Allen Toussaint, 1938-2015

Like most people, I was introduced to the brilliance of Allen Toussaint through hits by other artists.

Hearing his suggestive production on Labelle's lurid "Lady Marmalade" and Robert Palmer's downright nasty version of his song "Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley" exposed me to the concepts of prostitution and adultery when I was an impressionable kid. 

I would later binge on Toussaint's monstrously funky collaborations with New Orleans vocalists like Lee Dorsey and Ernie K-Doe and I heard a lot of colorful Toussaint stories from record clerks and buyers when I represented his NYNO record label in a territory that included New Orleans in the '90s. 

Toussaint's impeccably formal demeanor and elegant presentation during his concerts at the Folly Theater in 2010 and 2014 contrasted starkly with the vignettes of street life associated with his work in the 1960s and 1970s.  Discovering that the man responsible for a large swathe of the sultriest American music looked and acted like an investment banker was shocking.

I reviewed his concerts at the Folly Theater in 2010 and 2014.  Tim Finn quotes one of those critiques in a tribute to the great man.


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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I wrote an extended concert preview about Murs.

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My enthusiastic notes about a concert of egghead jazz by Drew Williams and John Blevins is posted at Plastic Sax.

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Phil Taylor, the former drummer of Motorhead, has died.

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Gene Norman once yelled at me on a regular basis.  The entrepreneur died last week.  I’m saddened by his passing.

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The chorus of Tech N9ne’s ”PBSA” is unfortunate.

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Steddy P made a video for ”Perfect”.

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The video for Shades of Jade’s ”That One” looks as if it's sponsored by a PR firm representing Kansas City’s Crossroads district.

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Counterparts’ performance at Aftershock on Saturday looked and sounded almost exactly like this.  Acacia Strain and Fit for an Autopsy also spurred miniature riots.  In spite of the chaos, I witnessed only two injuries and a single ejection.  And since I established an unfortunate precedent in my notes about Arlo Guthrie’s concert last month, it’s only fair to note that vape smoke, passed gas, spilled beer and blood-streaked sweat made the show the smelliest concert I’ve attended in 2015.

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The wondrous tracks on The Cutting Edge 1965-1966 remind listeners that Bob Dylan has always been a tinkerer.

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Angie Stone’s enchanting Dream is RIYL: The Supremes, real life, the Honey Cone.

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I’d better not hear any of the people who are extolling Grimes' Art Angels disparage the similar output of Justin Bieber.

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D-Stringz, the latest collaboration between Stanley Clarke, Bireli Lagrene and Jean-Luc Ponty, makes me drowsy.

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I’ve always had a weak spot for Pieces of a Dream.  All In is RIYL: candlelight, Najee, wine.

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Bobby Caldwell’s new Cool Uncle project makes me smile.  RIYL: Freddie Jackson, step dancing, Boz Scaggs.  Here’s ”Never Knew Love Before”.

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I recently came across footage of a 75-minute performance by Henry Threadgill’s Zooid.

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Boots was fantastic when he opened for Run the Jewels at the Midland theater last month, but his new album Aquaria doesn’t do much for me.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Westport Roots Festival

An acquaintance was appalled to learn that I paid the $25 admission charge to Westport Roots Festival on Saturday.  I suppose I could have weaseled my way in, but that’s not my style. 

I feel like I got my money’s worth even though I was impressed by only two of the nine acts I heard during the four hours I spent at the one-day event. 

Luke Bell played in the rain on the patio of the Riot Room.  The young honkytonk traditionalist from Wyoming appears to be the genuine article.

Kansas City’s Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys performed on the same stage before the rain hit.  I hadn’t seen the country band in years.  I hope to catch the sturdy ensemble again in the next couple weeks.


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I reviewed a production of “Million Dollar Quartet.”

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I reviewed Big Sean’s concert at the Midland theater.

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I contributed a Local Listen segment about Cadillac Flambé to KCUR.

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Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear’s Skeleton Crew sounds like a 1965 album on Vanguard Records.  RIYL: Richard and Mimi Farina, the Greenwich Village folk scare, Ian & Sylvia.

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Bruce Lundvall has died.

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Marcus Belgrave has died.

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Bob Belden has died.

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Murs throws his backpack under the bus on Have a Nice Life.  The new approach doesn’t always work for me.  The pop-tinged ”No More Control” is one of the album’s best songs.

