Nona Hendryx- Big Fun

No more fun.

Lil Wayne's acclaimed Tha Carter III wasn't the best new release I purchased last week. Seeing Sounds is a strong contender for my favorite album of 2008.

N*E*R*D's new effort is ridiculously fun on its own merits. Still, N*E*R*D's detractors note that the vocals are amateurish and the lyrics are often spotty. As a first-call production team, the men of N*E*R*D are surely well aware of these points.

I contend that the project's alleged weaknesses are deliberate.

It's entirely possible that Seeing Sounds is a demo that was rejected by an artist, perhaps Gwen Stefani or the dude from Maroon 5. The star might have been baffled by the musical references to the Cars, Run-D.M.C., the Knack, Rockwell, Tears For Fears and De La Soul.

That's where the listener comes in.

I believe that N*E*R*D invites the listener to insert him or herself into the mix. It's the audio equivalent of a first-person shooter video game. It even sounds like something that might be blasting from a futuristic arcade.

Via interactive imagination, the listener is expected to add vocals, lyrical tweaks and small musical nuances to the mix. In my case, I insert a guest spot from Chuck D here, a sax solo there and a verse about nanotechnology in that part. See? Now it's perfect.

I feature a song from Nona Hendryx's Female Trouble because I associate her with similarly synthetic sonic environments and extravagantly high concepts. Dan Hartman's 1987 production is hopelessly dated, just as surely as Seeing Sounds will be in 21 years. But for this moment, it's truly "big fun."

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I have no comment on the verdict of R. Kelly's trial, other than to express a strong hope that it inspires the wildly inconsistent artist to pursue his the more gospel-inspired aspects of his work. In many ways, he's our Marvin Gaye; I'd like more What's Going On and less Let's Get It On.

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I read the New York Times' explanation for the frustrating unavailability of Joao Gilberto's catalog with great interest.

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A full length movie musical shot in Lawrence, Kansas? Read the story and watch the trailer for Air here.

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EST pianist Esbjörn Svensson died at 44. It's a big loss for the progressive jazz world.

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Kansas City Click: "Born With a Tail" is easily my favorite "Hail Satan" song. The Supersuckers taunt the heavens tonight at Knuckleheads.

Jeremy Pelt- This Is the Moment

The moment has passed.

Jeremy Pelt may or may not be in Kansas City tomorrow. A couple of my sources insist that the trumpeter will perform with Louis Hayes' band at the Rhythm & Ribs Festival. Yet the gig isn't listed at Pelt's site. That confusion aside, the young trumpeter "gets it." He makes a number of outstanding performances available at his site. I was tempted to post something from one of his gritty ensembles with organ, but I just can't resist jazz with strings. This 2003 session is from Live: Volume Eight. Pelt's next official new release on MaxJazz streets July 15.

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Even after watching this video, I'm still not sure that Nicola Congiu isn't Sacha Baron Cohen's latest character. I spend five minutes laughing last night before I realized he was dead serious. The Italian opened for the Doobie Brothers and Chicago. My review is here.

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Kansas City Click: Here's my guide to this weekend's Rhythm & Ribs Festival. Parkville competes with a far less ambitious- but free- line-up at their annual blues festival. Fine guitarist Bryan Lee is the main attraction.

Goth king Peter Murphy is at the Beaumont on Sunday.

(Image via Pelt's site.)

NIna Simone- Erets Zavat Halav Udvash

No more Nina.

I was sorely disappointed in Tha Carter III when I first skipped through it. The slick pop moves and lack of psychedelic brilliance shocked me. When I dedicated 78 minutes of intense listening to the highly anticipated release, however, I understood that my initial distress was unnecessary. It's a mammoth and undeniably "important" release. I encourage readers without a hip hop orientation to block out ten minutes to take in "Dontgetit", the jaw-dropping album's final track. I won't detail Weezy's rambling analysis in this space, but I'll note that he chatters over a sample of Nina Simone performing "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." The folk song heard here is from an out-of-print collection of live recordings. The liner notes speculate that this might be a Carnegie Hall date from 1963.

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Fellow roots music lovers will be glad to hear that Amazon is offering free MP3 of classics by Albert King, Odetta, Sonny Terry, Roosevelt Sykes and Lightnin' Hopkins at their download store.

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"Raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer!" Stay Positive, the Hold Steady's lastest salvo, is streaming at MySpace.

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Kansas City Click: The Record Bar boasts a fine triple bill tonight- Fiery Furnaces, El Ten Eleven and Grand Ole Party.

Carol Sloane- Aren't You Glad You're You

Glad no more.

Bill Finegan's obituary in the Los Angeles Times tells a remarkable story of a life in music. Finegan arranged much of Out of the Blue, the 1962 debut of outstanding swing vocalist Carol Sloane. This 1984 video offers an even better sense of Sloane's extraordinary instrument. The 71-year-old Sloane is woefully underappreciated.

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Stone Temple Pilots were never really my thing. I was stunned, consequently, when they put on one of the best shows I've seen all year Saturday night. Here's my review of the Rockfest blow-out.

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*I haven't voluntarily listened to Rush since I was sixteen years old. But since Geddy Lee made a major donation to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, I'm planning on buying 2112 on CD.

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Kansas City Click: There Stands the Glass favorites OK Jones join Headlights tonight at the Record Bar.

The Terrible Twos- Grumpy Bug

Asleep.

Matt Pryor's progression from the indie rock of the Get Up Kids to the adult folk rock of the New Amsterdams to the tot rock of the Terrible Twos may be startling to Pryor's younger fans, but it seems like a natural evolution for more "mature" music lovers. The same melodic shimmer and slightly ironic sensibility are contained in all three Pryor projects. "Grumpy Bug" is one of four downloadable songs at the Terrible Two's MySpace page. If You Ever See An Owl... contains my favorite kids' music since the debut of the Jellydots. The Terrible Twos perform Saturday afternoon at Old Shawnee Days (see link below).

