Topsy

I spent much of last week watching rooms spin.  A condition that was eventually diagnosed as an inner ear blockage made me think I was going to die.  Although every sound louder than a whisper hurt my head, I spent a lot of time thinking about music. 

Assuming I was about to meet my maker, I regretted that I would never hear a handful of recent releases including Tord Gustavsen's What Was Said.  Mostly, however, I rued that I hadn’t spent more of my limited time on earth enjoying the life-affirming recordings made by Bill Basie’s band in the 1930s. 

Now that I’m feeling better, I intend to keep The Complete Decca Recordings in regular rotation for the remainder of my days.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: The Jorge Arana Trio

Does the Jorge Arana Trio play jazz?  The group’s music is certainly a lot closer to the form than almost any of the more than three dozen other ensembles slated to perform at a handful of area retailers on Record Store Day.  The band will play at 9 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at Mills Record Company.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*The Kansas City Star published a review of the Christian McBride Trio’s concert at the Folly Theater.

*A crowdfunding campaign dedicated to the medical bills of vocalist Molly Hammer was created by her sister.  A television news report documents Hammer’s struggle.

*Joe Klopus previewed a concert by the Bad Plus featuring Joshua Redman at the Gem Theater.  The show is also touted by The Pitch.

*A critic for The Guardian reviewed Logan Richardson’s show at Pizza Express in London.

*WNYC uploaded a batch of Karrin Allyson in-studio performance videos.  Here’s ”The Surrey with the Fringe on Top”.

*Tweet o’ the Week: Nicholas Blundgren- Jorge Arana Trio are Kansas City's Ornette Coleman - telegraphing the future of jazz one performance at a time. No hyperbole.

*Comment o’ the Week: Stephen- Pete Kelly's Blues is one of my guilty pleasures, too. Webb could actually play cornet a bit. The speakeasy's cigarette girl is hard to recognize, but that's Jayne Mansfield in one of her first movies.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Star People

A few associates have asked for my take on Don Cheadle’s new Miles Davis movie Miles Ahead.  I don’t have one yet.  Instead, I’ll direct curious readers to a few Kansas City-related jazz films.

The most essential work is the 1979 documentary The Last of the Blue Devils.  The recent surveys Kansas City Jazz & Blues: Past, Present & Future and Kansas City & All That Jazz approach the scene from a more academic perspective.

The depiction of Kansas City’s jazz heyday in Robert Altman’s 1996 film Kansas City is excellent.  Sadly but somewhat intriguingly, several portions of the movie set remain in the Jazz District.

Partly because Forest Whitaker is one of my favorite actors, I’m not as down on Clint Eastwood’s maligned Charlie Parker biopic Bird as many commentators.

I may be the world’s only proponent of Pete Kelly’s Blues.  The embedded trailer for the forgotten flick set in Kansas City reflects the corny tone, flimsy production values and cultural tone-deafness of the production.  I like it anyway.

Jack Webb stars as a trumpeter in the “jazz crazed years when his music beat with the rhythm of the times and his heart beat with a love for all time.”  Ella Fitzgerald makes a cameo appearance in the deliciously cheesy movie that’s littered with references to local landmarks and jazz musicians.

Now's the Time: Brian Holland and Danny Coots

I’ve unintentionally snubbed Kansas City Ragtime Revelry for years.  The ragtime advocacy group hadn’t on my radar and none of its members have ever reached out to me.  The organization is presenting a concert by Brian Holland and Danny Coots on Wednesday, April 13, at Californos.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Pat Metheny and Bobby Watson are among the jazz musicians who will perform at the White House on April 29.

*Deborah Brown’s most recent appearance at the Blue Room was documented by KC Jazz Lark.

*An audio component has been added to KCUR’s review of Matt Otto’s Soliloquy.

*The University of Kansas Jazz Ensemble I will perform in the Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York on April 12.  Directed by Dan Gailey, the students bill be joined by Kansas City based musicians including Deborah Brown, Matt Otto, Danny Embrey, Jeff Harshbarger and Brandon Draper.  The program will be reprised at the Lied Center in Lawrence on Sunday, April 24.

*Joe Klopus previewed concerts featuring Branford Marsalis and Christian McBride.  The Pitch also recommends McBride’s appearance.

*Matt Otto was interviewed by Joe Dimino.

*Mike Dillon's Functioning Broke, an album that "finds Dillon alone on vibraphone, mallet instruments and various percussion," will be released on April 29 by Royal Potato Family.

*A critic for The New York Times panned the Apollo Theater debut of the opera "Charlie Parker's Yardbird."

*The lineup of the 2016 edition of the Iowa City Jazz Festival includes the Vijay Iyer Trio and the Edmar Castaneda Trio.

*Tweet o’ the Week: Champian Fulton- Amazing & inspiring visit to the @americanjazzkc & negro league baseball museum. #JazzAppreciationMonth (photo with Charlie Parker’s plastic sax at the American Jazz Museum)

*From Jo Ann Daugherty: On Saturday April 16, KC’s own legendary jazz bass man, Bob Bowman, will be celebrating his 63rd birthday with a night of music at The Art Factory.  Joining him are special guests Chicago-based pianist Jo Ann Daugherty and drummer Ryan Bennett, both with strong musical KC roots.  This group of sympatico players rejoins forces after a stirring performance at the 18th & Vine Festival in this past October.

*The Kansas City Jazz Calendar has been updated for April.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Concert Review: Pablo Ziegler's Quartet for New Tango

A quartet led by Pablo Ziegler repeatedly broke my heart at Polsky Theatre on Saturday.  The sadly elegant music of the Quartet for New Tango sounded as if it was inspired by the brevity of lasting love affairs that are inevitably cut short by mortality.

Ziegler was the pianist in Astor Piazzolla’s groundbreaking Quinteto Tango Nuevo in the 1980s.  I was among the thousands of converts who marveled at the Argentinian ensemble’s landmark 1986 album Tango: Zero Hour. 

Saturday’s concert for an audience of about 300 opened with what might have been a sly tribute to Kansas City’s jazz tradition.  Ziegler’s solo piano statement on “One Again… Milonga,” a track from his 2007 album Tango Meets Jazz, evoked Count Basie.

While the selections were meticulously arranged, Ziegler and bassist Pedro Giraudo made great use of a handful of opportunities to delve into jazz-based improvisations.  The contributions of elite bandoneonist Héctor Del Curto and cellist Jisoo Ok, a woman best known for her collaborations with jazz musicians like Regina Carter, were just as splendid.

I was initially disappointed that ”Chin Chin” was one of only three Piazzolla selections on the program.  Yet renditions of Ziegler’s original material were no less engaging than interpretations of Piazzolla’s compositions.  Our earthly lives may be painfully brief, but the two precious hours spent immersed in Ziegler’s rapturously anguished music provided wondrous revelations. 

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)