Concert Review: Brother Ali at the Granada

I went to a hip-hop concert and an Occupy Wall Street rally broke out.  Lacking a backpack filled with spray paint and Howard Zinn tracts, I felt a bit more out of place than usual at the Granada on Sunday.

Backed only by DJ Last Word, Brother Ali, Bambu and Mally performed over two hours of old-school hip-hop for the 100 or so people who had ponied up $15 to gain entry.

Ali explained that he embarked on a tour without a new album or promotional support in an effort to reconnect with his real fans.  He added that he selected his tour mates partly because they were good fathers to their children.  The Minneapolis rapper is so painfully sincere that I had to take him at his word.  Coming from most anyone else, the assertions would have seemed like weak rationalizations for the pitiful turnout.

Long one of my favorite MCs, Ali performed most of his best known material, from the scathing political attack "Uncle Sam Goddamn" ("Obama is killing people with drones") to the self-esteem anthem "Forest Whitiker" ("you ain't gotta love me").  A rap about raising children in the aftermath of the Mike Brown incident was the clear highlight of the evening.

The contradictory messages espoused by Los Angeles' Bambu irritated me so much that I considered giving him a piece of my mind after the show.  Minneapolis' Mally was likable enough.  The trio issued an informal performance of "Home Away" earlier this week.


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I reviewed a concert by the Flaming Lips and Electric Würms.

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The video for Kansas City Bear Fighters '"You're In Kansas" is clever.  (Via Tony's Kansas City.)

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Here's the video for Farout's "Bittersweet".

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Marc Myers' remembrance of Joe Sample is invaluable.

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Howard Reich reports on Steve Coleman's genius grant.

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Polar Bear is better on paper than on headphones.  In Each and Every One is RIYL: Radiohead, jazz for people who don't like jazz, the Pat Metheny Group.  Here's "Life and Life".

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Cold Specks' Neuroplasticity is another album I'm supposed to like.  I loathe it.  RIYL: Patti Smith, "Art", Neneh Cherry.  Here's "Absisto".

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Steve Arrington continues to funk everything up.

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From the Why Didn't Any of You Jerks Tell Me About This Department- GoGo Penguin's excellent v2.0 is RIYL: Esbjörn Svensson Trio, European jazz, the Bad Plus.  "Hopopono" is a representative track.

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The Mark Turner Quartet's Lathe of Heaven looks promising.

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Donnie McClurkin's Duets is RIYL: Sunday mornings, the Winans, clapping.

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Bahamas' Bahamas is Afie is RIYL: Jimmie Spheeris, lite rock, Dan Fogelberg.

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Death Metal Angola.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Joyce DiDonato with the Kansas City Symphony at Helzberg Hall

I didn't realize that my fandom of Joyce DiDonato had become unhealthy until I spent the first couple minutes of her appearance Saturday at Helzberg Hall hating on her new hairstyle.  Then she started singing.

I hung on every note of Ravel's sublime "Shéhérazade."  DiDinato's rendition of Strauss' century-old art-pop song "Morgen" was sweet.  Even a horrendously cloying arrangement of her encore of "Danny Boy" didn't spoil the fun.

Much to my surprise, almost no one in the audience of about 1,500 left after intermission.  I'm not much on Tchaikovsky, so I just closed my eyes during the second half of the concert and passively let the sound of his Symphony No. 5 wash over me.  The fact that the pretty stranger sitting next to me smelled amazing enhanced the dreamlike experience.

Here's The Kansas City Star's proper review of Friday's concert.


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I featured Various Blonde on KCUR's Local Listen segment last week.

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Joe Sample has died.  Here are my notes on his 2013 concert in Kansas City.

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Cosimo Matassa has died.  (Via BGO.)

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Peter Gutteridge of the Chills has died.  (Via Robert Moore.)

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Thanks in large part to Joe Boyd's production, Robyn Hitchcock's new album The Man Upstairs is my official September soundtrack.  Hitchcock's original material is fine and the covers of the Psychedelic Furs' "The Ghost In You" and the Doors' "The Crystal Ship" altered my perception of the songs.  RIYL: Nick Drake, wistfulness, Roy Harper.

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I know a few people who may lose their minds over Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro.  The impressive project overseen by Billy Childs isn't for me.  For the record, the track with Rickie Lee Jones and Chris Potter wins. 

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Jhené Aiko's Souled Out is a state of the art R&B album.  RIYL: Sade, the sound of 2014, Aaliyah.  Here's "The Pressure".

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Sergio Mendes is still cheesy after all these years.  Yet his new album Magic is significant because of the amazing lineup of guest vocalists ranging from Janelle Monáe to Milton Nascimento.

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J. Mascis' Tied to a Star sounds like a tribute to Bert Jansch.

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Roberta Invernizzi's Ferrandini: Al Santo Sepolcro is RIYL: Italian cathedrals, Joyce DiDonato, the 18th century.

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Justin Townes Earle acquits himself nicely on Single Mothers.  RIYL: Slaid Cleaves, depression, Mark Olson.

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Dark Comedy by Open Mike Eagle is my favorite nerdcore album of 2014.  RIYL: Das Racist, crossword puzzles, MC Lars.

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Much of the metal community is appalled by the ascent of King 810.  I like 'em.  Memoirs of a Murderer is RIYL: Slipknot, violence, Five Finger Death Punch.  Here's "War Outside".

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The performance by pianists Alice Sara Ott and Francesco Tristano on Scandale is exciting.  The bile elicited by a promotional video is also very entertaining.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

The Case for Smooth Jazz

I'm genuinely looking forward to hearing Joe Sample perform at White Recital Hall tonight.  As a member of the Crusaders and as a solo artist, Sample played a pivotal role in putting the "smooth" into jazz.  Sample has a lot to answer for. 

And what of it?  Sample may have perfected the smooth jazz template, but he shouldn't be held responsible for the sins of his musical descendants.  Even his funk-pop hits like the Crusaders' "Street Life" were indelibly smooove. 

Besides, context is everything.  Anyone who's experienced the functional music in the proper situations understands the ongoing appeal of smooth jazz.  Sample may have created a monster, but it's a beast I contentedly embrace. 



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I reviewed Jimmy Webb's performance at Knucklheads on Friday.

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The schedule for the Middle of the Map festival has been finalized.

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I just downloaded Baktun Baby, a new four-song EP by Spirit is the Spirit.

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Here's an EPK for Gene Clark's Here Tonight: The White Light Demos.  The album was released today.

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An old friend is affiliated with the Sin City Soul & Blues Revival.  It's not exactly my thing, but the idea of hearing James Harman, Lil' Ed, John Cleary and over two dozen additional like-minded bands in Las Vegas is intriguing.

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Andre Royo, aka Bubbles from The Wire, tells the world "What's In My Bag".

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I'll audition the latest releases from Wavves, Lil Wayne, Chvrches and Kvelertak as soon as I finish listening to Shirley Caesar's new album.

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Kansas City Click: Pop Evil performs Tuesday at Aftershock.

Masta Killa appears at the Riot Room on Wednesday.

Tear Out the Heart hit the Riot Room on Thursday.

Fat Fish Blues hosts Nick Moss and the Flip Tops on Friday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)