Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Three Stories, a new solo piano album by Eldar, was released April 5.

*KCJazzLark reports that the Mutual Musicians Foundation continues to pack 'em in.

*Michael Pagan and Millie Edwards are throwing a CD release party Thursday, April 14 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Jardine's.

*Pat Metheny receives lavish praise from The Guardian. The guitarist also announced a tour of "intimate venues" with bassist Larry Grenadier this fall. There's no word on a hometown date in Kansas City.

*A blogger shares his notes on a recent Snuff Jazz performance.

*Another blogger wrote a mini-review of a recent performance by Roger Wilder's band at the Blue Room.

*A French blogger raves about Diverse.

*As of 5:35 a.m. April 13, a "$20-buys-$40" Groupon deal for Jardine's was still available.

*The Lied Center created a promotional video for Thursday's concert featuring the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Del McCoury Band.

*Does James Farm, a new jazz supergroup, have a Kansas City-area connection? NPR's Patrick Jarenwattananon speculates.

*The locally-based author of Contemporary Jazz laments the elimination of the Contemporary Jazz Grammy Award.

*A new post at the blog of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra promotes an April 29 appearance by Gary Foster.

*Tweet o' the Week: KCJazzLark: Folly Theater is tweeting! I've criticized @THEFOLLYTHEATER for ignoring social media & now welcome them. First tweet? Karrin Allyson show.

*From Jim Mair: Bands from a three-state area will be descending on Kansas City Kansas Community College for the first Kansas City Jazz Summit April 25-30. For six days – from Monday through Saturday – some of the best young musicians in the Midwest will be performing along with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Quintet and the Kansas City High School Jazz All-Stars. Twenty-four high school and college bands and two jazz choirs from Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas will be adjudicated by members of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra and other leading jazz educators from the Kansas City area Thursday through Saturday.

*From Jim Mair: The unbeatable combination of great jazz and great barbecue will be the order of the night for the annual Jazz Cabaret at Kansas City Kansas Community College Thursday, April 28. One of the highlights of the first ever Jazz Summit to be held on the KCKCC campus at 7250 State Avenue, the Cabaret will kick off at 5 p.m. with a “Mocktail Happy Hour” featuring jazz vocalists in the lower level of the Jewell Center. Details are here.

*The 2011-12 season of the Performing Arts Series at Johnson County Community College has been announced. It includes Ambrose Akinmusire, one of the most buzzed-about names in jazz. Here's a list of the jazz-related events in the series: 9/30- The Miles Davis Experience featuring the Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet 11/12- Max Weinberg; 12/03 Turtle Island Quartet; 12/16- Burning River Brass Band; 1/21- Poncho Sanchez.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Review: UMKC Conservatory Concert Jazz Band featuring Jack Walrath at White Recital Hall

The ongoing opportunity to hear Bobby Watson tear it up is one of the best things Kansas City has to offer. No matter the setting, the jazz giant's exuberance is infectious.

Watson led the UMKC Conservatory Concert Jazz Band Wednesday, April 6, in a performance at White Recital Hall. The concert featured two arrangements commissioned for the event and the compositions and trumpet work of featured guest artist Jack Walrath. About 100 people attended.

The concert began with the world premiere of Edward Simon's arrangement of Horace Silver's "Song For My Father." In spite of drummer Ryan Lee's bashing, it seemed a bit creaky. Even the colorful presence of Walrath couldn't keep a few of the subsequent pieces from sounding overly academic.

A handful of participants, including saxophonists Blake Deibel and Brett Jackson and excellent bassist Zach Beeson, stood out. And as many already know, drummer Brian Steever is perhaps the most visually entertaining musician on Kansas City's jazz scene. It was disappointing, however, that not every student in the 18-piece ensemble was allowed to solo.

The final two selections were easily the most memorable. Walrath's raucous "Sorry Display in a '65 Ford" was in the vein of the wild music made during the trumpeter's stint as a member of Charles Mingus' band. Watson picked up his alto saxophone during the world premiere of Tyler Gilmore's arrangement of "Deep Pockets," a composition from Watson's 2008 From the Heart album.

A joyful noise ensued.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Thriving On a Riff: Sir Threadius Mongus

This, my Kansas City jazz friends, is how it's done.