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I was mildly disappointed by Sheryl Crow's performance last night, but I adored the effort made by Brandi Carlile. My review is here.

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Kansas City Click: Which festival is for you? Flavors include the Coleman Hawkins Legacy Jazz Festival (Sam Rivers, Airto & Flora Purim, Dirty Dozen Brass Band)), Wakarusa (Flaming Lips, Emmylou Harris, Ozric Tentacles), Rockfest (Stone Temple Pilots, Ashes Divide, Sevendust), Gladstone BluesFest (Hubert Sumlin, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Larry Garner) and Old Shawnee Days (Foghat, Marshall Tucker Band, the Terrible Twos).

(Photo of Matt Pryor via www.missionfreak.com)

Stik Figa- Figa of Speech

No more free speech.

Just like tens of thousands of other eager fans, I can't wait to pick up Lil Wayne's official release next week. I'm not even going to download the leak. There's no shortage of regional acts to tide me over until Tuesday. XTC-A has a great new Kansas City anthem, "2 Fingers and a Hook," available for download as his distressingly buggy MySpace page. And Topeka, Kansas' Stik Figa continues to make his material available. The self-professed "square" is always interesting. And what is that sample- Vangelis? This video provides one man's overview of Kansas City's scene. Stik Figa is interviewed in the doorway of the former Grand Emporium at the 2:30 mark. Midwest stand up!

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Solange Knowles reportedly broke her foot at the Beaumont Club in Kansas City last Sunday.

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Kansas City Click: Brandi Carlile opens for Sheryl Crow tonight at Starlight Theater.

(Image from Sike Style's Flickr account.)

Django Reinhardt- Minor Swing

Swung away.

No mere mortal can follow Bo Diddley at his peak. So let's turn to Django Reinhardt. This Paris session with the Hot Club de France may have been recorded in 1937, but its fiery spirit has lost none of its vitality over the last seventy years and nine months. The sessions contained in this box set caused myriad musical shifts throughout the world. But unlike many "important" recordings, it's impossible to imagine anyone failing to derive immense pleasure from its charms.

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James McMurtry was rightfully celebrated for "We Can't Make It Here", a bleak assessment of America's difficult economic times. Alas, things are even tougher two years later. Atmosphere has come up with a worthy successor to McMurtry's state of the union. "Guarantees" is a harrowing anthem for the recession of 2008.

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More me: I wrote a mini-review of Rodney Crowell's free show in Olathe, KS. And I muse about why jazz no longer attracts top talent here.

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Here's the trailer for From Da Hood 2 Doing Good, a Kansas City hip hop "blockumentary." (Link via Tony's Kansas City.)

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It's great that KPRS is playing Tech N9ne and that "The Buzz" tossed The Golden Republic into its rotation. Imagine- locally-based acts on their hometown commercial radio stations! Elsewhere, "The Boulevard"''s new classic rock format is improving- more Neil Young and less Spin Doctors is a formula for success.

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Kansas City Click: Adam Lee and Pendergast play the early show at Davey's this evening.

Bo Diddley, 1928-2008

Goodbye, Bo.

Bo Diddley's May 11, 2007, concert in Kansas City was one of his last public appearances. I didn't attend the benefit concert at the Gem Theater, but a couple people who were there regaled me with stories of the legend's boorish behavior and erratic performance. He suffered a debilitating stroke two days later. That stands in sharp contrast to the glowing reviews of his September 2006 show at a poorly attended blues festival at a local racetrack. I last saw him play about fifteen years ago at the Kansas City Blues & Jazz Festival. His well-documented anger was evident, but he constructively channeled that emotion into an electrifying set. Diddley died today. I know I'm not alone in thinking that "Mona" is among the 20th century's greatest recordings. My copy of a Chess hits collection has been in constant rotation for years.

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Kansas City Click: One For the Team, Frightened Rabbit and French Kicks play a Monday night show at the Record Bar. The club's owners must be thanking the rock gods for art students.

K.T. Oslin- Down In the Valley

Filled in.

I never "got" Sex and the City. I tried watching an episode once or twice, but the show made me want to claw my eyes out. The barrage of publicity behind the release of the film this week, not surprisingly, is also driving me batty. As a straight male, I guess I'm not the target demographic. But that doesn't mean I've never been one of the girls. I gladly sang along to "Hold Me", "This Woman" and "80s Ladies" when K.T. Oslin was a country music headliner. I even bought My Roots Are Showing, her 1996 "comeback" album. As suggested by the title, it's a collection of covers. It's so solid that some tracks could be mistaken for the new Cat Power release by unattentive listeners. In addition to album closer "Down In the Valley," highlights include Richard Thompson's "A Heart Needs a Home" and Jimmy Martin's "Hold Whatcha Got."

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I went to Dierks Bentley's concert last night. My friend Tim reviewed the show.

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Few of my buddies share my enthusiasm for the project, but I'm loving the new Atmosphere.

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Kansas City Click: There Stands the Glass favorite Rodney Crowell returns to the Kansas City area for a free show tonight. His 2007 appearance at Knuckleheads floored me.

The Winard Harper Sextet perform at the Blue Room both Friday and Saturday night.

Raheem DeVaughn, Chrisette Michele and Solange Knowles (yes, she's the little sister of you-know-who) are booked at the Beaumont Sunday. Let's hope Michelle's set is more substantial than her disappointing spot opening for Musiq Soulchild in the same venue last year.

Hilario Duran- Harlem Nocturne

Sunset.

