Jo Stafford, 1917-2008

So long.

Some social historians claim that "G.I." Jo Stafford's lovely voice helped the Allies win World War II. Listening to the war era "I Remember You" today, it's hard to imagine how it might inspire a soldier in foxhole. A guy in a dancehall? That's a different matter. The selection is available on this compilation. Stafford died last week. Sad news, indeed. But watch this Stafford goof for a delightful pick-me-up. Wait- it gets even weirder. Stafford's last hit was a parody of "Stayin' Alive," recorded under her Darlene Edwards persona. Here's an "interesting" lip-synced version.

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I reviewed Friday's concert by Avant, Boy Big and Bishop Young Don. Last night, I covered Ted Nugent and Alex Winston.

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The best-sounding song on radio right now has to be Jazmine Sullivan's "Need U Bad".

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Kansas City Click: Excellent primitive punk-blues duo Hillstomp returns to the Brick today for the Rural Grit Happy Hour.

Donta Slusha- Check My Posture

Slumping.

Until I discovered "Check My Posture," I'd wasted a lot of time trying to determine if "Lookin Boy" by Hot Stylz and Yung Joc was the best or the worst song of 2008. The as-yet undiscovered Kansas City song rendered such thoughts irrelevant. Its willful goofiness is even more appealing than the absurd mayhem of the national hit. In fact, "Check My Posture" just became my official song of the summer. The self-proclaimed "gritter's choice" introduces the song in this video. "Check My Posture" and the more menacing "Get This Money" are available for download at Donta Slusha's MySpace.

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This footage from the Kansas City Kansas Street Blues Festival is in desperate need of a ruthless editor, but I still welcome anything featuring Myra Taylor.

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Kansas City Click: The Danny Cox benefit previewed here a couple days ago goes down tonight in Kansas City, Kansas.

If Dave Grohl's voice holds up, the Foo Fighters will revive Kemper Arena on Saturday.

Ted Nugent wallops the Uptown Theater on Sunday.

Gerald Wiggins, 1922-2008

Farewell, Mr. Wiggins.

"Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe" encapsulates Gerald Wiggins' career. Just when it appears that the pianist will get an opportunity to elaborate on his elegant background support with a solo of his own, date leader Red Holloway takes another breathe and extends his monologue. Wiggins was surely accustomed to it. Although his trio achieved acclaim, he's best known for his association with artists ranging from Louis Armstrong to Marilyn Monroe. He's heard here from a wonderful out of print 1989 session. Wiggins died Sunday. (Tip via BGO.)

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I caught the 311, Snoop Dogg and Fiction Plane tour last week. My review is here.

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I had the highest of expectations for the new Nas and the Hold Steady albums. I'm slightly underwhelmed by both. I trust they're growers.

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A friend just tipped me to Esperanza Spalding. Whoa!

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Kansas City Click: An email sent by Roger Wilder contains two reasons to attend his gig at the Blue Room tonight: "Jazz is good; plus, there's no cover."

The Danny Cox Birthday Bash

Good luck, Danny.

His name might be somewhat obscured in the national consciousness by the relentless march of time, but Danny Cox remains a prominent figure in Kansas City.

So when Cox's home in Kansas City, Kansas, was ravaged by a fire in January, his many friends rallied behind him. The latest event to assist Cox is a benefit concert at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens on Friday, July 18. Fast Johnny Ricker plays first. He'll be followed by Ida McBeth and Cox.

Admission to the event is free, but organizers home to raise $10,000 "to complete Danny and his family’s new home." Details are here.

Cox was a prominent player in the folk scene of the '60s and '70s. In recent years, he's found success in regional children's theater. It's my understanding that "Break That Colored Line" is a relatively new song from Major League Dream, a forthcoming musical about baseball's racial barriers.

The song reflects Cox's warm spirit. Give the man a hand.
















(The first image is an original photograph originally published at this site in 2006. That's Malford Millgan in the background. The second picture is a publicity shot lifted from Cox's site.)

Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis- Stardust

Sunrise.

Anyone's who's attended a Willie Nelson concert in the last twenty years knows that the country legend loves to unleash mean Django Reinhardt-influenced guitar solos.

And anyone's who's purchased a ticket to even the stuffiest of Wynton Marsalis' jazz gigs knows that the trumpeter likes to conclude his shows with loose, informal romps.

So while the partnership of Two Men With the Blues may strike casual observers or genre elitists as odd, it's actually completely natural. Nor is it surprising that the two men find common ground in the blues.

The collaboration, recorded over two nights at the Allen Room at Jazz At Lincoln Center in 2007, feels like a relaxed, after hours session. "Stardust" is typical. Framed by Dan Nimmer's piano, Nelson's wistful vocal, Walter Blanding's smoky sax and Marsalis' masterful solo meld perfectly.

Don't let the fact that Two Men With the Blues ideally suits There Stands the Glass' sensibility scare you off. In fact, the project should be considered an automatic favorite for multiple Grammy awards.

Here's a bold statement guaranteed to make both Nelson and Marsalis cringe- Two Men With the Blues may prove to be the best non-hip hop album of 2008.

Additional information about the project is available at WillieandWynton.com

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My recap of last week's Warped Tour stop in Bonner Springs, Kansas, is here. Katy Perry fans in particular won't want to miss it.

