Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

 *Karrin Allyson and David Basse are releasing albums during the next week.  The release date for the "physical" edition of Bobby Watson's Check Cashing Day is November 12.

*Chuck Haddix is interviewed by Joe Dimino.  Haddix and Bobby Watson will reprise their concert/book talk at the Jeannette Nichols Forum on November 6.

*Libby Hanssen recounts the excitement of a People's Liberation Orchestra gig at the RecordBar.

*A critic compares and contrasts biographies of Charlie Parker by Stanley Crouch, Gary Giddins and Chuck Haddix.

*The Pitch recommends a gig by New Jazz Order.

*Jon Poses takes note of A Kansas City Trumpet Summit.

*Here's the latest episode of 12th Street Jump's "Blues In the News."

*Tweet o' the Week: Kelly Ludwig- Chuck Haddix signing his great new book about Charlie Parker (just for you, Christy) #charlieparker (Instagram)

*Comment o' the Week: KC Jazz Lark- Wow. I am honored and humbled. Sometimes people who read our occasional disagreements ask me if we get along. I am always delighted to tell them we're friends.

*From a press release: Kansas City’s community jazz scene revives with former Jardine’s General Manager, Pat Hanrahan, in Midtown this Nov. with the opening of The Broadway Jazz Club, located at 3601 Broadway Avenue. The location operated as a speakeasy during the peak of the city’s jazz age, and is across the street from the historic Ambassador Hotel, where legendary jazz performers like Marilyn Maye once performed.  Near the Country Club Plaza and not far from the performing arts venues downtown, the Broadway Jazz Club is in the heart of the Broadway Arts District, offering a rich, historical context to enjoy live jazz five nights a week. The new venue establishes a community-oriented jazz destination that is accessible, relaxed and centered around Kansas City’s tremendous jazz reputation with local musicians.  The management team, led by owner and entrepreneur Neil Pollock, includes Hanrahan as General Manager and Steve Wachsberg with operations… ollock, a lifelong connoisseur of jazz, always dreamed of opening his own jazz club in Kansas City, famous for its jazz heritage… Broadway Jazz Club boasts a diverse, active lineup of the city’s most talented jazz musicians five nights a week for jazz lovers of all ages to enjoy. Each night will feature different styles of jazz, including rhythm and blues on Tuesdays, pianists on Wednesdays, live trios on Thursdays and five- to six-piece bands with live vocalists on Fridays and Saturdays. Additionally, Broadway Jazz Club will feature a jazz pianist during a daily happy hour. Operating times include Tuesdays – Thursdays from 4:00 p.m. – midnight, Friday from 4:00 p.m. – 1:30 a.m. and Saturday from 6:00 p.m. – 1:30 a.m.  Broadway Jazz Club will also operate as a full-service bar and restaurant, seating up to 120 guests with a total capacity for 160, with plans to announce its full menu closer to opening.

*From Connie Humiston: November 3rd, 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ~ American Jazz Museum.  Benefiting the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.  Brunch with Millie Edwards & Herman Mehari. Stroll through the Museum exhibits. Mark Lowrey performing in the Blue Room. Host: Larry Moore, KMCB news anchor. $50 (a portion is tax-deductible).  Museum admission included.

*From Rob Scheps: Our next Project in Kansas City and the Midwest is a stellar quartet.  Featuring Eliot Zigmund, the drummer in the Bill Evans Trio with Eddie Gomez for 4 years, Eliot is one of the living greats of jazz percussion.  Fridays April 4 and 11, 2014 (at) Lucky Brewgrille, and Friday April 18, 2014, (at) Take Five Coffee Bar.

*From Jim Mair: It might sound cliché, but the latest invitation for the Kansas City Kansas Community College music program is truly a “once in a lifetime experience.”  The KCKCC Jazz Band has been invited to perform at the 2014 Havana International Jazz Festival in Havana, Cuba. The festival is Dec. 17 to 22, 2014. Jim Mair, professor of music and director of instrumental studies at KCKCC, said the band was invited based on its long reputation as one of the premiere community college jazz ensembles in the nation.  “This will truly be a life-changing experience,” Mair said. “Some of the students are very excited. Others have not yet absorbed what this means. This is a very exciting opportunity.”…  Mair said a 19-piece jazz band will travel to Cuba, either through Miami, Fla. or Cancun, Mexico…  With plans already in the works to travel to Cuba next year, Mair said the next step is to begin raising the approximately $60,000 it will take to get the jazz band to Cuba.  Mair said he would like to open the trip to people within the Wyandotte and Kansas City area community. He said to take people with the jazz band would serve as a cultural exchange, exposing as many people as possible to Cuba. Those who are interested in traveling with the jazz band are responsible for their own expenses and travel costs…“I would like to make it a community effort. Anyone who wants to go, who likes to travel can go,” he said. “This is a special circumstance to visit a country not many have been able to experience before.”

