Plastic Sax

*Hermon Mehari was interviewed by Laura Spencer of KCUR. *Eddie Moore appears on The People of 2020 , a recording on which “40 composer...

*The Jazzy Jamdemic concert series continues through July 3. *Ted Panken catches up with Eldar Djangirov for Downbeat . *Steve Paul ...

The last concert I attended before the coronavirus lockdown was Luciana Souza’s appearance in the Folly Jazz Series on March 7.  The Kans...

*The Folly Theater unveiled the 2020-21 season of the Folly Jazz Series .  The bookings will be soon be evaluated at Plastic Sax. *Tweet...

After hearing me excitedly rant about the rare opportunity to hear a Brazilian luminary perform in Kansas City as we made our way to the F...

The Brazilian luminary Luciana Souza is backed by a German big band for an exquisite reading of “Corcovado” in the embedded video.  She’ll...

Akin to the cosmopolitan little sister of Diana Krall, Stacey Kent is an impeccably sophisticated crooner.  She began earning rave reviews...

* The New York Times reports on the odd collision of the Mutual Musicians Foundation’s low-wattage radio station and the Russian propaga...

* The Smithsonian published an article about Charlie Parker’s other saxophone. *Adam Larson was interviewed by Joe Dimino. *Tweet ...

Stefon Harris told an audience of about 300 that he and his colleagues intended to “organize vibration into motion” at the Folly Theater ...

It’s possible that the Branford Marsalis Quartet is the best mainstream jazz group in the world.  The embedded video and the ensemble’s la...

The Folly Jazz Series is a reassuring beacon of consistency on a jazz scene in which other longstanding institutions seem to be crumblin...

*An album review in the June issue of Downbeat suggests that Hazel , the new release by Drew Williams’ Wing Walker Orchestra, is “...

Arturo Sandoval regularly rubs shoulders with other legends.  The trumpeter collaborated with icons including Plácido Domingo and Ariana G...

Joshua Redman is one of the elite jazz musicians of his generation partly because of his versatility and range.  He showcased the conven...

The modern-day jazz giant Joshua Redman last performed in Kansas City with the Bad Plus in 2016.  (I reviewed the concert for The Kansas ...

I gushed about Kurt Elling in a preview of his Saturday, March 9, concert at the Folly Theater for The Kansas City Star , so there’s no ne...

Even by the standards of an admirably restless artist, Karrin Allyson ’s 2014 concert at the Folly Theater was a startling surprise.  She...

Kandace Springs will perform in Kansas City for the second time in seven months when she appears as the Folly Jazz Series’ “spotlight arti...

Ramsey Lewis and Urban Knights got off to a rough start at the Folly Theater on Thursday, September 27.  Guitarist Henry John...