saxophonist Charlie Parker. Co-curated by AJM and Chuck Haddix. Click here for more information.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*KCUR reports on the results of the American Jazz Museum’s Charlie Parker Song Contest.

*The Brandon Goldberg Trio featuring Logan Richardson will perform at the Folly Theater on September 26 as part of the 2020-21 season of The Harriman-Jewell Series.  A concert by Larry Carlton is among the jazz-related offerings in the 2020-21 season of the Carlsen Center Presents series at Johnson County Community College.

*Bobby Watson spoke to Joe Dimino about his retirement plans.

*The Marcus Lewis Band Band documented another virtual performance.

*Tweet o’ the Week: KC Jazz Alive- KC Jazz ALIVE has compiled a list of relief funding sources and other resources available to artists during COVID-19. Click the link to view!

*From a press release: As saxophonist/composer Bobby Watson embarks on a new chapter in his storied career, his latest album arrives as a reminder of the authenticity that has characterized his music on every step of that journey. Keepin’ It Real, due out June 26 via Smoke Sessions Records, debuts a new incarnation of his renowned band Horizon… Watson now finds himself in a position to dedicate more of it than ever to his own music. After 20 years as Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and decades more as an educator at institutions like Manhattan School of Music, the New School, and William Paterson University, Watson retired from academia this year. That newfound freedom instigated the launch of a new version of Horizon featuring a cast of rising stars and one lifelong collaborator… Rechristened New Horizon, the current band includes trumpeters Josh Evans or Giveton Gelin, pianist Victor Gould, drummer Victor Jones and bassist Curtis Lundy, whose relationship with Watson dates back to their college days at the University of Miami.

*From a press release: Mike Dillon has announced his new album 'Rosewood' will be released July 17 via Royal Potato Family. Recorded intermittently between January 2018 and September 2019, its 13 majestic tracks were created solely with vibraphone and percussion instruments… It was written and recorded during a period where Dillon was in the midst of leaving a long term relationship, followed by the beginning of a new relationship that would result in marriage. Dillon also found himself relocating from his longtime home-base, New Orleans to his current residence, Kansas City. "I fell in love with my dear friend, Peregrine Honig, in the midst of break up turmoil. I started spending time in Kansas City in August 2017, a city where I'd previously lived and had first met Peregrine in 1997," explains Dillon.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*The Purna Loka Ensemble is the subject of Libby Hanssen’s audio feature for KCUR.

*Roger Wilder, Andrew Ouellette, Max Levy, Paul Roberts, Sean Murdy and Matt Villinger are the winners of the American Jazz Museum’s Charlie Parker Song Contest.  Corresponding videos stream at the Facebook account of The Blue Room.

*The Kansas City jazz advocate Yoko Takemura notes Hermon Mehari’s participation in a Parisian fashion show in Jazz Tokyo.

*Logan Richardson contributes to Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds, the Blue Note Records debut of the South African pianist Nduduzo Makhathini.

*Tweet o’ the Week: Green Lady Lounge- Steve Lambert - Naima Rose (Composer: Steve Lambert) #Jazz #NowPlaying #KansasCityJazz Green Lady Radio

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*The Kansas City musician Reggie Watkins has died.

*Logan Richardson released a new song titled “Frequency”.

*Matt Hopper and Adam Larson discussed the shutdown of Kansas City’s live jazz scene with Joe Dimino.

*Tweet o’ the Week: KC Kerrie- When you are stuck inside for the umpteenth day and need new ear joy so you open your suggested playlist. Spotify says "I got you" Jazz...who knew??? Thank you @Spotify for hitting a note I didn't know I was missing

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*As my note at The Kansas City Jazz Calendar indicates, Kansas City’s live music venues have been silenced.

*CJ Janovy created an audio feature about Logan Richardson for KCUR.

*I highlighted the careers of artists including Deborah Brown, Julia Lee, Marilyn Maye and Priscilla Bowman in an episode of 90.9 The Bridge’s Eight One Sixty program.

*Mike Herrera and Jim Lower discussed Kansas City’s jazz scene with Joe Dimino.

*The New York Times recommended Logan Richardson’s appearance at the Jazz Gallery.

*A devastating fire ravaged Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club.  The venue fostered the careers of musicians including Mike Dillon.

