Album Review: Action Bronson- Mr. Wonderful

You have to love a guy who can laugh at himself.  That’s precisely what Action Bronson does throughout the hilarious Mr. Wonderful.

The people who accuse Bronson of swagger jacking Ghostface Killah’s flow are missing the point.  Bronson’s raps are in the spirit to hip-hop humorists Kool Keith, the Beastie Boys and Mac Lethal.

Bronson is the new Biz Markie.

Amusing tracks like ”Baby Blue”, ”Actin’ Crazy” and ”Easy Rider” make Mr. Wonderful my party album of 2015.


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I reviewed a concert by Chris Tomlin, Tenth Avenue North and Rend Collective.

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My notes on a performance by the Lee Konitz and Dave Douglas Quintet have attracted quite a bit of attention.

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I contributed a Local Listen segment about Danielle Nicole (Schnebelen) to KCUR.

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Al Bunetta has died.  To say we didn’t care for each other would be an understatement.

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John Renbourn has died.

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Tech N9ne made a video for “Aw Yeah? (Intervention).”

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Stik Figa has released Stik Figa Is Not Quite Himself.

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Brandon Draper’s Night-Night Songs is RIYL: lullabies, Iron & Wine, nice guys.

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Rhodes Ahead Volume 2, the latest release from Marc Cary, makes me extremely happy.  RIYL: George Duke, instrumental funk, J Dilla.  Here’s ”Astral Flight 17”.

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Liturgy’s The Ark Work is either the best or the worst album of 2015.  RIYL: Thurston Moore, “serious” metal, Swans.

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Much of Duets: Re-Working the Catalogue is just as poorly conceived as the album’s title.  Even so, it’s nice to hear Van Morrison and Gregory Porter revive “The Eternal Kansas City.” 

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The self-titled EP by Mali’s Trio Da Kali is gorgeous, but it offers me little to sink my teeth into.

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There Stands the Glass reader Gary alerted me to a reissue of Owen Maerck’s Teenage Sex Therapist.  RIYL: Pere Ubu, rock eccentrics, Henry Kaiser.

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Although it features a couple musicians I really admire, much of Alex Sipiagin’s Balance 38-58 bored me.  RIYL: Tom Harrell, conservatories, Terell Stafford.

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It almost goes without saying that the Next Stop Soweto: Zulu Rock, Afro-Disco and Mbaqanga 1975-1985 compilation is ridiculously good.  (Via Big Steve.)

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Maybe you had to be there.  Steve Wilson’s Vanguard Sessions failed to move me.  RIYL: Charlie Parker, the Village Vanguard, Thelonious Monk.

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I’m enjoying the ECM Records radio channel at iTunes (I don’t know how to link to it). The stream includes a lot of amazing stuff- Lumen Drones and The Amazing Adventures of Simon Simon, anyone?- that I hadn’t heard.

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Minnesota Public Radio published an interesting piece about music critic Jon Bream and his record collection.

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I’m not a Deadhead, but I keep select tracks from early albums including American Beauty in regular rotation.  At its best, Freedom & Dreams, the collaboration between the North Mississippi Allstars and Anders Osborne, approximates that sound.

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Courtney Barnett's Sometimes I Sit & Think & Sometimes I Just Sit is almost as good as people say it is.  RIYL: Jim Carroll, talking-not-singing, Tonio K.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: D/Will- Reset

I had the pleasure of attending a small listening party for D/Will's Reset album last month.  I'd delayed reviewing the masterful recording partly because its unconventional nature makes it difficult to analyze.

Only after enduring a new release that's likely to be my least favorite Kansas City album of 2014 did I begin to fully appreciate the subtle brilliance of Reset.

Rather than being obsessed by the shallow topics of marijuana and rap status that consume many of his contemporaries, D/Will engages in a profound examination of spirituality.  Kanye West may be the only hip-hop artist to address the topic of salvation with as much finesse as D/Will.  Yet characterizing Reset as a Christian album wouldn't be accurate.

Reset is a bold reckoning of what it means to reside in America.

