Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*KCJazzLark endorses Kansas City's latest wave of jazz talent.

*(T)his is music that may sound little like anything he's done before, but is equally impossible to imagine coming from anyone but Metheny," John Kelman suggests in a review of Pat Metheny's Tap: Jon Zorn's Book of Angels, Vol. 20.  The album will be released May 21.

*The Examiner previews the Jazz In the Woods festival.

*The Kansas City Live Music Blog published photos of Shay Estes, Jeff Harshbarger, Mark Lowrey and the Project H performing Beck's Song Reader at the RecordBar.

*This year's, ahem, Jazzoo fundraiser features a DJ, dueling pianos, dance and rock bands, a blues act and the jazz-tinged "antique pop" of Victor & Penny.

*Tweet o' the Week: Hermon Mehari- Had a blast opening for @TalibKweli this weekend. Live video of "Blowthehorn" - Reach and the Buhs (video)

*Comment o' the Week: Geek- I'm a big fan Diana Krall but how is she able to draw 2500 people? How would you know who she is unless you listen to jazz. Is her music played on any Kansas City radio stations? Is it because of her looks or her associaiton with Elvis? Kenny G is a house hold name. So was Chuck Mangletony in the 70's....(just joking..he used to play with Blakey)  How is Diana Krall so familiar internationally yet Karrin Allyson, Eliane Elias, Carol DuBoc, Ann Hampton Callaway are unknown to the majority of people.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Borne Back Ceaselessly Into the Past

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby 


"Hip hop was not around in the 1920's," a reviewer sniffs in a dismissal of the soundtrack to the new film version of The Great Gatsby.  "They just ruined the film."

The use of contemporary popular music in a film that takes place in 1922 doesn't offend me.  I reckon that today's versions of the title character would listen to Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Kanye West.  Had the filmmakers elected to present a soundtrack that's true to the setting, however, some of the selections would likely have originated in Kansas City.

The Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra's swanky "Oriental Love Dreams" would complement a dance scene.  And hip attendees of Gatsby's parties would probably have been aware of Bennie Moten.  The rowdy rendition of "Evil Mama Blues" with Ada Brown evokes all kinds of unlawful sin.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Cindy Bradley

Many of Kansas City's jazz musicians have tired of my churlish exhortations to document their work on video.  I had simple performance videos in mind, but the embedded Cindy Bradley clip has altered my expectations.  I now realize that slinky red dresses and assertive hair stylists are essential ingredients of a solid presentation.  Perhaps Bradley can give musicians in Kansas City a few style tips when she and Alex Bugnon appear at the Gem Theater on Saturday, May 18.  

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Joe Dimino posted new interviews with Jeff Harshbarger and Clint Ashlock at Neon Jazz.

*KCJazzLark alerts his readers to a BBC report about Herb Jeffries and shares a vintage photograph of the Mutual Musicians Foundation.

*The Grand Marquis created a new Kickstarter campaign.

*Jeneé Osterheldt spoke to Fanny Dunfee, Ahmad Alaadeen's widow, about her new book of poetry.

*Diana Krall's concert at the Midland theater was reviewed by The Kansas City Star.

*A critic raves about a Kansas City-inspired band's performance at a British jazz festival.

*Tweet o' the Week: parkavepirate- Easy Listening Jazz is like the Kansas City Royals...unobtrusive and yet secretly enjoyable with no real threat.

*Comment o' the Week: Russell- Time is no longer linear anymore.. it's a retrovirus

*From Rob Scheps: Early Notice: The Rob Scheps / Jim O'Connor Quintet- Rob Scheps - tenor sax, Jim O'Connor - trumpet/ flugelhorn, Roger Wilder - piano, Bob "Dwight" Bowman - bass, Brian Steever - drums, makes its Kansas Debut in these shows: Thursday October 3, 2013- Jazz On The Lake, Kansas City Kansas Community College, 12 pm - 1 pm.  Friday October 11, 2013- Take Five Coffee Bar, 7 pm - 10 pm…  Jim O'Connor is one of the greatest jazz trumpeters I've ever heard.

*From Doug Talley: This Friday, May 10, 8:30pm, we'll be performing the music of Wayne Shorter at the Blue Room, 18th and Vine, KCMO.  Don't miss this opportunity to hear pianist Sean Giddings, Shawnee Mission Northwest graduate currently living in Texas. Doug Talley - saxes, Joe Parisi - trumpet and flugelhorn, Sean Giddings - piano, Tim Brewer - acoustic and electric bass, Keith Kavanaugh - drums and cymbals.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Album Review: Carol Duboc- Smile

Had it not been for the Sunday jazz concerts sponsored by Kansas City, Missouri, in the 1970s and 1980s, Plastic Sax probably wouldn't exist.   The free events served as my introduction to jazz.

One of the concerts that had the most influence on me took place across the street from my elementary school at Line Creek Park in 1977 or 1978.  I'd never heard anything quite like The Jeff Lorber Fusion.  The bassist's slap technique mesmerized me.  A guy by the name of Kenneth Bruce Gorelick may or may not have been in the band.  Everything about the gig knocked me out.