*Tweet o’ the Week: Mayor Quinton Lucas- Under the authority of Mayor Lucas’s State of Emergency proclamation, and per new @CDCgov guidance, no events or gatherings with 50 or more attendees will be allowed in Kansas City for the next eight weeks. #COVIDー19 #KCMO

*From the American Jazz Museum: In order to support Kansas City’s effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 the American Jazz Museum and The Blue Room jazz club will be closed temporarily, effective immediately.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

The Top Jazz-Related Stories and Trends of 2019

1. My Dear Watson
As noted at Plastic Sax last month, the Bobby Watson era in Kansas City is drawing to a close. The reigning Plastic Sax Person of the Decade for the past 20 years is irreplaceable.

2. Final Notice
Rashida Phillips was named the new Executive Director of the American Jazz Museum in December.  The beleaguered institution is at a critical juncture.  Can Phillips restore even a portion of its former vitality?

3. Blind Item
“We are dealing with decreased attendance. The continuation of (redacted) is in jeopardy. If (redacted) is to survive, we must increase membership, donors and concert attendance.”  The dire warning emailed to supporters of a Kansas City jazz advocacy group reflects the grim behind-the-scenes struggle shared by several jazz-oriented organizations.

4. Ornithology
Charlie Parker was born in Kansas City, Kansas, on August 29, 1920.  Is Kansas City prepared to properly commemorate the centennial of his birth?  Fly Higher, the most prominent all-star tour honoring Parker, is unlikely to stop in Kansas City.

5. Missing in Action
Joshua Redman told the audience at his April concert at the Folly Theater that Kansas City is “not a city I get to come through very often these days.”  It’s a harsh reality.  Kansas City is not on the itineraries of most touring jazz artists.  Alas, the majority of the sporadic noble experiments fail.  I was compelled to travel to Chicago and Knoxville in 2019 to hear the world’s most important jazz artists.

6. Cold Shoulder
When it comes to coverage by the international jazz press, Kansas City may as well be Dodge City.  The virtual media blackout is galling.  Not a single album overseen by a Kansas City based jazz artist appeared on a prominent best-of-2019 list.  Even the most comprehensive jazz critic snubbed locally based musicians.

7. Green Lady Groove
Green Lady Lounge hunkered down in 2019.  The never-a-cover venue open 365-days-a-year no longer presents touring acts.  Even with a few significant changes- Chris Hazelton no longer holds down the prime weekend spot- Green Lady Lounge and its sister club Black Dolphin remain the dominant destinations for jazz in Kansas City.

8. Dynamic Duo
The two most encouraging moments of the year came from opposite ends of the spectrum.  About 1,500 people purchased pricey ticket to catch the Kansas City debut of Snarky Puppy in June.  And dozens of young people stood in rapt attention during an audacious free show by Logan Richardson at the Ship in September.

9. Prairie Village for the Win
The only jazz festival in the Kansas City area in 2019 was the one-day, five-act Prairie Village Jazz Festival headlined by Dan Thomas & the KC All Star Big Band.

10. Called Out
The notable Kansas City musician Eddie Moore took the author of Plastic Sax to task during my appearance on Marcus Lewis’ Ask a Jazz Dude talk show.  Moore implied that I regularly mocked locally based musicians in essays like this.  That’s not my intent.  Moore is precisely the sort of musician I believe merits more attention.  While I’ll never be mistaken for an uncritical cheerleader, I put everything I have into selectively promoting Kansas City jazz musicians with efforts like this, this, this, this and this.  Like it or not, I remain the most prominent and active media advocate of Kansas City’s jazz scene.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Logan Richardson: The Plastic Sax Person of the Year

The most encouraging moment of 2019 on Kansas City’s jazz scene transpired at the Ship on September 11.  Several dozen people in their twenties and thirties were transfixed by a band led by Logan Richardson.  As the saxophonist, vibraphonist Peter Schlamb, bassist Dominique Sanders and drummer Ryan Lee locked in on a mesmerizing groove, the sort of rarified sound associated with the innovative jazz hubs of Chicago, Los Angeles and London made an all-too-uncommon appearance in Kansas City.  Long based in Europe, Richardson seemed to spend more time in his hometown in 2019.  He elevated the playing of his contemporaries in his public performances in Kansas City.  He also contributed to Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s Grammy nominated Ancestral Recall album and released the bold track “Her” on December 13.  Plastic Sax has documented Richardson’s ascent for more than ten years.  His designation as the Plastic Sax Person of the Year is overdue.

