Album Review: Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle- Live In Kansas City

Live In Kansas City, the exceptional new album by Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle, was released in June as I was packing for a trip to South America.  While I included it among my Favorite Albums of 2015 (So Far) listing, the recording is worthy of further examination.

In a review of an Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle performance in January, I noted that that the group revives the 1970s sound of the Crusaders and Herbie Hancock. 

The new recording opens with a rendition of Joe Henderson’s 1970s classic “Black Narcissus.”  The second track is a version of the Hancock by-way-of Robert Glasper composition “Riot.” 

The quartet of keyboardist Moore, guitarist Adam Schlozman, electric bassist DeAndre Manning and drummer Pat Adams finds its own voice on the second and third portions of the album centerpiece “Kings and Queens.”  Several moments during the extended composition are transcendent. 

Rather than attempting to revive traditional Kansas City jazz, Moore and his bandmates demonstrate their affinity for the vital contemporary music of Kamasi Washington and Thundercat.

While it’s entirely instrumental, the extraordinarily elegant and remarkably intelligent Live In Kansas City implicitly expresses the fractious tenor of our times.

(Original image of “Cosmic Fonk”-themed street art in Chile by Plastic Sax.)

Concert Review: Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle at Take Five Coffee + Bar

A man in the full house at Take Five Coffee + Bar on Saturday wore makeshift earplugs.  The music performed by Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle merited the high volume.

I've been impressed every time I've watched Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle perform at the Blue Room and the Green Lady Lounge in the past couple years.  The ensemble continues to expand on the sound documented on the 2013 album The Freedom of Expression.  (Plastic Sax review).

During Saturday's gig the band played with even more focus and assurance.  Moore alternated between piano and a Yamaha MO8 as he and the current lineup- guitarist Adam Schlozman, bassist D'Andre Manning and drummer Pat Adams- evoked the classic work of the Crusaders and Head Hunters-era Herbie Hancock.

Schlozman's subtle playing was particularly impressive.  He may become the most significant jazz guitarist to emerge from Kansas City since Steve Cardenas.

Material from a forthcoming album titled Kings and Queens struck the right balance between artful ambition and jubilant grooves.  The Outer Circle may be stylistically rooted in the 1970s, but its exceptional musicianship and astonishing rapport imbues the band with unwavering relevance.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)