Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Andrew Zender interviewed Jeff Harshbarger.

*Angela Hagenbach was featured in The Star's Sunday magazine.

*Everything looks better in black and white. KCJazzLark posted exemplary photos of Bobby Watson's set at Jazz In the Woods.

*The Star reviewed Marilyn Maye's second set at Jardine's on Sunday. Two additional shows have been added on Sunday, June 20.

*The Pitch offers photos of Mark Southerland and Helen Gillet performing at Birdies.

*Mark Edelman makes a few jazz picks.

*Steve Penn checks in with Max Groove and Horace Washington.

*Here's the latest installment of Megan Birdsall's MBird tour vlog.

*According to this review, a track on John Escreet's new album "features spoken work segments from an old recording of Charlie Parker himself."

*Kim Park plays the role of Eric Dolphy on Saturday's 12th Street Jump.

*Here's the latest from the Black House Improvisors' Collective.

*Notice of an "emergency meeting" was posted at the site of the Mutual Musicians Foundation.

*The excellent Jazz Wax blog remembers the late Danny Bank. The baritone saxophonist died June 5. The tribute includes of a stream of Bank playing "Night and Day" on a Charlie Parker session.

*Josh Charles recalls growing up in Kansas City.

*The Chicago Reader reports that Chicago saxophonist Fred Anderson is gravely ill. Anderson, an occasional performer at the Blue Room, is beloved by several of Plastic Sax's 37 readers. (Tip via Rick in P.V.)

*No Kansas City-specific artists or entities were among the nominees, but the listings of the Jazz Journalist Association's awards makes for interesting reading.

*Hear me stutter and sputter on the archived June 11 edition of KCUR's Up To Date.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Bobby Watson at Jazz In the Woods

Bobby Watson performed "In a Sentimental Mood" Saturday at Jazz In the Woods. That's what I call smooth jazz.

Most of the approximately 1,800 people braving soggy conditions didn't seem to mind Watson's presence at the otherwise smooth jazz-oriented festival.

The saxophonist was joined by keyboardist Chris Clarke, bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Mike Warren. While it wasn't the best Watson set I've heard in 2010, it was still a thrill to see him engage a large audience at a suburban office park.

"It's been a pleasure and a privilege to play music with a different taste and sensibility," Watson delicately suggested. "It's called jazz."


















(Original images by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Mindi Abair

Thorough scrutiny of the embedded Mindy Abair video has caused me to realize that Kansas City's saxophonists really need to step up their game. The lovely lady's video contains many valuable lessons. In alphabetical order, here are specific Abair-inspired tips for a few of Kansas City's saxophonists.

*Alaadeen- Improve your lyrical chops. (See 2:51-2:58 of Abair's video.)
*Matt Chalk- Set up fans near the stage to seductively tousle your hair. (2:00)
*Gerald Dunn of The Jazz Disciples- Learn to type. (3:06)
*James Isaac of AfterGroove- Work on makeup application. (0:20).
*Hunter Long of the Black House Improvisors Collective- Pick up tips on leading a large ensemble. (1:53)
*Jim Mair- Learn to make Abair's "duck face." (4:21)
*Matt Otto- Try copying Abair's hair flip move. Oh, wait... never mind. (3:16)
*Bobby Watson- You're obviously going to have to start from scratch. (entire video)

All kidding aside, Abair excels in her chosen field. I intend to catch her Saturday at the Jazz In the Woods festival. What's more, I expect to thoroughly enjoy her headlining performance.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*The recently-announced lineup of the Prairie Village Jazz Festival is stellar.

*Another video treasure has been unearthed by KCJazzLark.

*The Folly Theater has announced its jazz bookings for the 2010-2011 season.

*Tim Finn composed an excellent profile of Jeff Harshbarger.

*Guitarist Steve Cardenas garnered a review in the New York Times. (Tip via Steve Paul.)

*A marketing success story is detailed by KCJazzLark.

*Steve Penn checked in with Dennis Winslett.

*Steve Wilson, a familiar face to Kansas City jazz fans, selected Charlie Parker's "Koko" as one of five representative alto saxophone tracks in an NPR feature.

*The Star reviewed Sunday's Zappa Plays Zappa concert.

*Recent additions to the Kansas City Jazz Calendar include an August 20 performance by Larry Carlton.

*Hours after Bobby Watson and Curtis Lundy perform at this weekend's Jazz In the Woods festival, they'll be featured on KCUR's 12th Street Jump.

*There's no direct connection to jazz, but fans of serious music will be pleased to learn that Amy Beth Kirsten and Zhou Juan, young composers with ties to Kansas City, will participate in the Mizzou New Music Summer Festival. (Tip via Dean Minderman.)

*I'm scheduled to chat with Steve Kraske about jazz this Friday at 11:06 on KCUR's Up To Date.

(Original image of Gerald Dunn and Mike Warren performing at Jardine's on May 19 by Plastic Sax.)

String of Pearls

When I tell friends and colleagues that I'm going to a jazz event they often recoil in horror. I suspect they envision sedate scenes similar to the one depicted in the embedded video. They're right more often than I'd care to admit. My surroundings occasionally resemble a suburban retirement community. Just as often, however, I'm in the middle of scenarios like this or this. As Terence Blanchard notes in the trailer for "Icons Among Us", a quiet revolution is afoot.

Now's the Time: Bobby Watson

It's tempting to suggest that Bobby Watson represents the jazz component of next weekend's Jazz In the Woods festival. Yet the Kansas City saxophonist's longtime fans might recall that Watson released a smooth jazz album in 1996. On Urban Renewal Watson acknowledged the relatively popular sounds of Grover Washington, Jr., Stanley Turrentine and Hank Crawford. The performance in the embedded video demonstrates that the Plastic Sax Person of the Decade thrives in every setting.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Joe Klopus put an end to idle speculation in his most recent column. He broke the news that a "downsized" version of the Rhythm & Ribs Festival is scheduled for October 9.

*KC Free Press offers words and photos about Jeff Harshbarger's "Game Pieces."

*KCJazzLark advises Kansas City's jazz venues on branding and marketing. I hope club owners are listening.

*Gale Tallis has replaced Doug Tatum as the executive director of the Folly Theater.

*A blogger posted Dawayne Gilley's press release about the cancellation of the Kansas City Kansas Street Blues Festival.

*Mark Southerland and Jeff Harshbarger were among the participants in an "Oil Rig Gig" at a Westport BP station.

*Trombonist Osmond Fisher will be featured at this week's edition of 12th Street Jump.

*The dress code at the Power & Light District has been relaxed, so jazz fans can come as they are for concerts at the entertainment zone. Just take a look at the schedu... Wait a minute! Where's the jazz?

*Miles Bonny was nice to acknowledge my Kansas City Jazz Calendar. It is, in fact, quite a task. I continue to encourage submissions from artists and venues.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)