The previous recipients of Plastic Sax's Person of the Year award are Peter Schlamb (2018), John Scott (2017),  Eddie Moore (2016), Larry Kopitnik (2015), Deborah Brown (2014), Stan Kessler (2013), Doug and Lori Chandler (2012), Jeff Harshbarger (2011), Mark Lowrey (2010) and Hermon Mehari (2009).  Bobby Watson was named the Plastic Sax Person of the Decade in 2009.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Plastic Sax’s Favorite Albums and Performances of 2019

Favorite Albums by Kansas City Artists
1. The Sextet- Among Friends (KCUR audio feature.)
2. Matt Villinger- All Day (Plastic Sax review.)
3. Adam Larson- Listen With Your Eyes (Plastic Sax review.)
4. Jay McShann- Live in Tokyo 1990 (KCUR audio feature.)
5. Wing Walker Orchestra- Hazel (Plastic Sax review.)
6. Norman Brown- The Highest Act of Love (Plastic Sax review.)
7. Julian Vaughn- Supreme (Plastic Sax review.)
8. Dave Scott- In Search of Hipness (Plastic Sax review.)
9. Myers Swingset- The State of This City (Plastic Sax review.)
10. Karrin Allyson Sextet- Shoulder to Shoulder: Centennial Tribute to Women’s Suffrage (Plastic Sax review.)

Favorite Albums by Artists From Elsewhere
1. The Art Ensemble of Chicago- We Are On the Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration
2. Flying Lotus- Flamagra
3. Kris Davis- Diatom Ribbons
4. Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan- Epistrophy
5. Laura Jurd- Stepping Back, Jumping In
6. G. Calvin Weston- Dust and Ash
7. Matana Roberts- Coin Coin Chapter Four: Memphis
8. Jaimie Branch- Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise
9. Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah- Ancestral Recall
10. Terri Lyne Carrington- Waiting Game

Favorite Performances by Kansas City Artists
1. Logan Richardson’s Blues People- Capsule (Plastic Sax review).
2. The Sextet- RecordBar (Instagram clip.)
3. Bobby Watson & Horizon- White Recital Hall (Plastic Sax review.)
4. Jerry Hahn and Danny Embrey- Recital Hall at the Carlsen Center
5. Matt Otto Quartet- Black Dolphin (Plastic Sax review.)
6. Ben Tervort’s Classically Trained- Westport Coffee House (Plastic Sax review.)
7. Rod Fleeman and Gerald Spaits- Green Lady Lounge
8. Brian Scarborough Quintet- RecordBar (Plastic Sax review.)
9. Peter Schlamb Trio- Capsule (Plastic Sax review.)
10. Guitar Elation- Green Lady Lounge (Instagram clip.)

Favorite Performances by Artists From Elsewhere
1. Aaron Parks’ Little Big- Blue Room (Plastic Sax review.)
2. Ehud Ettun and Henrique Eisenmann- 1900 Building (Plastic Sax review.)
3. Tatsuya Nakatani and Assif Tsahar- 1900 Building (Plastic Sax review.)
4. Snarky Puppy- Muriel Kauffman Theatre (Plastic Sax review.)
5. Stefon Harris & Blackout- Folly Theater (Plastic Sax review.)
6. Ryan Keberle & Catharsis- Mod Gallery (Plastic Sax review.)
7. Der Lange Schatten- Blue Room (Plastic Sax review.)
8. The Chicago Plan- Blue Room (Plastic Sax review.)
9. Tatsuya Nakatani- The Ship (Plastic Sax review.)
10. Joshua Redman Quartet- Folly Theater (Plastic Sax review.)

Plastic Sax conducted similar exercises in 2018, 2017, 2016 (albums and performances), 2015, 2014 (albums and performances), 2013 (albums and performances), 2012, 2011 and 2010.

(Original image of the Peter Schlamb Trio at Capsule by Plastic Sax.)