When my pal BGO sent me notice of Earle Hagen's passing, I was stunned. You mean to tell me, I thought, that someone actually wrote "Harlem Nocturne"? Surely the standard is just a natural part of the cosmos, like wind or gravity. Anyone who's held their lover on a dance floor when a baritone saxophone launches into the devastatingly romantic introduction to "Harlem Nocturne" knows just what I mean. (Earl Bostic's is a typical treatment.) It gets even stranger. Hagen wrote the theme songs to The Andy Griffith Show, The Mod Squad, That Girl and best of all, The Dick Van Dyke Show. Genius, I tell you! Hilario Duran's refreshingly unconventional version comes from his first-rate Latin jazz effort Habana Nocturna. Duran tours throughout Canada this summer.

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Connie Vitale died May 25. She was 61. Vitale's many ventures included co-ownership of Kansas City's Love Records and Autograph Records.

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My friends Bill and Corky have added a blog component to Village Records.

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Kansas City Click: Dierks Bentley plays a free show at the Power & Light District.

Jimmy McGriff, 1936-2008

Goodbye, Jimmy

In December of 2005 I noted the passing of Jimmy Smith, the greatest of all jazz organists. Along with an elite handful of others- Shirley Scott and Big John Patton come to mind- Jimmy McGriff stood atop the second tier. He died May 24. It's awful to see these giants depart. Yet most every city still has a premier jazz organist. In my town it's Everette DeVan. In fact, I might stop in to see him tonight. I'll bet he even knows "Red Sails In the Sunset." This funky version is from the most obscure McGriff disc in my collection. The liner notes to Georgia On My Mind are somewhat sketchy; the music it contained on the 1989 release, however, is glorious.

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Kansas City jazz great Earl Robinson, co-founder of the Scamps, died May 19.

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Utah Phillips died May 23.

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Franz Jackson died May 26. (Tip via BGO.)

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I'll bet you haven't heard this version of "Kansas City." Trojan Records!

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Oh my dear Lord! Goose Creek Symphony hadn't crossed my mind in over ten years. Incredibly, the country-rock pioneers are on tour.

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I've previously confessed that I don't dislike the Jonas Brothers. So I was mildly shocked to see the kids' new sound and different look as I monitored MTV Hits last night. What? That's not the Jonas Brothers? It's Tokio Hotel? Nevermind.

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Kansas City Click: The Dresden Dolls and their obsessive fans bond tonight at the Beaumont. "Rad", by opening act Smoosh, is #723 on my all-time favorite song list.

Barclay Martin- Queen of This Town

Dethroned.

I recently attended a swank cocktail party in a gated community. The mansion's synchronized media system was playing a music mix labeled "Really Good Songs." Tasteful selections by Fleetwood Mac, Alison Krauss, Sheryl Crow, Joe Cocker, Santana and Norah Jones provided elegant background music.

"Queen of This Town" is no less immaculate than the familiar hits by those established artists. The highly refined and mildly playful sound of the Barclay Martin ensemble is perfectly encapsulated by this publicity photo. And don't think the perfect shimmer of the brand new "Queen of This Town" is a fluke; "The Age of Information" is no less breathtaking.

The CD release concert for the Kansas City-based act's new project is June 7 at the appropriately upscale Spencer Theater.

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Anyone disappointed by the new Gnarls Barkley needs to hear Idle Warship.

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Kansas City Click: Bluegrass great Roland White picks at the Mountain Music Shoppe tonight.

Even non-breeders might attend Saturday's Jiggle Jam. The line-up includes They Might Be Giants and the always-delightful Trout Fishing In America.

A jazz jam memorializing the contributions of the late Ed Fenner will take place Sunday at Jardine's.

Betty Wright- If I Ever Do Wrong

No Wright or wrong.

It's funny the way a jazz blog can lead to a posting dedicated to soul great Betty Wright, but that's the state of music in 2008. A pal asked me to recommend acts at my city's forthcoming Rhythm & Ribs festival. Angie Stone is at the top of my list. She collaborates with Wright on "Baby", the first single from Stone's most recent album. It seems the climate is ideal for a big Wright comeback. "If I Ever Do Wrong," a minor hit in 1976, is contained on the excellent The T.K. Years compilation.

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Congratulations, David Cook! You now own this town. I'll pay tribute by offering you a little unsolicited A&R advice. You might be pressured into chasing Daughtry's extraordinary success by adopting a style similar to Creed, Filter and Nickelback. Resist that suggestion. Instead, consider reviving '70s rock. The material would be brand new to your young fans, and your most avid supporters- women in their thirties and forties- would be ecstatic if you covered the James Gang's "Walk Away", added some edge to Steve Miller's "Keep Rocking Me Baby" or made classic BTO sound fresh. You're welcome.

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I guess I'm a humorless crank. Not only was I not amused by the shenanigans during Idol's Gladys Knight segment, I thought the parody was borderline racist.

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The Barclay Martin ensemble, a Kansas City folk-jazz-pop act, just posted a nice promotional video.

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Kansas City Click: The Asylum Street Spankers entertain at Knuckleheads.

Jelly Roll Morton- Pretty Baby

Cracked mirror.

I'm a physical product kind of guy. Yet when Amazon offers a deal like the Complete Library of Congress Recordings by Jelly Roll Morton on MP3 for $19.98, my trigger finger gets itchy. I own much but not all of the hundreds of selections; this piece is from Volume 1. It's not a conventional recording- the hours of material include lots of interviews and outtakes. That's what makes it so compelling. "Pretty Baby," documented by Alan Lomax in 1938, is a representative snippet. Even if Morton didn't "invent jazz" as he claimed, this piece demonstrates his unique melding of ragtime, blues, minstrelsy and European classical music with a distinctly American sense of lust and braggadocio.

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At least for today, American Idol finalist David Cook is bigger than either George Brett or Charlie Parker in the Kansas City area. I like the dude, but the mania surrounding him is a bit unsettling.

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I'm so relieved that there are only two more Tuesdays in which I'll be obligated to tell unbelieving shoppers that Tha Carter III isn't out yet.

