Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Rashida Phillips of the American Jazz Museum chatted with Mike Shanin on KCPT’s Ruckus.

*Five musicians representing the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra performed in an episode of Star Sessions.

*“Light/Dark”, a selection from a forthcoming album by Kansas City Area Youth Jazz, is available for purchase.

*The Chicago organ trio the Soul Message Band will perform at Black Dolphin on March 15.

*Giovanni Russonello reviewed Karrin Allyson’s Shoulder to Shoulder album for Downbeat.

*Mary Lou Williams is remembered by a radio station in Seattle.

*From a press release: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will accept a donation of four iconic artifacts related to the life and legacy of jazz legend Lester Willis Young (Aug. 27, 1909–March 15, 1959) during a concert by the museum’s big band orchestra-in-residence, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra on Feb. 22. Lester Young Jr. will present the museum with his father’s three surviving instruments: a Conn-manufactured saxophone, a tenor saxophone made by Dolnet and a clarinet by H. Bettoney, as well as a signature porkpie hat that defined Young’s style and swagger.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*An "Everette DeVan Jazz Benefit" will be held Monday, February 24, at Broadway Jazz Club.  Dionne Jeroue initiated a related fundraising campaign on behalf of the ailing organist.

*Kevin Whitehead reviewed Frank Wess' posthumous Magic 201 for NPR's "Fresh Air."

*Hunter Long of Black House Collective is interviewed by Drew Williams of the Wing Walker Music podcast.

*The first night of January's Jazz Winterlude festival is documented in photos by KC Jazz Lark.

*Bobby Watson was interviewed in advance of his appearance at the Portland Jazz Festival.

*The National Portrait Gallery suggests that Lester Young was the first "cool" American.

*Guitarist Brian Baggett created an infomercial for his instructional DVD.

*T.J. Martley created a video transcription of a Herbie Hancock solo.

*Magnet offers an MP3 of a track from the Mike Dillon Band's forthcoming album.

*The Kansas City Star published a story about the Marr Sound Archives.

*Dean Minderman of St. Louis Jazz Notes recognizes the passing of Richard McDonnell, the founder of the MaxJazz label.

*Tweet o' the Week: Green Lady Lounge- Mon Feb 24th we'll be closed 2 better focus the KC "Jazz Love-Laser" on Everette DeVan's benefit party ~ 7pm-1am Broadway Jazz Cub.

*Comment o' the Week: Cb- Genius. One of my personal favorite. musicians. ever.

*From Tim Whitmer: Community Christian Church... is pleased to host the inaugural presentation of the very first Big Band Boogie Bash, with Tim Whitmer presenting the one and only Vine Street Rumble Jazz Orchestra, as they honor the legacy of Kansas City’s “Golden Era” of world renowned Jazz, on Sunday, March 2, 2014, at 4:00 p.m.  The Vine Street Rumble performs exclusively the same exciting music that made Kansas City “the” place to be in the 1930’s, 40’s and beyond… Tickets are $10 (prior to the concert), $15 (at the door)...

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Biz

In a blog post explicating his picks for the 8th Annual Jazz Critics Poll: 2013, the locally-based jazz critic Chris Robinson suggested that "with something like 700 albums receiving votes, I can say with some confidence that there are way too many albums being recorded.  There’s a lot of quality, but the small jazz market, I feel, may be dangerously flooded with music that nobody will ever hear – quality or not."

While my heart insists that Robinson is wrong, the numbers indicate otherwise.  A detailed examination of new data leads to a difficult question: How can Kansas City-based jazz artists vie for international attention amid the ongoing marginalization of the music?

Robinson points out that his ballot contained the sole vote cast for Alaturka's Yalniz (#309) in the poll of over 100 jazz critics.  Only a handful of additional albums with Kansas City connections received any form of acknowledgement.  A listing: Frank Wess' Magic 101 (#22), Pat Metheny's Tap: John Zorn's Book of Angels, Vol. 20 (#30), Lester Young's Boston 1950 (#140) and Harold O'Neal's Man On the Street (#453.)

The lack of consensus is startling.  Less than half the participants included the highest-ranked album- Wayne Shorter's Without a Net- in their top ten.  Prominent releases of local interest including Pat Metheny's The Orchestrion Project, Eldar Djangarov's Breakthrough, the Next Collective's Cover Art (featuring Logan Richardson) and Bobby Watson's Check Cashing Day weren't recognized at all.  That leaves little hope for self-released titles by the likes of Mark Lowrey, Paul Shinn and Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle.