Concert Review: Logan Richardson’s Blues People at Capsule

“Charlie Parker was trap.”  The declaration was among the provocative statements made by Logan Richardson during a bracing performance at Capsule on Thanksgiving.  An audience of about 60 at the free show heard Richardson, vibraphonist Peter Schlamb, bassist Dominique Sanders and drummer Ryan J. Lee honor the most important musician from Kansas City by advancing Parker’s innovations.  Defiant, confrontational and extremely loud, the plugged-in quartet ingeniously transferred Bird’s vision to a futuristic- and yes, trap-informed- setting.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*The Kansas City Star noted that Logan Richardson plays on one track of Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s “Ancestral Recall,” a project nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.

*KCUR lists Logan Richardson’s show at Capsule in its weekly arts newsletter.

*The Kansas City Star recommends Matt Villinger’s show at the Blue Room.

*Joe Dimino shares footage of a Kansas City Jazz Orchestra outreach event.

*JazzTimes lists 18 places “where you can find the historical documents of jazz.”  Kansas City institutions don’t make the cut.

*Tweet o’ the Week: Community Christian Church- Join host Tim Whitmer for Community Christian Church's 24th annual Jazz Carol Fest on Sunday, December 8 at 4 p.m. We have a great lineup featuring Kansas City's premier vocalists, including headliner Molly Hammer! Tickets are on sale now!

*From a press release:...Charlie Parker will be honored throughout 2020 with a worldwide celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of his birth (August 29, 1920)... (The) centennial will include a host of major initiatives including exciting new music releases, a tribute tour, festivals and events, prestigious exhibitions, special partnerships, a unique graphic novel, exclusive collectible art, and a myriad of independent appreciations and concerts.

Parker’s longtime label Verve Records… will kick off the yearlong celebration this week with a limited edition vinyl pressing of the rare 12” LP, The Magnificent Charlie Parker, an exclusive release for Record Store Day’s Black Friday… Verve/UMe plan to celebrate Parker with several releases throughout 2020…

Bird’s incredible legacy and immortal music will soar throughout the year with a variety of festivals, concerts, events and an exciting tribute tour.  Sanctioned by the Estate of Charlie Parker, “Fly Higher: Charlie Parker @ 100” features acclaimed co-musical directors Rudresh Mahanthappa (alto saxophone) and Terri Lyne Carrington (drums) as they celebrate the jazz master, one of the most innovative and influential artists in modern musical history and examine his impact in pop, hip-hop, rap, rock and jazz.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Laura Taglialatela

The Italian vocalist Laura Taglialatela will perform with her Ropeadope labelmate Logan Richardson at the Blue Room on Friday, October 25.  The spiritual nature of the song in the embedded video reflects the searching tone of her 2018 debut album.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Yoko Takemura recounts the backstory of the release of Jay McShann’s new Live in Tokyo album for Jazz Tokyo.

*Selections by Karrin Allyson, Peter Schlamb and Bobby Watson and were highlighted in an episode of the weekly radio program Eight One Sixty titled “Best Albums of the Decade.”

*Julian Vaughn’s Supreme debuted at #6 on Billboard’s jazz albums chart.

*A quartet led by vocalist Kelly Gant performed on Star Sessions.  Gant is among the artists on the bill at a fundraiser for Molly Hammer at Mod Gallery on Sunday, July 14.

*Chris Burnett is featured on page 130 of the latest issue of KC Studio magazine.

*Brad Allen and Herschel McWilliams were interviewed by Joe Dimino.

*An essayist proposes that Robert Altman’s “films are a true reflection of the Kansas style Jazz that he grew up with in his hometown.”

*Tweet o’ the Week: Sabrina Moella- 10. But back to the show, the whole band was excellent. Kristopher Funn on bass, Lawrence Fields on piano, Corey Fonville on drums, Chief aTunde Adjuah himself on trompet, Logan Richardson on the sax & Weedie Braimah on djembe. Chile. That's a jazz band dream team right there.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Ghosts in the Machine

Kansas City’s jazz scene isn’t merely haunted by its illustrious history.  The formidable legacy of past masters often seems to suffocate the musicians of today.  That’s one of the takeaways from an exercise I conducted at my nondenominational music blog There Stands the Glass.