Sue Vicory's film aside, I've long lamented the lack of decent video documenting Kansas City's current jazz scene. The embedded clip- raw but professional- captures the essence of the Sir Threadius Mongus aesthetic. Although it looks like a lot of work went into it, the video probably didn't cost much to produce.

Recorded at the R Bar on December 16, 2010, the video serves as a teaser for the collective's forthcoming Threads release. Here's the lineup: Russell Thorpe- bass clarinet, Matt Otto- tenor, Patrick Ketter- tenor, Matt Hayes- bass, Annie Ellicott- vocals, Jonathan Taylor- drums and Jeff Davis- guitar and composition.

More like this, please.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Norman Brown and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy are among the acts scheduled to perform at this year's Jazz In the Woods festival.

*The Kansas City Jazz Summit will be held at Kansas City Kansas Community College and Unity on the Plaza at the end of April.

*Steve Paul reviewed Benny Golson's performance at the Blue Room. So did Elgin Smith.

*Before Joe Lovano's concert Saturday, a representative of the Folly Theater announced that the following acts have been booked for the venue's 2011-12 jazz series: Nnenna Freelon, John Pizzarelli, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and the Yellowjackets.

*Chuck Berg raves about Kim Park.

*Doug Ramsey provides a troubling report on ailing Basie band alumnus Frank Foster.

*Another lesson in Kansas City jazz history is offered by KCJazzLark.

*Lawrence's Blueprint Jazz is featured in the University Daily Kansan.

*The new album by Clint Ashlock's New Jazz Order is now available at iTunes.

*Here's a nice new video feature about Pat Metheny's Orchestrion project.

*Performances by Snuff Jazz and the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey were reviewed by The Star.

*An animated discussion about the merits of KKFI follow a letter from radio station personality Barry Jackson.

*Steve Penn provides an update on the health of Ray Reed.

*Tweet o' the Week: americanjazzkc: Taxes are never fun, but it's only through the E-tax that the AJM is able to stay open and provide the exhibitions and programming we do.

*Don't forget about the Kansas City Jazz Calendar.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Joe Who?

I'd already heard a lot of great music in 2011, but Joe Lovano's concert Saturday at the Folly Theater topped it all. Startlingly innovative, Lovano and his Us Five band demonstrated that jazz still contains entire universes of untapped potential. (It's astonishing how much I concur with this review of the concert.)

Only about 400 people attended. Empty seats outnumbered patrons. And a significant portion of them, displeased by Lovano's aggressive approach, walked out. The Folly Theater's failure to utilize free promotional tools continues to disappoint me, but the problem is far more complex than that.

I was rattled by the reaction I received when I shared my excitement about Lovano's concert with friends during the previous day's First Friday celebration. One owns a record label. Another specializes in music marketing. A third books bands. A fourth works in radio. Not one of them had even heard of Lovano. He may lack the charisma of his frequent collaborator Esperanza Spalding, but within the jazz world, Lovano is a giant. When one of jazz's most important and compelling artists doesn't even register as a blip on the radar of music professionals, jazz is in a world of hurt.

Why the disconnect?

It's not the economy or competition from other forms of entertainment. Three rock-oriented concerts- Bright Eyes at the Uptown Theater, Three Days Grace at the Midland Theater and Henry Rollins at the Record Bar- drew capacity audiences the same night as Lovano's appearance. I have to believe that a least a few hundred fans at those events would also be attracted to the adventurous new sounds produced by Lovano. Rollins, for instance, issued a Matthew Shipp album on his 2.13.61 record label.

I realize, of course, that I'm preaching to the choir. I spotted several of Plastic Sax's 37 readers at Lovano's concert. Even so, it's come to this- jazz is so far removed from music's mainstream that active consumers of rock and hip hop have virtually no awareness of vital artists like Joe Lovano.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Jack Walrath

I ran into a loyal advocate of Kansas City's jazz scene at Saturday's Joe Lovano concert. Dismayed by the institution's failure to get the word out about a noteworthy event, he encouraged me to make special mention of a forthcoming appearance by trumpeter Jack Walrath at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The veteran of Charles Mingus' band plays with the UMKC Concert Jazz Band on Wednesday, April 6. A few tantalizing details are hidden here. But don't tell a soul- it's a secret.

Now's the Time: Benny Golson

Jazz giant Benny Golson, the composer of jazz standards "Killer Joe," "Stablemates" and "I Remember Clifford," performs at the Blue Room on Friday, April 1. No fooling.