Concert Review: Nadia Larcher and Ensemble Ibérica at MTH Theater

Nadia Larcher called Beau Bledsoe a dreamer during her North American debut at MTH Theater on Monday, October 14.  After taking in her astonishing performance, I now think of the leader of Ensemble Ibérica as an expert talent scout.

Bledsoe told an audience of less than 100 that he stumbled upon Larcher in an out-of-the-way theater in Buenos Aires by happenstance last year.  Even though the Argentinian was showcased in a 75-minute symphonic concert in 2017, Larcher is still so obscure that the video of the exquisite performance in Buenos Aires has less than 2,500 views.

The $34 I paid for my ticket covered only a pitiful fraction of what was almost certainly a huge investment to get Larcher to Kansas City, but her show was an artistic windfall.  Accompanied by guitarist Bledsoe, violinist (and translator) Christine Brebes, multi-instrumentalist Amado Espinoza, pianist Brad Cox, bassist Jeff Harshbarger and percussionist Brandon Draper, Larcher demonstrated that her tiny frame houses a massive voice and an even bigger personality.

A few of Larcher’s songs were about cowboys and the travails of agrarian life in Argentina.  That’s misleading.  Larcher is clearly professionally trained.  Her approach is no less refined than the sophisticated sensibility of the Broadway star Kelli O’Hara.  I can’t speak for Bledsoe, but the magnificence of Larcher made my dreams come true on Monday.


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I contribute weekly concert previews to The Kansas City Star.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Drive-By Truckers- English Oceans

The heart regularly betrays the mind.

My intellect informs me that the precious time I spend repeatedly playing the tenth studio album by Drive-By Truckers would be better applied to a rigorous study of the latest effort by Vijay Iyer, investigating another reissue of African psychedelia or attending more performances by groundbreaking bands like Marijuana Deathsquads.  Alternative country, after all, is totally played out.

Not so fast. 

Many of English Oceans' smart, funny and sad songs speak directly to my experiences.  So what if ""Til He's Dead Or Rises" is a slavish imitation of Sticky Fingers-era Stones?  The album opener "Sh*t Shots Count" is the sort of Replacements-esque rocker that I thought I got out of my system in the 1990s.  Yet it moves me.  And "Primer Coat" is easily my favorite song of 2014.

English Oceans may not be a great album.  Hell, it may not even be a good album.  But I love it all the same.


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XV released two March Madness mix tapes.  RIYL: Wichita, Kid Cudi, wondering why XV isn't a star yet.

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Outsides covered Of Montreal to help promote the forthcoming Middle of the Map festival.

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Here's recent footage of a Turkish-inspired ensemble led by Beau Bledsoe.

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Indyground created a video for Farout's "Billy Hoyle."

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The War On Drugs' Lost In the Dream is the best album Dire Straits never made.  RIYL: Twin Shadow, long jams, Nils Lofgren.

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During one of the first warm days of the year, I spaced out while staring at drifting clouds for 30 minutes.  Beck's Morning Phase gives me the same sort of passive floating sensation.  RIYL: David Crosby, clouds, Autumn Defense.

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I'm down with the Pretty Reckless' Going To Hell.  RIYL: The Runaways, partying, Alice In Chains.

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An unassuming performance by Lowell Levinger, a founding member of the Youngbloods, delighted me at last month's Folk Alliance Conference.  His new album Down to the Roots features guest appearances by Ry Cooder and David Grisman.  RIYL: John Sebastian, authentic hippies, Mississippi John Hurt.

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Saxophonist Javon Jackson has the good sense to cover Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway on his new live album Expressions.  RIYL: Orrin Evans, jazz for the people, Stanley Turrentine.

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The Strypes' Snapshot is cute.  RIYL: Rockpile, good times and great oldies , the first Rolling Stones album.

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Imed Alibi is a Tunisian percussionist.  His new album Safar is RIYL: the future, Anouar Brahem, film scores.

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I already own original vinyl copies of a few of the Record Store Day 2014 special releases.  Make me an offer.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Finnish Tango and Gamelan Grief

Finnish tango has been a big deal for decades.

That's just one of many things I learned as I camped out at the intimate world music stage at last weekend's Jazz Winterlude festival.  Correctly anticipating a line outside the door of the 100-person capacity Recital Hall, I arrived early with an empty bladder.