The examination of Spotify’s monthly listeners metric for artists associated with Kansas City offers intriguing insights into the consumption of jazz recordings.  Half of the artists in the top ten and 24 of the top 100 are jazz musicians.  Pat Metheny, Karrin Allyson, the jazz-adjacent Oleta Adams and the smooth jazz stars Norman Brown and Julian Vaughn are the only living jazz artists in the top 50.  And the gulf between the iconic Charlie Parker (#10, 495,000 monthly listeners) and his present-day successor Logan Richardson (#99, 1,000 monthly listeners) is astounding. 

The absence of many of the artists regularly documented at Plastic Sax is glaring.   I note at the original post that “many ostensible hometown heroes are streamed by only a few hundred users each month.”  Streaming isn’t a zero-sum game- just because someone streams Charlie Parker doesn’t mean they’re not also streaming Logan Richardson- but the extreme imbalance between old and new is frightening.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*The editorial board of The Kansas City Star chastises the city for spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on last year’s Open Spaces festival.  A recap of the artistically audacious but woefully attended festival is included in Plastic Sax’s end-of-the year survey of Kansas City’s jazz scene.

*Not a single Kansas City musician or institution is among the dozens of nominees in the Jazz Journalists Association’s JJA Jazz Awards 2019.

*Logan Richardson’s return to the Blue Room is previewed by The Kansas City Star.

*Tweet o’ the Week: Charlie Parker- Charlie Parker with Strings: Alternate Takes comes 70 years since the initial recordings & the Record Store Day LP set comes in a blue vinyl matching the updated original David Stone Martin cover. Exclusively available 4/13 at participating record stores. http://RecordStoreDay.com

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Logan Richardson

Logan Richardson is one of a handful of musicians from the Kansas City area who have been featured on an episode of NPR’s illustrious Tiny Desk Concert series.  The saxophonist’s 2018 contribution to the showcase is embedded here.  Richardson performs at Blue Room on Thursday, April 18.  The concert is one of the day’s 18 gigs listed on The Kansas City Jazz Calendar.

Ears in Arrears

A Kansas City musician posted a derisive comment in response to a video clip I shared on Instagram documenting a dissonant performance at the Big Ears Festival.  His rejection of boundary-pushing music reflects the conservatism that often makes Kansas City’s jazz scene seem like the land that time forgot.

I recently joined 18,000 people at the Big Ears Festival because the festival was loaded with prominent jazz artists who haven’t played Kansas City in the past ten years, or in many cases, have never set foot inside the city limits.  The long list of luminaries at the 2019 edition of the festival included the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Nik Bärtsch, Tim Berne, Mathias Eick, Mary Halvorson, Shabaka Hutchings, Nicole Mitchell, Evan Parker, Ned Rothenberg, Leo Wadada Smith, Craig Taborn, David Torn, Ralph Towner and Nate Wooley.  If these cutting-edge musicians aren’t going to come to Kansas City, I’m going to go to them.  (My capsule reviews of the 30 concerts I caught at Big Ears are here.

Club owners and concert presenters aren’t to blame.  If there was a hearty appetite for forward-thinking jazz, they wouldn’t hesitate to dish it up.  Yet as proven time after time after time, there’s simply not much of an audience for the sound of the moment in Kansas City. 

It’s a civic embarrassment that the profoundly influential stars Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and Robert Glasper haven’t appeared in town in the past ten years.  Even the Lee’s Summit native Pat Metheny avoids his hometown.  Kansas City’s dogged adherence to convention compelled revolutionary artists ranging from Charlie Parker to Logan Richardson to establish their reputations elsewhere.

Much of the jazz performed in Kansas City today wouldn’t have sounded out of place sixty years ago.  And to be fair, that’s not an entirely bad thing.  Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, John Coltrane’s Giant Steps, Jimmy Smith’s The Sermon! and Count Basie and Billy Eckstine’s Basie/Eckstine Incorporated were released in 1959.  If you’re going to get stuck in the past, it doesn’t get much better than that.  But a full immersion in the sound of 2019 requires traveling to cities like Knoxville, London, Chicago and New York.

(Original image of David Torn, Craig Taborn, Vijay Iyer, Nik Bärtsch, Steve Lake and Nate Chinen by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Bobby Watson reveals that “I plan on retiring from academia and going back to touring full-time and writing and composing and living my life like I used to” in a video feature created by The Kansas City Star.

