Concert Review: Bobby Watson Tribute Concert at White Recital Hall

Mitch Butler dulled the luster of the Bobby Watson Tribute Concert at White Recital Hall before the first note was played on Tuesday, November 19.  The Assistant Teaching Professor at UMKC and the director of one of the two student bands on the bill revealed that additional tributes to Watson would take place on February 28 at Grand Street Cafe and on April 14 at the Folly Theater. 

Most of the friends and family of the three dozen students performing at the concert didn’t flinch.  As one of the dedicated Bobby Watson enthusiasts among the audience of 400 who paid $8 to attend the event in honor of the man who transformed the Kansas City jazz scene during his recently concluded 20-year tenure as the William and Mary Grant/Missouri Distinguished Professor in Jazz Studies at UMKC during the past 20 years, I was startled by the unceremonious tone of Butler’s significant announcement. 

I was still processing the news when the UMKC Jazz Ensemble directed by Aryana Nemeti tore into Rob McConnell’s arrangement of “Just Friends.”  Watson and members of Horizon joined the big band on separate selections.  Witnessing the young men in the trumpet section smile appreciatively as Terell Stafford soloed and guitarist Zak Jonas react to pianist Benny Green’s deft comping with awe was delightful.

A performance by Horizon- this edition of the fabled group consisted of Watson, Stafford, Green, bassist Carroll Dashiell and drummer Victor Lewis- followed.  The good cheer and comradery among the five men was matched by their jubilant form of hard bop.  Knowing that nothing was likely to top Horizon’s 35-minute outing, I left at intermission.  (Horizon setlist: Country Corn Flakes, Heckle and Jeckyl, Falling In Love With Love, E.T.A., outro theme)

(Original image of Benny Green, Carroll Dashiell, Terell Stafford and Bobby Watson by Plastic Sax.)

Kidz Bop

I saw a young couple get carded at the Piano Room last Monday.  That’s a rare sight at venues featuring live jazz (with the exception of the late-night party venue the Mutual Musicians Foundation).

The fresh-faced pair joined a coterie of other twenty-somethings who huddled near the band at the back of the space on Wornall Road.  The remainder of the two dozen customers of the Piano Room were older folks who monitored the Royals game on television or chatted with the sociable bartender. 

The kids were listening to their peers in the Waldo Jazz Collective, a group that has received short shrift at Plastic Sax.  Monday’s visit was the first time I had attended the group’s weekly session at the Piano Room.

Some members of the group occasionally appear in more prominent settings.  Baritone saxophonist Aryana Nemati, for instance, has performed for large audiences on the stages of the Gem and Midland theaters.

A set list that included compositions by Duke Ellington and James Brown reflects the band’s eclectic sensibility and the relaxed setting.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

The Top Jazz-Related Stories and Trends of 2013

1.
Bird Lives. 
Two new biographies of Charlie Parker- Chuck Haddix's Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker and Stanley Crouch's Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker- offered new insights into Kansas City's most famous son.

2.
On Broadway.
The recent opening of Broadway Jazz Club- a venue dedicated to mainstream Kansas City jazz- is enormously encouraging.

3,
Clubbed.
The maturation of the Green Lady Lounge into a popular establishment for jazz fans and upscale drinkers alike has been very satisfying.  And Take Five Coffee + Bar is now firmly established as one of the area's elite listening rooms.  The Kill Devil Club, however, shifted away from a jazz format.  Jazz has become a niche offering at the Phoenix.  The West Chase Grille closed this year while JJ's literally blew up.

4.
Mentor.
Kansas City became a lesser place when Kerry Strayer died on August 1.  He was an extraordinary baritone saxophonist, bandleader, teacher, and all-around great guy.

5.
Mired in minor festivals.
In a June editorial, KC Jazz Lark suggested that Kansas City is "mired in minor festivals."  He's right.  The Prairie Village Jazz Festival, the 18th & Vine Jazz and Blues Festival, the Corporate Woods Jazz Festival and Jazz Winterlude are terrific, but none is a "major" jazz-oriented festival. 

6.
Art jazz.
Commercially problematic but artistically fruitful aspects of jazz were explored at this year's Black Lab: A New Music Festival and monthly at the RecordBar and Grunauer.

7.
Struggling.
Atypical flareups of violence and a challenging business environment bedeviled the Jazz District in 2013.

8.
Series sustenance.
Every time I go to a poorly attended concert by a renowned artist in the Jammin' at the Gem and the Folly Jazz series, I consider it a small miracle that the programs continue in spite of the lack of support.  I'm very grateful for the organizers' perseverance. 

9.
Kids.
When Aryana Nemati served as a last-minute sub in Harry Connick's band at a concert at the Midland theater, she floored the star with a sterling solo.  Anyone familiar with the high quality of the artists who've honed their skills at the UMKC Conservatory in recent years wasn't surprised.  Nemati is just one of dozens of remarkable young players in Kansas City.

10.
Secret Story.
It seems silly to suggest that a man who won his twentieth Grammy Award this year is under-appreciated, but Pat Metheny still doesn't receive the respect he deserves from "serious" jazz listeners.  His 2013 releases Tap: The Book of Angels, Vol. 20 and The Orchestrion Project are extraordinary.

I conducted similar exercises in 2012 and 2011.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)