I refused to give up my seat for the next five hours.  The education I received made my social and physical discomfort seem immaterial. 

Accordionist Juha Silfverberg clued me in to the scene of his native Finland.

Ensemble Ibérica, a guitar trio led by Beau Bledsoe, played music of Spain, Portugal and Latin America with impressive precision. 

I'm ashamed to admit that I hadn't taken in a performance by Marimba Sol de Chiapas until Saturday.  Although I could have done without the patronizing  tone of the bandleader- "can you say Chiapas?"- the quartet made absolutely gorgeous music. 

Did you know that musicians in gamelan orchestras use hammers as mallets?  I didn't.  Gamelan Genta Kasturi made one hell of a racket.  The sonic assault was made even more overwhelming by the raucous Arturo Sandoval sound check that bled into the room. 

My head still hurts. 


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My notes about Terri Lyne Carrington's concert at the Jazz Winterlude festival are published at Plastic Sax.

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I mourned Keith Whitley's death in 1989.  That's one reason Jason Eady's Daylight & Dark instantly hit home with me.  Another reason is the reference to Kansas City on the opening track "OK City".  Refusing to drink 3.2 beer in an Oklahoma tavern during a pit stop on a southbound drive toward Texas, a man has an ill-fated encounter with whiskey.  RIYL: Gary Stewart, heartaches and hangovers, Alan Jackson.

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Listeners who are don't speak English and are unaware of the backstory of Against Me! might think that Transgender Dysphoria Blues is just another solid third-generation punk album.  But the lyrics- many of which take on self-referential gender issues- are great.  RIYL: The Clash, the new sincerity, F*cked Up.

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I admire how organizers of Plano's Suburbia Music Festival own it.  Besides, the lineup is truly impressive.

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I'm going to skate to one album and one album only.  Jennifer Holliday's The Song Is You is a completely over-the-top collection of standards.  And I can dig it.  RIYL: Eartha Kitt, gay cabaret, Luciano Pavarotti.

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I've always loved the Grammy Awards.  A ranking of yesterday's performances follows.  (Roomful of Teeth knocked me out during the non-televised segment.)  Kendrick Lamar/Imagine Dragons, Beyoncé/Jay-Z, Paul McCartney/Ringo Starr, Pink/Nate Ruess, John Legend, the Sound City all-stars, Carole King/Sara Bareilles, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis/Mary Lambert/Madonna, Lang Lang/Metallica, Daft Punk and company, Kacey Musgraves, Chicago/Robin Thicke, Lorde, The Highwaymen, Billie Joe Armstrong/Miranda Lambert, Ringo Starr, Taylor Swift, Gary Clark Jr./Keith Urban and Katy Perry.  Sorry, Katy- that was wack.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image of a portion of Gamelan Genta Kasturi by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Dhafer Youssef- Bird's Requiem

I'm going to spend Saturday afternoon listening to a Gamelan orchestra, a Finnish accordionist, a Spanish art music ensemble and a Mexican folk music collective at my local jazz festival.  And that's just how I like it.

That's why Bird's Requiem, the new album by Dhafer Youssef, makes me proud to be human.

The album sounds as if Peter Gabriel produced Pat Metheny at a studio in Beirut.  Bird's Requiem will appeal to people who appreciate Passion: Music for 'The Last Temptation of Christ', Metheny's collaborations with Naná Vasconcelos or Kansas City's Turkish jazz band Alaturka. 

A video of a live performance of "39th Gülay (To Istanbul)" and a multilingual EPK provide context.


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Steve Fromholz has died.

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And the winner of the latest episode of the KC Cypher Series is… J Lee.

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Hank Wiedel, the drummer for Connor Leimer, make me aware of the Kansas City-based singer-songwriter.  Here's a recent televised performance.  RIYL: Ed Sheeran, precocious teenagers, Teddy Geiger.

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The Grisly Hand posted a fine version of "The Shape I'm In" at Bandcamp.

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A new episode of Reach's GoodButta podcast pays tribute to Joc Max.  Reach is featured in a video for JB Hood's "Do You Believe."  (Via Tony's Kansas City.)

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"The Worst" is a music video by Kansas City rapper Rayne.  (Via Tony's Kansas City.)

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Beau Bledsoe posted footage of a performance with vocalist Victoria Bledsoe.