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I fell hard for "Sequestered In Memphis" when I heard the Hold Steady perform it live in 2007. Alas, I'm not sold on the production of the official recording.

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A buddy posted this Muxtape of an American Legion band competition. Call it "contrarian cool."

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Kansas City Click: Dan Sanchez brings his Louisiana blues band to Blayney's tonight.

Busy Bee, Mac Lethal and Reach At Liberty Hall

Show's over.

It should have been an easy layup.

Start with an impressive assortment of the area's best hip hop acts. Toss in old school legend Busy Bee. Then imply that fans ponying up for the $15 cover charge would be rubbing elbows on the dance floor with Russell Robinson and other members of the national champion men's basketball team.

It didn't quite work out that way.

Toward the end of the night I spotted the Kansas guard with his pop in the back of the room. The star student-athlete looked exceedingly uncomfortable.

I don't blame him. It was an awkward evening.

As far as I could tell the only other athletes inside Liberty Hall on Saturday night were the handful of talented B-boys who danced energetically for hours as DJs spun in the largely empty concert hall.

Here's the night's stat sheet- Reach, Mac Lethal and Busy Bee played entertaining but abbreviated sets. The five or six individual DJs who took turns at the turntables were also good, but the five-hour night consisted of three-and-a-half hours of DJ-ing and ninety minutes of rapping. Thank goodness for Liberty Hall's liberal in-and-out policy.

Reach and the Soul Providers weren't in top form. They played early in the night for about a dozen people. Reach said it was the second of three shows he'd booked that day. The meager audience and the sticky room temperature also flustered him.


















Even before he hit the stage, Busy Bee worked the room like a politician. He easily befriended me and the other old-timers who remembered him from back in the day. He made a vague reference to an imminent tour that would feature himself, Rob Base and others. (Incidentally, it's pretty amazing that Liberty Hall hosted both Busy Bee and the Egyptian Lover last week.)

"The Chief Rocker," a.k.a. "the backbone of the microphone," a.k.a. "hip hop's first solo MC" delighted enthusiastic diehards with old favorites including "Suicide" and "Running Thangs." He also extensively worked over the bass line and intro to Grandmaster Flash's "White Lines." When he wasn't instigating old school fun, Busy Bee made the distinction between MCs and rappers and carefully differentiated hip hop from rap music.

"Happy birthday, Russell Robinson!" Mac Lethal sardonically shouted as his set began after midnight.

I wrote a detailed review of a Mac show last month, so I'll simply note here that Mac was particularly unhinged Saturday. While he performed several of his most popular songs, they were topped by his stream-of-consciousness chatter. It resembled spoken word performance art, but without the pretentious implications the phrase usually implies.

He riffed on R. Kelly's trial (leave the man alone), M.I.A.'s fan base (trend-chasing young women annoy him), the small crowd size ("Happy Birthday, Russell!") and the absence of Sku, his DJ and running buddy ("He's fired!")

As Russell Robinson knows, sometimes you just have to grind it out.






















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Kansas City Click: It sounds crazy but it's true- The Cure are scheduled to perform at Starlight Theater Monday night. I'll bet you can guess my favorite Cure song without even clicking the link.

(Original photos- Reach (top) and Busy Bee (bottom) by There Stands the Glass. MP3 via Lawrence.com.)

Dr. Hook- Judy

Disconnected.

Dr. Hook is a band sorely in need of a critical career reassessment. While Lowell George and Gram Parsons continue to rightfully rake in recognition, the dudes of Hook are written off as novelty goofs- or worse, are completely ignored. They're playing a "Garden Party" of sorts in my town tonight. It's an excuse for me to initiate a new revisionist perspective on the '70s hit makers. Along with the Eagles, they were among the first bands to bring country music to rock radio. Unlike the early Eagles, however, Dr. Hook never took themselves too seriously. Loose and raw, their 1973 debut included great songs like Shel Silverstein's "Sylvia's Mother", the wooly Marie Lavaux and "Judy." I have no idea which original members are in the current incarnation of the touring band, but fans of Ryan Adams, Arcade Fire and Wilco should ignore the conventional wisdom and dare to dig into the Dr. Hook catalog.

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M.I.A. kept me out until 1:00 a.m. a couple nights ago. Here's my review of her show.

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While no further evidence confirming the brilliance of AC/DC's formula is necessary, Airborne's new hit "Too Much Too Young Too Fast" sounds incredible blaring out of car speakers.

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Oh man. The new Nas is surely the most important song of 2008. I've already had a few lively discussions about it. But for all the controversy, the craziest thing for me is the shout-out to the late Lucky Dube.

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As someone who will never get enough of people talking about their favorite albums, I love Amoeba's "What's In My Bag?" profiles. The episodes starring Subtitle and Keith Morris are particularly amusing.

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I posted a Muxtape of my favorite recent songs by Kansas City and Lawrence artists. It includes The Abracadabras, Tech N9ne, Fourth of July, OK Jones, Olympic Size, Mac Lethal, Reach, Approach, The Architects, Kristie Stremel, The New Tragedies and Deep Thinkers.

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Kansas City Click: Reach, Approach and Deep Thinkers- all featured on my Muxtape- perform at the Brick tonight.

The mighty BellRays visit the Riot Room Saturday.

A tribute to Grant McClennan and the Go-Betweens goes down Sunday at The Record Bar. As I've written previously in this space, I don't quite get why the Go-Betweens weren't as big as Fleetwood Mac. With tiny production tweaks, "Right Here" could be a hit for John Mayer or Sara Bareilles this summer.

Syd Nathan- Talks About His European Trip

Passport expired.

2008 marks the 65th anniversary of the founding of King Records. Two panel discussions were conducted last Saturday in Cincinnati to commemorate the legacy of the independent record label. I would have loved to have attended. Instead of any of King's official recordings from the likes of Bill Doggett, Little Willie John or the Delmore Brothers, here's a snippet of company founder Syd Nathan holding court in 1952. By today's standards, his chatter is racist, sexist, vulgar and provincial. But like everything included in the four-disc The King R&B Box Set, it's essential stuff.