D/Will isn't a great rapper but he's an excellent producer.  The surprising array of sounds on Reset enhances the project's cultivated message.  "Meeting With God" relects the album's intent.


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Here's my review of T-Pain's woefully under-attended concert at Crossroads KC.

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I reviewed Nickel Creek's concert at the Uptown Theater.

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I contributed a Local Listen segment about the Phantastics to KCUR's Up To Date.

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Radkey was featured in USA Today.

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Mac Lethal has, as they say, found his lane.  Here's his new Mozart rap.

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John Blake has died.  I bought the violinist's album Twinkling of an Eye as a new release in 1985. 

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Jean Redpath has died.  (Via BGO.)

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The band name and album title of the National Jazz Trio of Scotland's Standards, Vol. III are amusingly misleading.  Bill Wells' project is RIYL: Belle and Sebastian, nuance, Robert Wyatt.  "Surprising Word" isn't the best track on the album, but the video is solid.

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The Messenger's Illusory Blues is RIYL: Kansas, 1975, Renaissance.  Here's the video for “Somniloquist”.

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Action Bronson is hilarious.

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I'm not convinced that Benjamin Booker is all that.  The self-titled album of the current media darling is RIYL: Kings of Leon, NPR, the Black Keys.

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Rittz owns it.

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Bless their metallic hearts.  The current lineup of the stalwart thrash band Overkill sounds better than ever on White Devil Armory, the New Jersey band's seventeenth studio album.  Here's the video for "Armorist".

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The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra's OverTime: Music of Bob Brookmeyer is worthwhile.

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My latest obsession: the music of the Lebanese singer Fairuz.

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"I don't know how you can sit there and listen to that mess."  That's what a member of my compound told me as I was ingesting Wiring, a new all-star jazz collaboration.  RIYL: Vijay Iyer, annoying others, Reggie Workman.

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I spent the remainder of the day cowering under my desk in a fetal position after I watched the videos for Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" and Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" back-to-back last week.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review- Daora: Underground Sounds of Urban Brasil

Brazil Classics 1: Beleza Tropical changed my life 23 years ago.  I had been only vaguely aware of Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso prior to purchasing the David Byrne-curated CD.  Hearing a handful of their most accessible songs on a single set opened my ears to a universe of sounds.  I feel much the same way about the new compilation Daora: Underground Sounds of Urban Brasil.  The lengthy album contains contemporary hip-hop, funk, post-MPB, indie rock, Afrobeat and reggae of Brasil.  About a third of it is astoundingly great.  Having only been aware of a handful of the featured artists, I've embarked on a delightful new journey of discovery.

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I reviewed Tuesday's concert by the Postal Service and Mates of State.

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Kerry Strayer, a major player on Kansas City's jazz scene, has died.

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Serj Tankian sings the hook on Tech N9ne's "Straight Out the Gate".

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Numero Group is reissuing material recorded for Kansas City's Forte label.

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Minden's video for "What's More Than Appropriate?" transfixed me.  The Way Back's video for "Terrified" is less ambitious.

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I tried to get into F**k Buttons, but all I hear is a stylish version of Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

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Homebodies will be able to watch live streams of this weekend's Lollapalooza, Pickathon and Newport Jazz festivals.

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"I'm up against brass cleaning!"  Footage of Action Bronson's appearance at an old folk's home makes me smile.

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Ole Smokey's remixes of classic rock, funk, jazz and pop tracks are a hoot. 

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Seen But Not Heard: Celebration at the Station 2013

I've never hesitated to share my affection for Celebration at the Station. The Kansas City Symphony's concert on Memorial Day weekend is one of my favorite annual events. As the embedded video from my perch near the back of the throng indicates, Celebration at the Station is becoming a victim of its own success. If you listen carefully, you might be able to make out guest artist Oleta Adams singing "Get Here" underneath the murmur of the crowd. The sound emitted by two supplemental speakers hoisted in the air by cranes isn't sufficient. I'm not complaining- the event is free and anyone who wants to appreciate the performance can either arrive early or jockey for position near the stage.

