Few things on Kansas City’s jazz scene make me happier than seeing Doug and Lori Chandler break out extra chairs to accommodate unexpectedly large audiences at Take Five Coffee + Bar.
A quintet led by Chris Burnett in his first appearance at the venue's new Leawood location drew several dozen listeners to an hour-long first set on Saturday.
Partly because he’s responsible for a relentless onslaught of social media postings, it’s easy to forget that Burnett is a fine saxophonist. His band consisted of pianist Dino Massa, guitarist Charles Gatschet, bassist Andrew Stinson and drummer Matt Leifer.
Burnett explained that he and Massa met in Italy more than twenty years ago. Massa played with the elegant precision associated with the Kansas City pianist Joe Cartwright.
The ensemble opened with a faithful rendition of Herbie Hancock’s “Dolphin Dance,” a selection that set the tone for a tasteful set that included several original compositions by Burnett and Massa.
(Original image by Plastic Sax.)
Thanks for the review and thanks for coming to the performance. Dino really enjoyed Kansas City, even during his short stay (Wednesday - Sunday).
ReplyDeleteWe had a very nice turnout of listeners at both, Take Five (Matt Leifer on drums) and the Blue Room (Michael Warren on drums). The bar manager, Andre Tyler, told me that we had 102 paid admissions to the Blue Room. Wow!
The "Jazz Beat" preview was great too!