Now's the Time: Stan Kessler and Kathleen Holeman

The duo of trumpeter Stan Kessler and vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Kathleen Holeman perform in the lounge of the EBT Restaurant on Saturday, August 16.  Both musicians have personality to spare.  They're accompanied by pianist Roger Wilder and bassist Bob Bowman in the embedded video.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*A "Tactical Social Media Promo Kit" designed to draw attention to this month's "Charlie Parker Celebration" is praised in the Kansas City Business Journal.  KC Jazz Lark extolls the effort and points out a related item Rick Hellman wrote for Downbeat.

*The Mid-America Arts Alliance is presenting a free concert by Vine Street Rumble on Friday, September 5.

*A gig by Clint Ashlock's Forward is sanctioned by The Pitch.

*Chris Burnett riffs on the memorization and recreation of classic works. 

*Tweet o' the Week: Fredric Sims- I think I am falling in love with jazz again! @GreenLadyLounge! #JazzTrio

*Comment o' the Week: Cb- Nice work. Reminds me lots of Logan Richardson.

*From Johnson County Community College: Two prominent area jazz musicians will perform at Johnson County Community College on Tuesday, Aug. 26, as part of a Kansas City celebration honoring Charlie “Yardbird” Parker. Bandleader and bassist Gerald Spaits and alto saxophonist Charles Perkins will play from noon to 1 p.m. in the college’s Atrium, the space between the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art and the Regnier Center. The performance… is free and open to the public…

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Album Review: Peter Schlamb- Tinks

Peter Schlamb is full of surprises. 

The vibraphonist's participation in hip-hop themed concerts, collaborations with New York-based musicians and his increasingly impressive mainstream jazz performances have been documented at Plastic Sax. 

None of that prepared me for his new album Tinks.   A compact set of nine original compositions, Tinks includes contributions from trumpeter Hermon Mehari, saxophonist Ben van Gelder, bassist Karl McComas-Reichl and drummer Sean Mullins.  Yet because of an unusual array of production effects, it's often difficult to identify the instrumentation on the terrifically entertaining album.

I have no idea which musician is featured on "Launch," but the trickery is very compelling.  The propulsive "Falling" opens with metallic riffing that may or may emanate from a vibraphone.  The instrumentation on the fusion-like "Lunacy" is similarly perplexing.  "Stacy Hill" and "Theme Song" are more conventional but no less interesting.

No selection is longer than five minutes and most of the beats are remarkably fresh.  As a result, the altogether vital Tinks is as immediately engaging as a pop album.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra

Worlds will collide on Saturday, August 16, when The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra performs at Knuckleheads.  Most of the refined big band's concerts are held at Helzberg Hall in the elegant Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.  The region's primary destination for blues and roots rock, Knuckleheads is festooned with neon.  The juxtaposition should be memorable. 

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Shay Estes won the Jazz Solo category and Project H claimed the prize for top Jazz Ensemble at Sunday's Pitch Music Awards ceremony.

*An Indiegogo campaign has been created to raise funds for the Alaadeen Jazz Master/Apprentice Program.

*A local television station produced a two-minute feature on Tim Whitmer.

*The Pitch recommends the Paul Shinn Trio's four-night residency at the Green Lady Lounge.

*"Do It Up & Do It Right" is another track from the Project H's forthcoming album.

*KC Jazz Lark commemorates his blog's fifth anniversary with a round of great photos.

*A new generation of plastic saxophones is being created.

*Dean Minderman of St. Louis Jazz Notes reports that Mary Halvorson, Roscoe Mitchell, Craig Taborn, Glenn Kotche and Tim Berne are among the artists featured in New Music Circle's 2014-15 season.

*Tweet o' the Week: Mills Record Company- Okay...Jorge Arana Trio and Temp Tat too. Haymaker Records Brenton has been tuning up the projector since 2 today. He has a video to show you

*Comment o' the Week: KC Jazz Lark: I was at The Phoenix about the same time, maybe a little earlier, with a couple of friends. The club was about half filled for Tim Whitmer & KC Express with Lori Tucker, with more people streaming in when we left. That's something The Phoenix has done well: Between Lonnie McFadden on Friday evenings and Tim on Saturdays, they have found a couple of popular and fun acts who have built a buzz and make people think of The Phoenix when conisdering where to get some drinks downtown on a weekend evening, I don't know which other musicians could build a similar buzz at other clubs, but it''s something Green Lady could use and Broadway Jazz Club needs.

*From Jim Mair: Jazz by the Lake so far: First Thursday of the Month noon to 1pm KCKCC Conference Center by the Lake. Thursday September 4:KCKCC Jazz Faculty Cuba Kick Off. Thursday October 2: Diana Herold/Grisha Alexiev Quartet from New York City. Thursday November 6: The Roberto Magris Trio (pianist from Italy and J Mood recording Artist).

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Use It Or Lose It

I joined an audience of two when I walked into a jazz club yesterday. 

The band included one of Kansas City's most respected elder statesman and one of region's most notable young lions.  To paraphrase the pop song of the summer, their astounding talents should have the musicians "in the fast lane from L.A. to Tokyo."  Instead, the number of listeners had only grown to six when I left the club an hour later. 

While updating The Kansas City Jazz Calendar I found that a remarkable amount of non-jazz acts were booked at jazz venues in August.  It's difficult to begrudge venue managers of the shift when jazz acts aren't consistently drawing crowds. 

It's one thing to tout Kansas City's jazz heritage.  It's quite another to support the present artistic renaissance by actually attending gigs.  And yes, I'm as culpable as many purported jazz fans.  I left the forsaken jazz club to join a throng of thousands at a funk concert.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Lester "Duck" Warner

Lester "Duck" Warner will perform at Tim Whitmer's Spirituality & All That Jazz program at Unity on the Plaza on Wednesday, August 6.  The embedded footage of a 2006 event also features (in order of solos) Horace Washington on flute, Everett Freeman on keyboards, Karita Carter on trombone and Leon Brady on drums.  Tyrone Clark is on bass.