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I reviewed Cheap Trick's concert Saturday at Harrah's Casino.

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Henri Dutilleux died last week. The composer was 97.

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Drummer Ed Shaughnessy has died.

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Flamenco guitarist Niño Miguel has died. (Via Beau Bledsoe.)

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"I'm a hero in my hometown, baby!" The video for Action Bronson's "Strictly 4 My Jeeps" has to be seen to be believed.

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I almost made it to Soundset this year.

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Quartette Humaine, the new release by the acoustic quartet of Bob James, David Sanborn, James Genus and Steve Gadd, is an excellent throwback album in the vein of the Heath Brothers and Grover Washington, Jr.

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After I check out the latest album by The-Dream, I'll investigate this week's new releases by Baths, Terence Blanchard, Blood Ceremony, Tamar Braxton, Eliane Elias, John Fogerty, Hot Club of Cowtown, Kylesa, Laura Marling and Tricky.

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Kansas City Click: Chelsea Crowell performs Tuesday at Knuckleheads.

The RecordBar hosts the Detroit Cobras on Wednesday.

Malachy Papers return to the Brick on Thursday. (Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

(Original cinematography by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Yes at the Midland

If my 18-year-old self knew that I would willingly buy a $40 ticket to a concert by Yes in 2013, I may have spitefully cut off my callow ears.  I bought into the idea that the overblown music of Yes represented everything that was "wrong."  At this late date, however, such dated musical turf battles seem silly.

Two recent events compelled me to join the audience of about 2,000 at the Midland on Monday.  Peter Banks, a founder of Yes, died March 7.  He was 65.  Secondly, Animal Collective postponed a round of dates that included a show this week at the Midland.  The art-rock band's fans may object to the assertion, but Animal Collective's aesthetic makes it an indirect descendent of Yes.  It seemed like a case of now-or-never if I was ever going to experience a concert by the historically vindicated band.

I'm glad I pulled the trigger even though Yes' horrid lyrics have grown more annoying over the years.  And the current spot-on singer reminded me that I never cared for Jon Anderson's voice.  But the entirely unobtrusive (!) keyboardist Geoff Downes kept his back to the audience.  Drummer Alan White also stayed in the background.

The show was all about bassist Chris Squire and guitarist Steve Howe.  Both were spectacular.  Squire played with a surprisingly bluesy touch while Howe revealed that his playing is inspired by the same things that made John Renbourn, Bert Jansch and Richard Thompson such compelling guitarists.  And the sound in the Midland was almost perfect for the complete recreation of Close To the Edge, The Yes Album and Going For the One. 

Not my cuppa, but I was so impressed that I tried to initiate a chant of "One. More. Album." before the encore.  The old guys played "Roundabout" instead.  It's hard to complain- the five veterans with a cumulative age of about 300 played two-and-a-half-hours not including a 25-minute intermission.


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I reviewed Randy Brecker's appearance with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra.

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I reviewed the Elder's concert at the Uptown Theater on Saturday.

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Jack Greene has died.

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Jason Molina has died.

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Radkey, an official SXSW showcase band, was the subject of a brief profile in the New York Times.

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The forthcoming season of the Harriman-Jewell Series is remarkable.

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Olassa made a video for "Where Will I Live".

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I like the 2013 lineup of the Mayhem Festival.

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Help, I'm hypnotized ! Completely mesmerized!

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Robert Randolph Presents: The Slide Brothers is charming.  RIYL: Robert Randolph, Derek & the Dominoes, Gary Clark Jr.

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Kendrick Lamar disses Trinidad James on a new remix of "B*tch Don't Kill My Vibe."

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"Get off your phone!  Put it down!"  That's Action Bronson's message to an audience at SXSW.

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Kansas City Click: Lydia Loveless in on Tuesday's bill at the RecordBar.

Tower of Power plays Knuckleheads on Wednesday.

Gypsyhawk is Thursday's headliner at the Riot Room.

Jimmy Webb returns to Knuckleheads on Friday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)