*From the American Jazz Museum: Friday Nov 1- Michael Carvin Experience w/ Jansen Cinco, Yayoi Ikawa, Keith Loftis $15.  Saturday Nov 2- CD Release Party! David Basse Featuring Curtis Lundy $15.

*From Take Five Coffee + Bar: Friday, November 1, 8pm - 10pm:  David Basse-Curtis Lundy Quartet.  We are honored to have Kansas City legend David Basse in for an intimate performance and CD release party at Take Five. As a singer and drummer, Basse has performed all over the world with jazz luminaries such as Jay McShann, and his voice is heard far and wide every week as he hosts the "12th Street Jump" on KCUR and "The Jazz Scene" on Kansas Public Radio… $15 cover. Saturday, November 2, 8pm - 11pm:  Jeff Harshbarger Quintet - Jazz in the Jungle Afterparty… Harshbarger is joined by saxophonists Rich Wheeler and Matt Otto and guitarist Brian Baggett, and drummer Brian Steever… Sunday, November 3, 7pm - 9pm:  Chilliott… Join us Sunday evening for Chilliott, a three-piece groove oriented fusion band featuring Charlie Harris on bass, Elliott Stevens on percussion and BJ Presnell on banjo.. If you like Bela Fleck, you won't want to miss this show.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

KC Jazz Lark: An Appreciation

My words surprised me.

"That blog is one of the best things to have happened to Plastic Sax," I told a friend over lunch last week.

I was referring to KC Jazz Lark, the "other" Kansas City jazz blog.  I'd never articulated Plastic Sax's relationship with KC Jazz Lark in those terms.  Plastic Sax had been around for two years when the man behind KC Jazz Lark began publishing his thoughts in 2009.  By creating something for Plastic Sax to push against, KC Jazz Lark provided this site with fresh inspiration. 

While we both champion of few of the same things- Bobby Watson, the People's Liberation Big Band, Take Five Coffee + Bar among them- KC Jazz Lark and I observe the jazz scene from different vantage points.  KC Jazz Lark loves swing.  I'm partial to experimental sounds.  As an optimist, KC Jazz Lark views a few dozen people in a jazz club as proof of the music's viability.  I see the same crowd as Floor Left Row GG at a concert at the Sprint Center.  While I'm prone to hyperbole, KC Jazz Lark is consistently reasonable.

Yet he's hardly a delusional cheerleader.  KC Jazz Lark regularly examines unfortunate realities from his redoubtable perspective as one of the region's most trustworthy banks of institutional memory. 

I'll almost certainly continue to squabble with KC Jazz Lark.  Even so, I'm proud to share a space with the excellent historian, gifted photographer and passionate advocate of Kansas City jazz.  I'm even happier to acknowledge that the man behind KC Jazz Lark is my friend.

Now's the Time: The Project H and Chris Hazelton's Boogaloo 7

The final show of the Black Lab New Music Festival features The Project H and Chris Hazelton's Boogaloo 7 at Paragraph Gallery on Saturday, October 26.  The Project H is seen and heard to good effect in a 2012 performance at KJHK.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Matt Jones, the owner of the Phoenix, suggests that "“(i)t’s tough around Kansas City to be a jazz guy."

*A report in The Kansas City Star indicates that the Broadway Jazz Cafe "will offer live music five nights a week."

*Chuck Haddix was interviewed by KCPT about his his biography of Charlie Parker.  Here's footage from Haddix's reading at Unity Temple.

*NPR interviewed Stanley Crouch about his new biography of Charlie Parker.

*The Pitch recommends Friday's performance by the Jazz Disciples with Lisa Henry.

*The Kansas City Star offers a review of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra's appearance at Helzberg Hall.  KC Metropolis' analysis of Saturday's concert is here.

*Kevin Mahogany recalls the time he spent at Baker University.

*Here's a new episode of 12th Street Jump's"Blues In the News."

*Joe Dimino interviewed Chicago-based trumpeter Marquis Hill.

*Tweet o' the Week: Anton Donaldson- Kansas City jazz legend Lonnie McFadden. #jazz #kansascity (Vine)

*Comment o' the Week: Timothy- If its not a greasy sound it must have been recorded at Soundtrek. No disrespect to Soundtrek but it is a notoriously polite sound. Maybe I'm wrong. Tim

*From Jim Mair: The Kansas City Kansas Community College Jazz Program will present a showcase at the Green Lady Lounge on Veteran's Day, Monday, November 11th from 7pm to 10pm.  Showcase will feature Jazz Band, Jazz Combos, Vocal Jazz Ensembles and Student Jazz Soloists. The showcase is free of charge and open to the public.