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For the first time all year, my Tuesday new release purchases didn't include any jazz or hip hop titles. Music industry folk may want to take note of my consumer logic. I picked up the new Duffy. I hadn't bothered to listen to a note of her music, but my friend BGO has been raving about her for months. So I took a chance for $6.99. It's a treat- Duffy is a Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick throwback. I also bought the gorgeous reissue of Frank Sinatra hits. I already owned most of the 22 songs, but I couldn't lay off the deluxe packaging; it's shiny. It too was well under ten dollars. Bun B and James Carter top my list for next week.

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My friend Tim tirelessly documents American Idol at The Other Door, a virtual live blog. His take is smart and funny.

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Kansas City Click: The Iguanas ignite a party at Knuckleheads tonight.

The Last Town Chorus and Kathleen Edwards at Knuckleheads

Knocked out.

About 100 people packed into the roofed portion of Knuckleheads last Wednesday night. That's about the same number of goofy smiles that lit up the roadhouse.

Kathleen Edwards and a full band looked and sounded impeccable. My friends Richard and Tim wrote proper reviews. Like them, I appreciated Edwards' wonderful effort. Still, she was too rehearsed and unspontaneous for my raucous mood that night. I wanted more ragged and less right.

The Last Town Chorus fit the bill.

Even though she sang and played lap steel to a backing track, Megan Hickey packed more improvisational flourishes and interesting concepts into her set than the headliner. Hickey's guitar work explored the commonalities between Robert Fripp and Robert Randolph, although she later confided that Jimi Hendrix is her primary inspiration. The Last Town Chorus is refreshingly delightful.

Edwards and her husband Colin Cripps contribute vocal and production assistance to "Punches," a great song from Texan Collin Herring's new Past Life Crashing. He sounds uncannily like a young Freedy Johnston- high praise coming from this Kansan.






















(Original photos of The Last Town Chorus, top, and Kathleen Edwards, bottom, by There Stands the Glass.)

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Kansas City Click: Kevin Cerovich plays host at the Blue Room.

Eddy Arnold, 1918-2008

Goodbye, Mr. Arnold.

"Once we cut out the by-cracky nonsense and give respect to our music," Eddy Arnold once said, "Then people will respect us." He was often foreced to defend the countrypolitan sound he created with Chet Atkins. It's not an appropriate time to criticize the consequences of the seismic shift Arnold delivered to American music. Arnold died yesterday. He was just days shy of reaching 90. In hindsight, the crossover style represented by "You Still Got a Hold On Me" seems entirely inevitable. The smooth-as-silk song is from the out-of-print My World.

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I'm all hopped up on former Kansas City-area resident Janelle Monae's "Many Moons". It's like a mashup of "B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)", "Hey Ya," "Hollaback Girl" and "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." Turn off the sound and watch this live fan video. Yow!

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I'm really enjoying The Slip, the new (free) release from Nine Inch Nails. That guy gets it.

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Kansas City Click: Watch this Grupo Control video before you tell me you're not attending tonight's Fiesta event at Crown Center.

Jamaican jazz pianist Monty Alexander performs at the Folly Theater Saturday.

Sunday brings at opportunity to tug on Pepe Tovar's mustache at Fiesta Kansas City.

American Music Club and Olympic Size At the Record Bar

Unplugged.

It was a night of not-so-quiet desperation.

Almost twenty years have passed since I first saw American Music Club perform in Kansas City. The memory of Mark Eitzel hurling himself into the floor of Harling's in 1989 continues to disturb me.

The 49-year-old Eitzel no longer no attempts to break his bones during his performances, but his self-loathing and bleak world view remain intact. Part poet and part rocker, Eitzel bridges the gap between Charles Bukowski and John Fogerty. He's a classic embittered idealist.

His wry wit was in fine form Monday night at the Record Bar. Complimented by a remarkable onslaught of noise by guitarist Vudi, Eitzel's 70-minute performance was predictably devastating.

Like Eitzel, the members of Olympic Size are no strangers to disappointment. A few of them were in bands that came tantalizingly close to achieving mainstream success.

Olympic Size's hazy narcotic drone completely mesmerized me. Their melancholy gloom evokes the weariness that strikes just before dawn. The best example is "Friends", one of my favorite songs to come of Kansas City in recent years.

Particularly noteworthy was the enchanting vocal interplay between Kirsten Paluden and Billy Smith, while the trombone of ex-Doris Henson member Mike Walker added unexpected ambience. A whopping five additional musicians crowded onto the stage.

"I thought Olympic Size was a great band," Eitzel later joked. "But they need another member. I want to be the middle-aged guy dancing shirtless."

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Kansas City Click: Try the UMKC jazz happy hour this afternoon at Mike's Tavern.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass. The MP3 was obtained from Present Magazine. )

The Last Town Chorus- Loud and Clear

Silent.

I was charmed last year by The Last Town Chorus' blissfully lethargic cover of David Bowie's "Modern Love". But it's "Loud and Clear" that has made me sit up and take notice of Megan Hickey's artistry. The song is from The Last Town Chorus' forthcoming release on Hacktone Records. Its sweet but spooky self-referential wistfulness is a revelation. Reminiscent of early '80s jangle pop, "Loud and Clear" is like an indie-roots update of "Every Breathe You Take." Here's a live version of the song filmed in Indianapolis last week. The Last Town Chorus' 2007 release is Wire Waltz.

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While it's unlikely that anyone but me is keeping score, I just noticed that There Stands the Glass just passed a milestone of sorts. Since November 2005, I've now posted 601 times. In keeping with my initial plan, no artist has ever been featured twice. Well, almost none. Tellingly, the exception is Ike Turner. I wrote about him a second time when he passed away last year. The Last Town Chorus represents the 600th artist I've spotlighted in 601 posts.

