Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Three Stories, a new solo piano album by Eldar, was released April 5.

*KCJazzLark reports that the Mutual Musicians Foundation continues to pack 'em in.

*Michael Pagan and Millie Edwards are throwing a CD release party Thursday, April 14 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Jardine's.

*Pat Metheny receives lavish praise from The Guardian. The guitarist also announced a tour of "intimate venues" with bassist Larry Grenadier this fall. There's no word on a hometown date in Kansas City.

*A blogger shares his notes on a recent Snuff Jazz performance.

*Another blogger wrote a mini-review of a recent performance by Roger Wilder's band at the Blue Room.

*A French blogger raves about Diverse.

*As of 5:35 a.m. April 13, a "$20-buys-$40" Groupon deal for Jardine's was still available.

*The Lied Center created a promotional video for Thursday's concert featuring the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Del McCoury Band.

*Does James Farm, a new jazz supergroup, have a Kansas City-area connection? NPR's Patrick Jarenwattananon speculates.

*The locally-based author of Contemporary Jazz laments the elimination of the Contemporary Jazz Grammy Award.

*A new post at the blog of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra promotes an April 29 appearance by Gary Foster.

*Tweet o' the Week: KCJazzLark: Folly Theater is tweeting! I've criticized @THEFOLLYTHEATER for ignoring social media & now welcome them. First tweet? Karrin Allyson show.

*From Jim Mair: Bands from a three-state area will be descending on Kansas City Kansas Community College for the first Kansas City Jazz Summit April 25-30. For six days – from Monday through Saturday – some of the best young musicians in the Midwest will be performing along with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Quintet and the Kansas City High School Jazz All-Stars. Twenty-four high school and college bands and two jazz choirs from Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas will be adjudicated by members of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra and other leading jazz educators from the Kansas City area Thursday through Saturday.

*From Jim Mair: The unbeatable combination of great jazz and great barbecue will be the order of the night for the annual Jazz Cabaret at Kansas City Kansas Community College Thursday, April 28. One of the highlights of the first ever Jazz Summit to be held on the KCKCC campus at 7250 State Avenue, the Cabaret will kick off at 5 p.m. with a “Mocktail Happy Hour” featuring jazz vocalists in the lower level of the Jewell Center. Details are here.

*The 2011-12 season of the Performing Arts Series at Johnson County Community College has been announced. It includes Ambrose Akinmusire, one of the most buzzed-about names in jazz. Here's a list of the jazz-related events in the series: 9/30- The Miles Davis Experience featuring the Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet 11/12- Max Weinberg; 12/03 Turtle Island Quartet; 12/16- Burning River Brass Band; 1/21- Poncho Sanchez.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)