*From Take Five Coffee + Bar: The power this weekend at Take Five Coffee + Bar comes from the depths- two outstanding shows led by two of the city's premier bassists. Come get that feeling down in your bones. Friday, October 25, 8pm: Ben Leifer's Plus Minus: Among his many ensemble affiliations, Ben Leifer is part of the trio, Diverse, that originally opened up Take Five to the idea of a coffeehouse hosting live jazz. Having him back in the room, leading a terrific quartet he calls Plus Minus, is a long-awaited treat: Andrew Ouellette on keys, Matt Hopper on guitar, and John Kizilarmut on drums. $5 cover. Saturday, October 26, 8pm:  Bill McKemy Quartet: As a composer, leader and sideman, bassist Bill McKemy has been tearing up the Kansas City jazz scene for years and continues to deliver surprises at every turn. In front of his own quartet of equally imaginative and powerful players - Brian Baggett on guitar, Rich Wheeler on tenor and Sam Wisman on drums - he'll take over Take Five this Saturday, much to our delight. $5 cover.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Album Review: A Kansas City Trumpet Summit

A void that remains unfilled was created when KCUR's weekly show "Just Jazz" ended its long run in 2005.   Co-hosts Ginney Coleman and Ruth Rhoden valued swing above all else.  Their unwavering advocacy of locally-produced mainstream jazz is sorely missed.

The women would have almost certainly championed A Kansas City Trumpet Summit as one of the most important albums to emerge from the regional scene in years.  Gorgeous even on the uptempo selections, the project is unflaggingly tasteful.

The showcase for Stan Kessler, Hermon Mehari and Mike Metheny doesn't feature fiery battles.  Instead, it's an elegant exercise in cooperation.  Pianist T.J. Martley, bassist Gerald Spaits and drummer Brian Steever provide support.

The liner notes of the CD indicate the order of solos, but anyone who's logged much time in Kansas City's jazz venues won't need to consult them.  Each man has a clearly defined approach.  (The distinction is made even clearer when Metheny picks up his EVI.)

The playing is uniformly impeccable.  In fact, the absence of grit is a bit disarming.  The flawless sheen of the production may disappoint anyone who prefers a greasier sound.  Even a version of Jimmy Smith's "Back at the Chicken Shack" is as clean as a whistle.  The production and the material align on the ballads.  The Metheny feature "For Parkville," the album's closing track, is rapturously beautiful.

It's a shame that Ginney and Ruth aren't around to broadcast the good word. 

Now's the Time: The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Chorale Le Chateau

The combination of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Chorale Le Chateau at a gospel-themed concert at Helzberg Hall on Saturday, October 19, promises to be potent.  Joe Klopus implores people who attend only attend jazz concerts when they involve Wynton Marsalis to expand their palates in his weekly column.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Joe Dimino interviews Abel Ramirez for his Neon Jazz program.

*The Kansas City Star published a review and a report about the 18th & Vine Jazz and Blues Festival.

*KC Jazz Lark ponders the public's perception of the Jazz District.

*Stanley Crouch promoted his new biography of Charlie Parker on PBS.  (Tip via Tony's Kansas City.)

*Lee Hartman reviewed a performance by the People's Liberation Big Band.

*A van owned by trumpeter George Robinson was stolen. 

*The Pitch recommends Parallax's performance at Take Five Coffee + Bar.

*The Black House Collective shares another round of photos documenting its new music festival.

*The $14 million National Blues Museum opens in St. Louis next year.

*Tweet o' the Week: ashley- At the 18th & Vine Jazz and Blues Festival with my grandma..

*From Mike Metheny: It's always a pleasure (and a challenge!) to be on the same stage with such outstanding musicians as Stan Kessler (tpt), Hermon Mehari (tpt), TJ Martley (p), Gerald Spaits (b) and Brian Steever (dr). And how's this for a bona fide Kansas City Trumpet Summit: the equally outstanding Clint Ashlock (tpt) will be a special guest during each set at the Blue Room on Saturday, Oct. 26, 8:30-12:30. (That's Clint's photography on the cover of the new CD that will be available at the gig.) Hope to see you there!

*From a press release: Annual birthday bash celebrating & featuring Tim Whitmer with party revelers the Wild Women of Kansas City, guitarist Rod Fleeman & the Consort Band. Wednesday, November 6, 2013. 7:00 p.m.  Unity Temple on the Plaza.  $7.00. Children under 16 free.

*From 12th Street Jump: This week on 12th Street Jump we celebrate the birthday of Lee Konitz with our special guest Rob Scheps. The gang sees "Who's Got the Blues" in South Bend, IN and offers a little help to the President.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)