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I can't say I'm a fan of Clay Aiken's, but I wasn't surprised to see his advocates turn out in droves to purchase his new release yesterday. I doubt that any artist in 2008 has more devoted followers.

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Kansas City Click: Last Town Chorus and Kathleen Edwards are at Knuckleheads tonight.

(As indicated, the image is by Robert Loerzel.)

Mark Eitzel- Saved

But no longer here.

60 Watt Silver Lining is one of my favorite albums. While its jazz-inflected vibe turns off a lot of American Music Club stalwarts, the noirish 1996 release perfectly suits my sensibilities. That's not to say that I want to hang out with Mark Eitzel. The memory of an encounter I had with him back in the '80s still gives me the willies. For all I know, he feels the same way. Here he is on stage last week with American Music Club.

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Clark Terry canceled his appearance in Kansas City last night. Send good thoughts his way.

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Have you missed me? I've been hanging out at Wrigley Field and Millennium Park.

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Kanas City Click: Eitzel and American Music Club are at the Record Bar tonight. Olympic Size is an ideal opening act.

June Christy- Lucky In Love

Luck's run out.

I began rifling through my West Coast jazz collection after hearing that Jimmy Giuffre passed away Thursday. He didn't turn up on any of my Chet Baker, Jack Sheldon or Zoot Sims discs. Knowing that he played on a few June Christy sessions, I checked this set of radio shots. Giuffre's not here either. But boy, was Christy ever delightful! Her warm, inviting voice never fails to charm. In lieu of an official recording, my friend BGO recommends this Giuffre performance video.

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Tech N9ne just keeps getting better. My review of his homecoming show Friday is here.

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I tossed together a Muxtape of Kansas City jazz artists' free downloads.

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Kanas City Click: I'll join Heet Mob at Mic Check Monday at the Embassy if J Lee lets me pretend I'm a member of La Coka Nostra.

Noel Gourdin: Exclusive Interview

Noel Gourdin's MySpace, Facebook and home page. Gourdin's Epic Records debut is tentatively scheduled to be released in August.
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Not only is Noel Gourdin's "The River" the best new song of 2008, the ballad merits a spot alongside the greatest soul classics by Aretha, Otis, Al and Sam.

Gritty yet smooth, traditional yet comfortably contemporary, "The River" recently received a major boost with the enthusiastic endorsement of syndicated radio host Steve Harvey.

Opening with a reconstruction of Millie Jackson's "How Do You Feel the Morning After" and set to a backdrop of Mississippi's "dirt roads and Confederate flags," Gourdin's silky voice weaves a tale of lost love, faith, death and rebirth.

There Stands the Glass spoke to the Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter Thursday. Our wide-ranging discussion touched on Gourdin's fresh sound, the NBA playoffs and the artist's seemingly imminent stardom.


On the daring nature of "The River":
We felt we were taking a chance on a song like this. It's so different and so rich and so deep with meaning and expression. It's reminiscent of old soul.

On being told that "The River" is an instant classic:
You know how good that feels coming from someone like you who appreciates the old-school soul? That's incredible. For you to say "The River" is a timeless record means a lot to me.

On being on the verge of stardom:
It's surreal. It's been tremendous to see how fast we've been moving up the charts and how everyone's embracing "The River" after Steve Harvey started playing it and blowing it up. It's overwhelming.

On his Southern roots:
Ever since I can remember we would head down to Mississippi every summer because that's where my family is originally from. We'd go down there for family reunions.

I used to sit up underneath my aunts and uncles and grandparents and listen to stories about the pain and the suffering and the tribulations of not having equal opportunities back in the day like it should have been.

Every summer we'd go down South knowing that we were going to see family we hadn't seen all year, run in the watermelon patches, play with cousins and just hang out- that was a big part of my life.

On his place in today's scene:
I want to fit in where I can reach the most people. I don't particularly like to be put in a box or a category. I like to keep it wide open. This music is for everybody. There's something on the album for everybody. It's not necessarily all soul, but the whole undertone of the album is soul. Because that's what my voice is and that's what I came up listening to.

On his uncommon display of sensitivity:
There comes a time that you say what you have to say. I'm not going to hold no punches. "(As in) because I love you so much that it's just not enough- I need more."

It's unusual for a man to put that in a record. Because it's usually a woman saying that kind of thing. I'm not afraid to be vulnerable. I'm not afraid to say what other men in the industry won't say.

I'm not afraid to show my emotional side or shed a tear. If you're secure in your manhood and what you are, I have no problem doing that. I've cried on my mom's shoulder many nights-my pop's as well.

On touring:
We're definitely hitting the road in the next month or so. We're trying to make sure we have the right artist to go out with. If budgets allow, we'll have a band. My ideal thing is to have a band up there. That's how you can really touch people.

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Kansas City Click: This town is truly standing on the verge of getting it on. Tech N9ne, Paul Wall and Ill Bill infiltrate the Uptown tonight.

George Clinton cooks a "Cosmic Slop" at Crossroads on Saturday.

On Sunday night, the Record Bar hosts an intriguing hip hop bill topped by Chicago's Lord 360.

Doc Cheatham and Theo Croker

Theo Croker- John Coltrane (MP3)

Butch Thompson and Doc Cheatham- If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight (MP3)

In one of those serendipitous discoveries made possible by MySpace's artist search directory, I discovered that a grandson of trumpet legend Doc Cheatham resides in Shanghai. And he's amazing. Just check out the Dean Benedetti-style boot posted above for confirmation. More material can be downloaded at Croker's MySpace page. Croker's grandfather had a much different sound. "If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight" is from Cheatham's utterly charming 1994 Butch & Doc session with Butch Thompson. If the 88-year-old's performance on the suggestive ballad doesn't make you happy, well, I'm afraid you're a lost cause.