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Only the fussy production prevents me from being head over heels in love with Rosanne Cash's River & the Thread.  RIYL: John Hiatt, adulthood, Rodney Crowell.

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Consisting of two drummers and a saxophone, John Lurie's National Orchestra is every bit as good as longtime fans could hope on The Invention of Animals.  RIYL: Oliver Lake, being alone, Chico Freeman.

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The Step Brothers' Lord Steppington is ridiculously inconsistent.  RIYL: Action Bronson, old-school hip-hop, Eminem.  At least the packaging is dope.

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I survived Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra's F**k Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything.  Where's my t-shirt?  RIYL: Godspeed You! Black Emperor, hipster cred, Colin Stetson.

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I thought I'd heard all of Bob Seger's early work, but a recent Facebook comment by Peter Holsapple (!) made me aware of Mongrel.  Rock!

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I enjoyed Another Day, Another Time, a documentary of a folk concert commemorating the music of Inside Llewyn Davis.  The film's breakout star is clearly Rhiannon Giddens. 

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Robert Glasper leads a band in a Tiny Desk Concert.

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I'm not immune to the charms of material like "Let Me Teach You How To Eat", but I've never been a member of the Rev. Horton Heat fan club.  The new album Rev is RIYL: Social Distortion, dancing tattoos, Volbeat.

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The very fine Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith is  RIYL: Dirty Dozen Brass Band, struttin' with some barbecue, Galactic.

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In This Moment documents a collaboration between saxophonist Mikolaj Trzaska and drummer Tim Daisy.  RIYL: Ken Vandermark, skronk, the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

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I saw guitarist Nir Felder perform in Terri Lyne Carrington's band last night.  He looks like he's 15.  His debut album Golden Age is RIYL: Nels Cline, jazz that's not really jazz, Todd Clouser.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are (usually) published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Mulgrew Miller, 1955-2013

The day after I learned that Mulgrew Miller had died, I shuffled into my museum of dead people to inspect my collection of the pianist's works. I uncovered a ticket stub for a 1994 concert at the Folly Theater titled "Four For Phineas."  

The four-piano tribute to Phineas Newborn, Jr., included Miller and some combination of James Williams, John Hicks, Harold Mabern, Geoff Keezer and Donald Brown.  (I want to say that Jay McShann was also in the mix as a special guest artist, but a cursory search doesn't provide any evidence of that fine concept.)

The stub indicates that I paid $17.50 to attend the Sunday afternoon show.  The relatively expensive ticket reflects the tenor of those times.  Miller was a heavily promoted artist signed to a major label.   The accepted wisdom was that he'd become a major star.  The idea seems hopelessly quaint today.  The ongoing marginalization of jazz began to accelerate in the mid-'90s.  The 1994 concert might have represented Miller's commercial- if not artistic- pinnacle.

Although I enjoy his recent work for MaxJazz, I find myself drawn to Miller's material for Landmark.  (That's Kenny Garrett on sax.) 

In today's harsh climate, I wonder what kind of career awaits aspiring tradition-minded jazz pianists.  Maybe the best a young artist in possession of a portion of Miller's bluesy earthiness and sparkling intelligence could hope for is a handful of regular gigs at an upscale piano bar and a teaching position at a local college.  There's no shame in that prospect, of course, but the era in which guys could fill large concert halls playing Phineas Newborn selections in support of a major label album are long gone.


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Clarence Burke, Jr. of the Five Stairsteps has died.

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The schadenfreude that's greeted the announcement of the cancelation of Kanrocksas is discouraging.  What's with all the bitter people who can't stand the idea of others having a good time?

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Beau Bledsoe offers a fascinating peek behind the curtains at Fado Novato's successful fundraising campaign to finance an extended trip to Portugal.

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Tech N9ne is featured on Wrekonize's "Freak".

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Hodgy Beats' "Years" is impressive.  RIYL: OFWGKTA, alcohol, "Swimming Pools (Drank)."

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People continue to attempt to commiserate with me about my work at Rockfest.  They don't get it.  I relish the annual event.  Here's an anecdote from this year's edition of Rockfest.  As the Danish band Volbeat played a medley of Johnny Cash covers, I watched a pair of strangers bond over their NASCAR tattoos.  Witnessing the encounter filled me with joy. 

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)