The young women I encountered in high school several years later dazzled me in entirely different ways.  One of them was named Carol Duboc.  She's since forged a career as a California-based songwriter and vocalist.  Smile, Duboc's new album, was co-produced by Lorber.  The project's smooth sound is highly recommended to fans of Brenda Russell, Michael Franks and Patti Austin.  Here's the sunny video for the title track.

While I'm tempted to ask Duboc if she attended that Lorber concert in the 1970s, I'm not sure I want to know the answer.  I walked to the show with my best friend Rob.  My appreciation of Lorber's performance- to say nothing of my relationship with Rob- might have been jeopardized had a blonde caught my eye that summer evening.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Charles Williams

Who's in the mood for some grown and sexy music?  Pianist Charles Williams, a mainstay of Kansas City's jazz scene, performs the Stylistics hit "Betcha By Golly, Wow" in the embedded video.  He's accompanied by guitarist Rod Fleeman, bassist James Ward and drummer Mike Warren.  Williams and Fleeman will appear at Helzberg Hall on Friday, May 3, as members of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Tim Finn provides insights into Friday's performance of Beck's Song Reader by Mark Lowrey, the Project H, Jeff Harshbarger and Shay Estes.

*Kenny G will appear with the Kansas City Symphony on January 17-18, 2014.

*Craig Glazer lambasts the Jazz District as a "total and complete, unadulterated failure."

*Libby Hanssen reviewed concerts by Bobby McFerrin and Bach Aria Soloists.

*Here's a peek at Bobby Watson rehearsing with the Kansas City Ballet.

*Logan Richardson was a guest on an episode of the JazzWatch podcast.

*Joe Straws was featured in The Kansas City Star.

*Tweet o' the Week: mbirdmusic- Singing about Paris #paris #sprinbird #springtime #Bored Vine.

*Comment o' the Week: Anonymous- You say "anachronistic" like it's a bad thing ;)

*From a press release: Students in the KU School of Music Jazz Studies program received five awards from DownBeat magazine’s 36th Annual Student Music Awards.  Four students won awards in the following categories: Original Composition – Lead Sheet (undergraduate division), Original Composition – Orchestrated Work (graduate division) and Jazz Arrangement (graduate division).  David von Kampen, a doctoral student pursuing a music composition degree and previous DownBeat award recipient, was the recipient of two awards received top prize in the graduate division. He is the winner in the Original Composition -  Orchestrated Work category for “Soft Glow, Sharp Edges” and received an Outstanding Performance Award in the Jazz Arrangement category for “The Tourist.”  Clint Ashlock, pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts in trumpet, was named the winner of the Jazz Arrangement category (graduate division) for “Nebula.”  In the undergraduate division, Brock Chart (“Northern Lights”) and Devin Wright (“Imploding Man”) both received Outstanding Performance awards in the Original Composition – Lead Sheet category. Chart is a senior pursuing a bachelor degree in music composition, while Wright was a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in jazz studies in 2012.  All of the winning compositions and arrangements were written for and recorded by the top ensembles within the KU Jazz Studies Program:  Jazz Ensemble I, Combo I, and the Jazz Singers.  The program is under the direction of Dan Gailey, director of jazz studies at KU. Under Gailey’s leadership, the program has received 17 DownBeat awards since 1992.

*From Jim Mair: For most of the 700 musicians from three states, the 3rd Annual Kansas City Jazz Summit provided them with their first look at Kansas City Kansas Community College.  “It had a real impact on those who had never been here,” said Jim Mair, Director of Jazz Music at KCKCC and founder and organizer of the three-day Jazz Summit that attracted 35 middle school, high school and college bands from three states… The Summit was highlighted by the Kansas City Jazz Heritage “Basically Basie” competition won for the third straight year by Blue Valley Northwest High School. The championship was decided by members of the audience who were able to text their votes.  Mair said the 35 bands which competed came from as far away as Springfield and St. Louis in Missouri, Iowa and western Kansas and represented a 15 percent increase in participants. Participating bands included four college bands, Johnson County Community College, Penn Valley, Southwestern Iowa and Washburn University along with KCKCC.

*From a press release: The Heartbeat Next to My Heartbeat is a collection of writing over three years by Victoria “Fanny” Alaadeen. She chronicles the time she devoted as her husband’s full-time caretaker on a slow journey through cancer and shares the process of her recovery after his death. Fanny was wife, business manager, inspiration and personal savior to celebrated saxophonist and educator Ahmad Alaadeen… She lays bare the anguish of losing him through musings that she calls ”beats” – poem/essay hybrids that strike at the emotions like beats on a drum or the rhythmic pulsing of a heartbeat… The American Jazz Museum will host a book signing with Fanny Alaadeen and has selections of Ahmad Alaadeen’s discography available in the Swing Shop.  The Heartbeat Next to My Heartbeat is available through Fandeen publishing and the Swing Shop in the American Jazz Museum… and online at alaadeen.com, smashwords.com, and amazon.com.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)