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Tom "Papa" Ray of St. Louis is one of my favorite people. The Riverfront Times conducted a painfully awkward video interview with the retail legend on Record Store Day.

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I spewed a mouthful of coffee across my breakfast table this morning as I read that Von Lee Smith was working with Akon. A more unlikely pairing is hard to imagine. A good-looking Kansas City kid with a big voice, Smith seemed destined for success by following in the footsteps of Clay Aiken and Josh Groban. Shows what I know. Here's Steve Penn's shocking column in the Kansas City Star.

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Al "Show and Tell" Wilson died Monday.

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Kansas City Click: Star-in-waiting Erin Bode buckles knees at the Blue Room tonight.

Don Patterson- Under the Boardwalk

The boardwalk is closed.

Ozzie Cadena is one of those names only familiar to obsessive readers of liner notes. The longtime industry professional's name appears on hundreds of titles, primarily on dates for the Prestige and Savoy labels. Originally released in 1964 as Hip Cake Walk, this Cadena production is available on an excellent reissue. (Thanks to BGO for the tip.)

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Oh no! Sean Costello died earlier this month. He was 28. I may have this all wrong, but I recall seeing him share a stage with Hubert Sumlin and Elvis Costello at Antone's during SXSW three or four years back. Costello was also booked to perform at Kansas City juke joint Knuckleheads next month.

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I'm having a blast watching vintage videos by the likes of Slick Rick, De La Soul, Coolio, Queen Latifah, NWA and Common Sense on this month's rebroadcasts of Yo! MTV Raps.

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Tech N9ne is giving it away here. (Kind of.)

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Kansas City Click: Good ol' Tater & the Gravy Train serve as a premium honky tonk jukebox at Harry's tonight.

An Education In Jazz

Class is over.

The following essay was posted earlier today at Plastic Sax. The YoungBlood Brass Band represent a viable alternative for scholastic jazz ensembles. Note the crowd's reaction to the hip hop elements of the Madison band's sound.

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As I attended the MCC-Penn Valley 18th & Vine Jazz Festival last Friday afternoon, word was spreading that the International Association of Jazz Educators intended to file for bankruptcy.

According to a memo posted at the Manhattan, Kansas-based organization's site, IAJE "as it presently stands will no longer exist." The board president claims that the organization was "blindsided last fall with the discovery of the extent of the accumulated association debt."

Regular Plastic Sax readers already know that I'm not an advocate of the jazz education establishment. Friday's festival only solidified my stance.

The students could play remarkably well; that's not at issue. It's the distressing absence of passion and fire that's alarming. As if to confirm the event's lack of relevance, the audience consisted almost exclusively of supportive parents. I suspect that many of the teenage musicians applied their talent to ska, hip hop and rock bands later that night.

Why not allow these kids to make the music meaningful to themselves and their classmates during school hours? It's cool that high school marching bands play versions of Outkast's "Hey Ya!" and Black Sabbath's "Iron Man." But I'll bet they'd prefer to arrange and perform Green Day's American Idiot or Dr. Dre's The Chronic.

It's an appropriate time to reevaluate the status quo. The question must be asked- "Why jazz education?" If there's no satisfactory answer, perhaps jazz programs should be abandoned in favor of popular music departments.

I would rather hear an inspired cover of a Rick Ross hit than a desultory rendition of a Billy Strayhorn chart.


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Kansas City Click: Lyfe Jennings croons at the Beaumont tonight.

(Original image by Plastic Sax. The inclusion of the YoungBlood Brass Ensemble suggested by The New Low Down.)

Danny Federici & Chris Gaffney, 1950-2008

Farewell.

An eerie symmetry connects the untimely deaths of Chris Gaffney and Danny Federici.

Both roots-oriented American rock musicians were 58. Both died on April 17 from forms of cancer. Both were accomplished accordionists. Both were "musicians' musicians"- respected artists without huge name recognition among the general public.

Federici is best known for his association with Bruce Springsteen. Kevin Gordon was one of a handful of additional musicians with whom Federici worked. He added organ to Cadillac Jack's #1 Son, a very fine Garry Tallent production. It suggests that Gordon merits a place alongside John Hiatt and James McMurtry among today's elite realist songwriters. Besides, any song with a Back In Black reference is automatically cool.

"Six Nights a Week," co-written with Dave Alvin, is an apt epitaph for Gaffey. The unblinking song about a working musician's life, co-written with Dave Alvin, is from the excellent Mi Vida Loca. As with Federici, Gaffney spent much of his life on the road. Instead of arenas, however, Gaffney hit bars and roadhouses. I believe he and the Hacienda Brothers played Kansas City's Knuckleheads at least a couple times in the past year or two.

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I feel creepier and weirder than usual. A couple of the bands being touted by the cool kids- The Teenagers and M83- are really resonating with me. I'll never apologize for continuing to adore pure pop music, but it doesn't feel quite right to be down with the overt sexual nature of this material, particularly the Teenager's "Homecoming." It's exceptionally greasy kid stuff.

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Kansas City Click: Christian McBride, Benny Green and Greg Hutchinson pay tribute to Ray Brown tonight at the Gem.

Yung Joc, Dolla, Lil Will, Trap Starz Clik and Cash Image are on Saturday's bill at Memorial Hall. (Incidentally, is "My Dougie" or Mariah's "Touch My Body" the most irritating hit of 2008?)

French acts Les Marteaux Pikettes and Les Fossoyeurs join their pal Joey Skidmore at Fred. P. Ott's on Sunday.

Luciano At the Beaumont Club

Can you imagine a country singer with the nickname "Jesus' Jukebox"? How about a blues artist with the tag "Savior's Sentinel"?

Reggae star Luciano is saddled with the sobriquet "Jah Messenger."

