Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Purnaprajna Bangere spoke to The Kansas City Star about the Purna Loka Ensemble.

*The Marcus Lewis Big Band performed a quarantined rendition of “Facing East.”

*Tweet o’ the Week: KOJH 104.7- James D. Conqueror - Black Bouquet Ft. Ernest Melton (Radio Edit)

(Original music by Plastic Sax.)

Lockdown Listening

Harsh ambient recordings provide my soundtrack of choice during the lockdown, but I still find time to enjoy jazz.  My ten favorite jazz albums released in the first quarter of 2020 are listed in alphabetical order below.  No two sound alike. 

1. Majid Bekkas- Magic Spirit Quartet
Islamic jazz.
2. Jennifer Curtis and Tyshawn Sorey- Invisible Ritual
Avant-garde fiddle and drum duets.
3. Guitar Elation- Double Live at Green Lady Lounge
Party grooves.  (My review.)
4. Kilter- Axiom
Free jazz collides with doom metal.
5. Hailu Mergia- Yene Mircha
Ethiopian jazz.
6. Pat Metheny- From This Place
Infinite lushness.  (My review.)
7. Roscoe Mitchell- Distant Radio Transmission
Orchestral noise.
8. The Necks- Three
Agitated minimalism.
9. Jeremy Pelt- The Art of Intimacy, Vol. 1
Gorgeous ballads.
10. Oded Tzur- Here Be Dragons
Reticent chamber jazz.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Ben Webster

The embedded clip of the Kansas City native Ben Webster performing “Old Folks” in 1970 is the stuff of jazz lore.  The tear that appears to stream down Webster’s face at the 4:10 mark is said to be a reflection of the grief he felt upon learning of the death of Johnny Hodges prior to the gig.  Want more?  The edifying 48-minute Webster documentary Big Ben also streams on YouTube.

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.)

Album Review: The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra- Rock Chalk Suite

The men’s basketball team representing the University of Kansas was ranked No. 1 when the coronavirus outbreak prematurely ended its season.  The Jayhawks were denied a shot at winning the national championship, but music-loving Jayhawk fans can take comfort in a similarly rarified achievement.

Rock Chalk Suite, a recording by The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, was released on March 20.  The project was “commissioned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Lied Center of Kansas, KU’s performing arts center.”  Each of the 15 original compositions honors a Kansas basketball standout.  The Lied Center provides the “stories behind the songs”.

The hyper-partisan Kansas alumni who make their allegiance an integral component of their identities should be shouting the good news from their rooftops.  Yet I haven’t heard one of them boast about Rock Chalk Suite.  KU boosters aren’t alone in ignoring the recording.  One of four albums released by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in the first quarter of 2020, Rock Chalk Suite has been roundly ignored by the general public and the jazz media.

The neglect is unmerited.  Most of the unflaggingly swinging selections are immediately engaging.  Wynton Marsalis and his all-star ensemble sound fully committed to honoring Kansas’ basketball tradition on Ellingtonian selections like “Passing Game.”  Only three tracks contain overt references to basketball, making Rock Chalk Suite a largely unjarring experience for supporters of Kansas adversaries like Duke and Missouri. 

Switching out Luther Vandross’ “One Shining Moment” for the Jazz at Lincoln Orchestra’s Rock Chalk Suite may not placate devotees of sports, but for many jazz fans in Kansas and throughout the world, it’s an even trade.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Jay McShann and Claude "Fiddler" Williams

Retaining the upbeat tone of last week’s throwback video post, here’s a morale booster from 1979.  Kansas City legends Jay McShann and Claude “Fiddler” Williams join fellow all-stars including Erskine Hawkins and Buddy Tate in a rendition of Hawkins’ “Tuxedo Junction.”

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.)