*Charles Williams’ Flavors of Jazz album was reviewed by a critic for The Toledo Blade.

*Logan Richardson makes an appearance on Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s new album Ancestral Recall.

*The Kansas City Star previewed a concert by the Manhattan Transfer and Take 6.

*The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s 4th Annual Jazz & Jackie Celebration includes performances by Alex Bugnon and Eric Darius on April 13.

*Tweet o’ the Week: Corey O- If you’re downtown, check out green lady lounge for jazz and manifesto for cocktails in a speakeasy

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Ernest Melton is featured at the site of Quincy Jones' streaming entertainment startup Quest TV.  The photo that accompanies the article looks familiar.

*Not a single release by a Kansas City artist earned a spot on the list of the Top 50 albums in The 2018 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll.

*The man behind Plastic Sax extolled Logan Richardson on KCUR’s Up To Date program last week.

*John Stafford spoke to Joe Dimino about the new album by a vocal ensemble at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

*In her guest editorial about the Open Spaces festival for The Kansas City Star, Anne Gatschet writes that “(t)ourists are unlikely to say, ‘I’m going to Kansas City. Can’t wait to see the Mutual Musicians’ Foundation.’”

*Tweet o’ the Week: Ryan Heinlein- Pretty remarkable to neither honor the tradition or be forward thinking at all. That’s how this dies.

*From a press release: The Kansas City Jazz Summit will take place April 23 - 26, 2019. This event caters to middle school, high school and college jazz bands, combos and jazz choirs and will take place at Kansas City Kansas Community College. The festival will highlight Kansas City's rich jazz heritage through the "Basically Basie" Jazz Heritage Competition. Bands are judged on their ability to capture the essence of the Kansas City style as best exemplified by the Count Basie Orchestra. There is also a non-competitive category (Summit) that allows bands to showcase their own unique style and personality.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

The Top Jazz-Related Stories and Trends of 2018

1. Exhibit Closed
As the saying has it, this is why we can’t have nice things.  Ongoing disarray at the American Jazz Museum has substantially reduced the quality of life for dedicated music enthusiasts in Kansas City.  Not only does the institution no longer present an annual outdoor festival or book touring artists at the Gem Theater, the current programming at the museum’s nightclub is comparatively unimaginative.

2. Cracks In the Foundation
The legal travails and infighting at the Mutual Musicians Foundation acts as an ominous cloud over the entire Jazz District.  Pass the Tylenol.

3. No News is Bad News
Jazz coverage in Kansas City suffered several big hits in 2018.
Joe Klopus’ longstanding weekly Jazz Town column for The Kansas City Star was discontinued.  Metropolis, a publication subsidized by arts organizations, went belly-up.  The dedicated Kansas City jazz historian Larry Kopitnik stepped down as editor of Jam magazine.  The content and publication schedule of the periodical has suffered accordingly.  Plastic Sax is the sole local outlet offering regularly updated commentary and analysis of Kansas City’s jazz scene.

4. The Elephant In the Room
The most pressing issue on Kansas City’s jazz scene is the unabated erosion of support among the general public.  A cover charge of more than $10 attached to a jazz gig by an instrumental, improvisation-based Kansas City jazz ensemble not named the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra is the equivalent of cement shoes in a mob hit.

5. Wide Open Spaces
A de facto jazz festival took place in Kansas City this year.  Almost no one showed up.  The city-sponsored Open Spaces festival boasted an extensive jazz component.  Yet less than 25 people were present at each of the several free performances I attended.  Along with the Roots and Janelle Monaé, the Vijay Iyer Sextet headlined the festival.  Less than 75 people paid the $20 cover charge to hear Iyer’s auspicious New York based band.

6. Fists of Fury
Kamasi Washington’s concert at the Truman provided an accounting of precisely how many people in Kansas City will pay to see a jazz show by a touring jazz instrumentalist who isn't appearing under the aegis of an established concert series.  Far and away the most popular and critically acclaimed jazz artist of the decade, Washington drew 500 people to the downtown concert venue.

7. If a Jazz Album Was Released in a Forest
Another year passed without any national recognition for a Kansas City artist other than Logan Richardson or Pat Metheny.  To the best of my knowledge, not a single album other than Richardson’s Blues People that’s listed on Plastic Sax’s Favorite Kansas City Albums of 2018 revceived notice in a prominent national publication.