While angels didn't descend from the heavens as Luciano crooned at the Beaumont Club Wednesday night, most of the 300 people in attendance would agree that his performance was divine.

With his soothing voice and crossover sensibility, Luciano occupies the space left vacant when beloved reggae legend Dennis Brown died in 1999. Although a large band with three backup singers shared the stage with him, Luciano's vocals and the rhythm section were all that could be discerned in the muddy sound mix. But that was plenty.

Luciano's set was preceded by Mikey General. He spread positive vibrations through the already jubilant crowd.

I arrived too late to catch Seedlove and 77 Jefferson, but I enjoyed Springfield band Jah Roots. Still, every Midwestern blue-eyed reggae band pales in comparison to the great Blue Riddim Band.

The evening was slightly marred by the unlikely intrusion of Jethro Tull. Aqualung blared through the club during an exceedingly long break between acts. Aqualung! The entire album!

"Which Man" is available on Luciano's Ultimate Collection. He's touring behind the excellent Jah Is My Messenger.






















(Original photos by There Stands the Glass.)

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Kansas City Click: Brandon Draper visits the Blue Room tonight.

I-Roy- Jah Come Here

Only silence now.

Microphone Attack fills me with joy. The insanely wonderful collection of reggae toasting from the '70s has been my personal soundtrack for the past several weeks. It's an essential document for anyone remotely interested in roots reggae and for crate-diggers investigating the various musical strands that contributed to the origin of rap. But mostly, it's perfect for anyone looking to have a good time. Several kind souls keep the memory of I-Roy alive at YouTube.

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Sons of a Hoofer is a new documentary about the McFadden Brothers, a Kansas City jazz and dance institution. Here's the trailer.

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I'm thrilled with the concept of Record Store Day. Grimey's in Nashville just added an Elvis Costello signing to a live lineup that includes Tim O'Brien, Dan Wilson and Kansas City-area band Drakkar Sauna. St. Louis' Vintage Vinyl and Euclid Records boast several in-stores. So far, Kansas City's stores list no special events at their sites. Guys?

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Kansas City Click: Luciano anchors tonight's reggae bill at the Beaumont.

Peter Mulvey At Fred P. Ott's

Road block.

"I don't know much about this kind of music," a man standing next to me muttered. "But he's pretty darn good."

It's fascinating to see how an artist responds to an unusual situation. Peter Mulvey excelled in a performance at a hamburger restaurant for an audience that consisted almost entirely of his extended family and their friends last night. The Milwaukee-based Mulvey mentioned that his uncle organized the event.

Perhaps because it resembled a holiday family get-together, the room overflowed with both warm smiles and uncomfortable tension. A really nasty lover's spat took place two feet away from my barstool. Awkward...

Mulvey displayed a marvelous mastery of the increasingly rare art of engaging stage patter. Mulvey worked references to regional legends and landmarks including Eisenhower, Truman, Billy Butler and Kansas basketball into his song introductions. Of his original material, "Knuckleball Suite" resonated most strongly. Covers of Willie Nelson's "I Gotta Get Drunk" and a Louis Jordan novelty song kept the audience engaged.

"Road To Mallow" is one of three downloadable songs at his MySpace page. It's also the first track on Mulvey's Kitchen Radio.

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Kansas City Click: My Chemical Romance headlines tonight at Memorial Hall.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

The Residents- Untitled 5

Only memories remain.

Are The Residents evil? I've long considered them the scariest act in music.

The heavy Bound By the Road tour I witnessed Saturday did nothing to change my mind. Sure, Invitro makes quite a racket. But DevilDriver would be a lot more disturbing if their singer didn't talk about his wife and kids back home in California between songs. And Napalm Death just made me smile. (My review of the show is here.)

No, metal and punk acts don't hold a candle to the weirdos in creepy costumes known as the Residents. Spoken word sequences are interspersed with a variety of odd sounds on the ghoulish 2002 release Demons Dance Alone, It's essential for "Life Would Be Wonderful," an oddball anthem that sounds as if it very well may have inspired the Flaming Lips' renaissance. A radically altered version can be heard in this live performance video.

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You know how there are certain things you swear you'll never do but end up doing anyway? That's what happened at my jazz blog today.

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Many people have a hard time grasping how I can love both Napalm Death and Alison Krauss. Listening to a lot of Ornette Coleman does funny things to a guy. Don't miss Gary Giddins' new profile of the great man.

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Kansas City Click: How is it that celebrated folkie Peter Mulvey is playing a free show at a Plaza hamburger restaurant on a Monday night? I might have to head down to Fred P. Ott's tonight to find out.

Bob Kames, 1926-2008

Closing time.

Are you down with the Chicken Dance? You don't have to ask me twice. I've done it plenty of times at weddings and birthday parties. But never have I had more fun with it than at Wurstfest in New Braunfels, Texas. The annual polka party is a beer-fueled orgy of silly dances. This relatively tame example makes me smile. Bob Kames, the man credited with popularizing the dance craze, died Wednesday. "Nashville Beer Garden" is typical of the sounds on this collection of polkas and waltzes.

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The initial bookings for 2008's Rhythm & Ribs festival were announced earlier today. I'm most excited at the chance to catch Angie Stone, although I hope the festival isn't counting on her star power to draw big crowds. Patti Austin, George Duke, Fourplay and Robert Cray will also perform. It's almost certain that several locally-based artists will be added to the bill, but for now, Oleta Adams is the lone representative from Kansas City.

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Kansas City Click: One of my favorite people champions the Neighborhood Bullies as "The Best F*cking Band In Los Angeles" here. I'll make a similar claim for the Architects in Kansas City. Their record release party is tonight at the Record Bar. The Beautiful Bodies open.

DevilDriver, Napalm Death, Straight Line Stitch, 36 Crazyfists and In Vitro crash the Beaumont Saturday on their Bound By the Road tour.

Andy Lee is featured in a free piano recital Sunday at UMKC.