Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Steve Kraske featured Hermon Mehari of Diverse on KCUR's Up To Date.  Natalie Gallagher of The Pitch interviewed Mehari and Ryan Lee.

*The Pitch highlights an upcoming Molly Hammer performance.

*Joe Dimino of Neon Jazz interviewed E.E. Pointer of the River Cow Orchestra.

*Here's a new episode of 12th Street Jump's "Blues In the News."

*Tweet o' the Week: Tom Snow- Voyage with Bobby Watson #kcjazz (photo)

*Comment o' the Week: Anonymous- Well, that whole thing where the blog comments got lost in an unchecked mailbox for several months was nice while it lasted…

*From a press release: On Friday May 16th from 9pm-1am, renowned Jazz saxophonist and founder of popular soul band Jack Mack and the Heart Attack, Bill Bergman will be playing a show at the Broadway Jazz Club to commemorate his 50th anniversary of playing in Kansas City.  Bergman will be accompanied by hometown friends from Kansas City Latin jazz band Sons of Brasil in order to create a unique fusion of contemporary LA jazz and Kansas City grooves…

(Original image of Eddie Moore and Adam Schlozman at the Green Lady Lounge by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*KCPT uploaded an undated video profile of the Mutual Musicians Foundation to YouTube. 

*T.J. Martley and Gerald Spaits were interviewed by Joe Dimino for Neon Jazz.

*KC Jazz Lark shares illuminating source material as he reexamines the origins of the American Jazz Museum.

*The Kansas City Star reviewed Harry Connick's concert at the Midland theater.

*Chris Burnett reaffirms his commitment to the American Jazz Museum.

*Images of a graveside tribute of Bennie Moten are part of a slideshow of shots taken by photographers for The Kansas City Star.

*The physical edition of Bobby Watson's Check Cashing Day has a new street date of November 26.

*Tweet o' the Week: Ron Gutierrez- I am so, so pleased to announce this Friday's concert! After a few years of planning, the time has come!. (link)

*From Dan Thomas: Dan Thomas and Voyage will be presenting original music and some brand new music in remembrance of JFK at the Blue Room, 18th and Vine, on Nov 22nd from 8:30pm-12:30am.  The evening will mark the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination and we will provide some musical commentary on what he and his legacy has/can inspire us to do. Wayne Hawkins – Piano, Forest Stewart – Bass, Mike Warren – Drums.

*From a press release: Spirituality & All That Jazz.  Magical Musical Moments with vocalist Bukeka Shoals performing with Tim Whitmer & the Consort Band. Wednesday, December 4, 2013. 7 p.m. Unity on the Plaza. $7.

*From the American Jazz Museum: Join us on Thursday, December 19th, 2013 at the American Jazz Museum in the Blue Room for "KC MAD - Kansas City Musician's Appreciation Day!" It's free! Food and drink.  Truman Medical Centers to provide free assessment screening.  Artist career resources.  Live music by Elderstatesmen of KC Jazz from 5pm - 7pm.  Live music by Carl McComas Reichl from 7:30pm - 11pm.  More activities and items to be announced.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Mike Shanin interviewed Tommy Ruskin and Julie Turner for KCPT.

*A television station aired a two-minute feature about Vine Street Rumble.

*Denyce Graves' visit to the Mutual Musicians Foundation is documented by KCJazzLark.

*KCPT, Kansas City's public television station, is acquiring radio station KTBG.  The report in The Kansas City Star indicates that KCPT intends to retain the current AAA format.  Even so, a bit of speciality jazz programming doesn't seem unlikely.

*A remastered version of Chris Burnett's 1999 album Time Flies is now available.

*The Telegraph recalls Kansas City's jazz heyday in a preview of the Cheltenham Jazz Festival.

*Tweet o' the Week: St. Louis Jazz Notes- Dan Thomas and Voyage playing Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4 at Robbie's House of Jazz (link)

*Comment o' the Week: Anonyomous- I share your enthusiasm for Jerry Dodgion. It was a very good show! I hope he makes it back to KC soon.

*From Jim Mair: The 3rd annual Kansas City Jazz Summit takes place April 24,25,26 on the campus of Kansas City Kansas Community College.  34 bands from 5 colleges and 29 middle and high schools from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.  Performances begin daily at 8:30am and conclude at 5:00pm.  Highlights include Wednesday night with a  Big Band extravaganza featuring  the KCKCC Jazz Ensemble and the New Vintage Big Band 7:00pm (donations accepted) in the KCKCC PAC.  Thursday includes the Kansas City Jazz Heritage "Basically Basie" competition.  The competing bands choose three Count Basie tunes and try to replicate the sound, style and the joy of the Basie band.  The top two bands will have a playoff at 5:00pm. Audience members will be able to influence the outcome of the finals by texting their vote for the  winning band...

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Review: Voyage

Opening an album with a ballad takes gumption.  The unconventional strategy works on Voyage, the self-titled album by a quartet of Kansas City musicians. 

The wistful "The New Moon" begins with a conversation between Forest Stewart's resonant bass, composer Mike Warren's wary drumming and Wayne Hawkins' delicate piano.  The rapturously beautiful tone is further enhanced when saxophonist Dan Thomas gently takes the melodic lead. 

The selection's superb musicianship, sensitive interplay and formidable compositional sensibility showcase the quartet's strengths. Their eminently listenable album is polite but not mild-mannered.

Voyage's mainstream post-bop tone will be familiar to listeners who appreciate classic Bobby Watson albums like Present Tense.  The similarity isn't an accident.  Anyone who's attended a jazz function at the University of Missouri-Kansas City during the past several years likely noticed a slender man standing alongside the famed Watson.  That's Thomas.  Like Watson, Thomas is both a respected UMKC instructor and a powerful saxophonist.  He's the yin to Watson's yang. 

Four of Voyage's nine tracks are Thomas' compositions.  The brash "Shock and Awe"- my favorite selection- is a chaotic maelstrom.  Thomas' virtuosity is also responsible for the album's weakest moment.  His primary solo on Hawkins' "Brazilian Haiku" is a technical triumph. Impressive?  No doubt.  Emotionally resonant?  Afraid not.  It's the only track on which the band resembles inhibited music professors. 

Thomas may be the dominant voice on the album but Voyage is a true band.  Warren is one of Kansas City's most distinctive drummers.  Voyage serves as an excellent document of his playing.  Stewart locks in with Warren throughout.  The soulful groove of his "I'll Miss All of Those Things" makes it one of the album's strongest tracks.  His solos on Hawkins' "Truth and Beauty" and Thomas' "Lamenting" also impress.  Hawkins' nuanced contributions reinforce Voyage's enticing ambiance.

Voyage was released to little fanfare last September.  It deserves to be heard. 

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)