8. Glimmers of Hope
It’s not all bad.  The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra performed a few dates in Europe with Deborah Brown.  The Green Lady Lounge, Kansas City’s most popular jazz club, continues to thrive with a winning formula of offering mainstream jazz without a cover charge.  KC Jazz Alive sponsored a residency by saxophonist Tivon Pennicott in a series of performances billed as the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.  The Marcus Lewis Big Band caught the attention of a few local pundits by bringing a pair of rappers into the fold.  “Bambu,” a funky track by Chris Hazelton’s Boogaloo 7, racked up more than 200,000 streams on Spotify.  The bookings of touring artists at the 1900 Building, Black Dolphin and at various locations used by Take Five Productions partly filled the void created by the retreat of the American Jazz Museum.

9. An Unsung Loss
The death of Luqman Hamza, one of Kansas City’s most respected veteran jazz musicians, was virtually unnoticed.

10. It’s a Date
The Kansas City Jazz Calendar was resurrected in 2018.

(Original image of a jazz performance at the Open Spaces festival by Plastic Sax.)

Plastic Sax’s Favorite Albums and Performances of 2018

Favorite Albums By Kansas City Artists
1. Logan Richardson- Blues People (Plastic Sax review)
2. Peter Schlamb- Electric Tinks (Plastic Sax review)
3. The Project H- Everyday, Forever (Plastic Sax review)
4. Ernest Melton- The Time of the Slave Is Over (Plastic Sax review)
5. Stephen Martin- Vision (Plastic Sax review)
6. Chris Hazelton’s Boogaloo 7- The Basement Beat (Plastic Sax review)
7. Lonnie McFadden- Live at Green Lady Lounge (Plastic Sax review)
8. Stan Kessler- Skywatcher (KCUR feature)
9. OJT- New Originals for the Green Lady (Plastic Sax review)
10. Marcus Lewis Big Band- Brass and Boujee(Plastic Sax review)


Favorite Albums By Artists From Elsewhere
1. Dave Holland- Uncharted Territory
2. Ambrose Akinmusire- Origami Harvest
3. Cécile McLorin Salvant- The Window
4. Vincent Peirani- Night Walker
5. Brad Mehldau- After Bach
6. Sons of Kemet- Your Queen Is a Reptile
7. Nicole Mitchell- Maroon Cloud
8. Andrew Cyrille- Lebroba
9. Matthew Shipp- Zero
10. Kamasi Washington- Heaven and Earth


Favorite Performances By Kansas City Artists
1. The Project H- Westport Coffee House
2. Hermon Mehari Quintet- Gem Theater
3. Lonnie McFadden- Black Dolphin
4. Mezzo String- Polsky Theatre (Plastic Sax review)
5. Will Matthews Quintet- Swope Park pavillion (Plastic Sax review)
6. Marcus Lewis Big Band- RecordBar
7. Vine Street Rumble- Californos
8. We the People- RecordBar
9. Charles Williams Trio- First Baptist Church (Plastic Sax review)
10. Ernest Melton, DeAndre Manning and Brad Williams- Blue Room


Favorite Performances By Artists From Elsewhere
1. Erykah Badu- Sprint Center (Plastic Sax review)
2. Vijay Iyer Sextet- Gem Theater (Plastic Sax review)
3. Ryan Keberle & Catharsis- Black Dolphin (Plastic Sax review)
4. Anat Cohen Tentet- Gem Theater (Plastic Sax review)
5. Uriel Herman Quartet- Black Dolphin (Plastic Sax review)
6. Ehud Ettun and Henrique Eisenmann- 1900 Building (Plastic Sax review)
7. Bill Frisell, Thomas Morgan and Rudy Royston - 1900 Building (Plastic Sax review)
8. Cyrille Aimée- Folly Theater (Plastic Sax review)
9. L.A. Swing Barons- Californos (Plastic Sax review)
10. Kamasi Washington- The Truman (Plastic Sax review)

Plastic Sax conducted similar exercises in 2017, 2016 (albums and performances), 2015, 2014 (albums and performances), 2013 (albums and performances), 2012, 2011 and 2010.

(Original image of Eddie Moore, Chalis O’Neal and James Ward by Plastic Sax.)