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Big Steve, one of There Stands the Glass’ most dedicated readers, asked for my opinion of Shamir’s Ratchet.  He came to the right guy.  I’m more excited about an upcoming show by The First Ladies of Disco than any other oldies concert this summer.  Rather than representing anything new, Ratchet is a loving tribute to the ‘80s sounds of Mantronix, the Weather Girls and Newcleus.  So Steve, you’ll appreciate Ratchet if you share the fetish for creaky electronic funk and campy disco that Shamir and I harbor.

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Graham Parker and the Rumour’s Mystery Glue isn’t all that great but at this late date I can’t resist its pub rock charms.

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The Robert Glasper Trio's cover of Jhene Aiko's "The Worst" (my #20 song of 2014) combines two of my favorite things.

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Los Cardencheros de Sapioriz is billed as “the last performing group of an a capella Mexican slave song tradition.”  A few modern flourishes at the end of the recording break the magical spell of the group’s Un Amor Pendiente.

(Original image of pedal steel guitarist Nate Hofer’s boots by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Skating Polly- Fuzz Steilacoom

Unlike many of my colleagues, I did nothing to observe the twentieth anniversary of the death of Kurt Cobain last month.  I'd rather focus on what's happening now than ruminate on the past.  Besides, Cobain lives in the music of Skating Polly.  The stepsisters from Oklahoma pay tribute to Cobain in the best way possible- by rocking in the unkept tradition of the icon.  It's no accident that the new album Fuzz Steilacoom sounds like a classic recording from the vaults of K Records.  The project was overseen by the label's Calvin Johnson.  The lead track "Alabama Movies" contains a few of the album's many undiluted moments of greatness.


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I reviewed Fitz and the Tantrums's concert on Saturday.

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Ensemble Ibérica, Beau Blesoe's new performance group, has announced its 2014 season.

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Cowboy Indian Bear made a video for "Ruffian".

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I have real problems with Tech N9ne's "Over It".  Strangeulation was released today.

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Don't believe the hype. Ratking makes hip-hop for people who like the idea of the music more than actually listening to it.  So It Goes probably sounds great in 30-second preview clips, but it's a rough slog when consumed in its entirety.  RIYL: the worst Terror Squad album, hype, the worst Wu-Tang Clan album.

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I'm amused to see that Macroscope, the new release by the Nels Cline Singers, is being embraced by people who would never consider listening to a John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Arto Lindsay or Marc Ribot album.  The entertaining recording combines elements of all four guitarists.  What's next- a Barney Kessel revival among Wilco fans?

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Coltsblood's Into The Unfathomable Abyss sounds as if it was made by the stoner kids next door.  And the amateurish quality is precisely why I love it the new album by the British sludge metal band.  

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What if Pat Metheny kept making the same music he made in 1978?  Mark Egan, the bassist on those early Pat Metheny Group albums, recreates that sound on his new album About Now.

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Given the participants' track records, Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band's Landmark merits repeated listening, but I'll admit to being totally underwhelmed.

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Iggy Azalea's The New Classic isn't.  Gwen Stefani, photogenic people, Nikki Minaj.

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Add me to the long list of metal fans who are losing their minds over Lord Mantis' Death Mask.  RIYL: new depths of heaviness, Wormrot, doomsday.

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Of the artists performing at this month's Soundset festival that I haven't seen in the past 12 months, Nas and EarlWolf are the biggest attractions.

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Stanton Moore's Conversations is a straight-ahead jazz trio album.  RIYL: Ellis Marsalis, versatility, Karriem Riggins.  (Tip via J.F.)

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Whoop whoop!  Murs has gone full… well, you know.

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Harvey Mason, the drummer of Headhunters and Fourplay, revisits '70s instrumental funk on Chameleon.

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Anyone familiar with the work of jazz/jam guitarist Charlie Hunter won't be surprised that he and Scott Amendola recorded an EP of five covers of songs by The Cars.

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"They Come In Gold" is a track from the forthcoming album by Shabazz Palaces.  I don't think the duo played the song at the Middle of Map fest in April.

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Here's an analysis of the music produced by L. Ron Hubbard.  (Via J.F.)

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I had high hopes for Dust Moth's Dragon Mouth. It sounds great but the songwriting is lacking.  RIYL: Deftones, the intersection of metal and shoe gaze, My Bloody Valentine.

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It's great to see that Bun B has it together in his interview with Nardwuar.

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Here's the trailer for the documentary: B.B. King: The Life of Riley.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)