Besides, it's safe to say that only a few dozen of the albums receiving votes sold over 1,000 units.  The Music Timeline published by Google last week makes the situation seem even more hopeless.  The overwhelming majority of jazz that's heard by Google Play users was recorded in the 1950s.  Not even the inclusion of pop-based artists like Michael Bublé, Kenny G and Norah Jones in the jazz category prevents the genre from flatlining after 1965.  The The Village Voice's 41st Pazz & Jop Music Critics Poll- a historically jazz-friendly forum- verified the trend.  The highest-ranked jazz album for 2013 comes in at #76.

Given that environment, it seems unlikely that Kansas City can reassert itself as a vital cradle of jazz in the new millennium.  But why not?  There's a lot of great music being made in Kansas City.  As Robinson notes of Alaturka's latest release, "(h)ad the album been on ECM or a similarly large (label) with promotion and distribution muscle, I bet it would have cleaned up."

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

"Loosening Spaces" with Lester Young

Lester Young, the most distinguished of the Count Basie Orchestra's great saxophonists, is the subject of a forthcoming documentary.  The embedded clip is a sample of Henry Ferrini's film. 

This Is Why I Do It

Sometimes I wonder why I do what I do. The constant promotion of jazz, even from a forthright perspective, often seems like a fool's errand. When I'm tempted to leave this neglected corner of the musical universe, I find new inspiration by turning to vintage Basie. Listening to these sides reminds me of my mandate to advocate for the forgotten music of the past and the overlooked music of the present.

Now's the Time: Jeff Beck

It may be less jazz than blues and rock, but I just can't resist posting this clip of Jeff Beck performing Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat." According to a sidebar accompanying Joel Francis' feature on the British guitarist, the tribute to Kansas City native Lester Young is a staple at Beck's gigs. Here's hoping he performs it at Starlight Theater on Wednesday, April 28.

Now's the Time: Junior Mance

Junior Mance recalls the funeral of Kansas City native Lester Young in this brief video. The 81-year-old pianist performs Saturday, April 3, at the Blue Room. Joe Klopus offered a nice preview of the show.

Lester Young Centennial

Lester Young was born in Mississippi on August 27, 1909. He became a cultural icon after moving to Kansas City in the 1930s. This distressing 1958 clip shows Young near the bitter end. Although it's artificially stitched together, this stunning footage from 1938 demonstrates that jazz was once an incredibly vital form of popular music. (The best shot of Prez is at 1:38.) And lest we get overly sentimental, this audio interview is a fascinating reminder of Young's salty persona. Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat.

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This weekend's Charlie Parker tributes in Kansas City and Blue Summit are previewed by Joe Klopus.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*KCUR's The Walt Bodine Show focused on Charlie Parker earlier this week. Dennis Winslett and Walter Coppage were the guest experts. Download the broadcast here.

*A feature at the The Smithsonian notes that August 27 would have been Lester Young's 100th birthday. The author wonders why there's no statue of Prez in Kansas City.

*This weekend's Charlie Parker-related events are run down by Mark Edelman.

*Chuck Berg raves about a Topeka Jazz Workshop event.

*Diverse is profiled by Joe Klopus. They also have a great new site. And the group's debut album received a positive review at All Music.

*Here's an extensive interview with Karrin Allyson.

*I'm told that saxophonist Matt Otto has moved to Kansas City.

*Here's a newsworthy Tweet from ARCMusic : Loren Pickford joins ARC... more to follow... (Tip via AZ.)

*I spend a lot of time monitoring Miles Bonny's seemingly constant multimedia attack, but the Pitch featured a wacky live performance video from Berlin that I somehow missed.

*I'm rather embarrassed that I didn't know that Kansas City was hosting the forthcoming Second International Conference on Minimalist Music until today. (Tip via Tony's Kansas City.)

*Big-time jazz writer Howard Mandel reached out to Plastic Sax to solicit support for a forthcoming Twitter and Facebook campaign to counter recent reports suggesting that the audience for jazz is aging and declining. I told Mandel that while I'd link to his effort, I'm afraid I don't see many people under the age of forty at jazz events. Mandel's jazz blog is Jazz Beyond Jazz. (EDIT: Mandel asks fans to Tweet #jazzlives from jazz performances.)

(Original image of last Saturday's Stories On the Vine at the American Jazz Museum by Plastic Sax.)

Prez

Cheesy introduction aside, this clip serves as an ideal introduction to jazz for the unitiated and the unconvinced. Lester Young is the greatest, but the entire ensemble shines. Lord, this is just so good.