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Kansas City Click: I hope British blues cat Scott McKeon makes it to tonight's gig at at Knuckleheads. He mistakenly lists the Missouri juke joint's location as "Kansas (USA)" at his MySpace page.

Ingrid Michaelson at the Beaumont Club

"That was loud and scary for real," Ingrid Michaelson told her tormentor July 1 at Kansas City's Beaumont Club.

An overly enthusiastic man had been inappropriately whooping and hollering his appreciation at the conclusion of each of Michaelson's sublime songs.

The New York-based singer-songwriter finally confronted the culprit.

"I see you," she told him. "You're a very large man hiding behind a very small woman."

"Sorry- my bad," he apologetically bellowed.

It was an odd twist to an otherwise thoroughly feminine evening. Almost all of the audience of about 250 were women aged twelve to fifty.

"You look like an ad for cute people wearing nice clothes," Michaelson told the fans pressed against the stage.

Material from albums Girls & Boys and Slow the Rain, along with a slew of unreleased songs, delighted the audience.

Had she entered There Stands the Glass' ticket giveaway contest in which the winner named the best cover song for the rising star, Michaelson would have easily won. Her intuitive version of Death Cab For Cutie's "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" was tremendous.

Michaelson's appearance was part of her first national headlining tour. It begged the question- just how popular will Michaelson become?

Given her prodigious talent, I suspect Michaelson will enjoy a career not unlike Randy Newman's. Any hits will be almost accidental. It's just as possible, however, that she'll veer to the center and become a Sheryl Crow-style pop star.

Selfishly, I hope that doesn't happen. I kind of like sharing Michaelson with 250 women. (Plus one rowdy guy.)

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Greg Laswell didn't need to deal with boisterous fans. Most people listened attentively to his ballad-oriented opening set.















(Photography by Shannon Schlappi.)

The Roots Are (the Grateful) Dead

I just wasn't feeling the Roots last Thursday night at the VooDoo Lounge.

The frustration I felt was akin to sitting astride a surfboard waiting for a good wave that never comes.

Initially, I blamed MC Black Thought. He struck me as uninspired and dull.

I shared my consternation with J. Lee of Heet Mob. He gave me a politically correct response.

"He's considered to be one of the best," J. Lee said.

Heet Mob had opened the show; I thought a few members of the Kansas City-based crew were superior to Black Thought. (That's a Heet Mob video above.)

Then again, maybe I just couldn't get past Black Thought's Yankees cap. Or maybe it was the mix. I'd also spent much of the previous day at the Warped Tour's hip hop tent. And I'm still reeling from an electrifying show by Tech N9ne, T.I. and Guerilla Zoe a couple weeks ago.

Then it hit me- the last time I felt so uninspired as most everyone around me was lost in rapture was at a Grateful Dead concert in 1994.

Come to think of it, the parallels between the Roots and the Dead are astounding.

*Both bands are celebrated for their ability to play many different styles of music.
*Both play long shows filled with extended jams.
*Both feature lengthy drum solos.
*Both lack strong lead vocalists/rappers.
*Both favor Dylan covers.
*Both are large ensembles.
*Both are considered "live" acts; studio recordings are afterthoughts.
*Both have cult-like fan bases.

Disagree? Try this proper review of the show.

Ira Tucker, 1925-2008

Farewell.

It's no secret that some of the wildest American music ever recorded is pre-rock'n'roll gospel. Few such acts were more popular- or more influential- than the Dixie Hummingbirds. The steps from "The Final Edition" to "Good Golly Miss Molly" to "Like a Rolling Stone" are very small. Ira Tucker joined the Dixie Hummingbirds in the 1930s. He died last week at 83. Although this compilation lacks liner notes and session information, it's loaded with essential music. (Tip via BGO.)

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The revived Kansas City Kansas Street Blues Festival afforded me an opportunity to catch Marquise Knox over the weekend. Lazy Lester sat in. My words and images are here.

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I was saddened to learn of the passing of James DeRigne. I first encountered James when he owned the Record Cabinet, a small shop specializing in European prog rock and jazz.

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Kansas City Click: Look for contest winner "C" at the Ingrid Michaelson show Tuesday at the Beaumont Club.

Like a Lollipop: Music Midway In 2008

Not bad for an old man.

I've witnessed 121 live music performances so far in 2008, not counting amateur religious and scholastic exhibitions. My favorite twenty-five percent are listed below.

At a handful of shows- Say Anything comes to mind- I might have been the eldest fan. Thankfully, I'm a relative kid in jazz clubs and at classic rock concerts by the likes of Chicago.

Regular readers of There Stands the Glass won't bat an eye when they see that I list death metal and Christian music, commercial country and hip hop, folkies and Wynton Marsalis. But even I'm surprised that Stone Temple Pilots and Kid Rock blew me away.

In these difficult economic times, I'm incredibly fortunate that I can go out a few nights each week. With that in mind, I've indicated the ten selections that were either free events or artist-endorsed free downloads with a "*". More of that, please.

10 BEST SONGS
1. Noel Gourdin- "The River" (original image of Gourdin above)
2. Nas- "Be a N----- Too"
3. Ashton Shepherd- "Takin' Off This Pain"
4. T.I.- "No Matter What"
5. Marvin Sapp- "Never Would Have Made It"
6. XTA-C- "2 Fingers and a Hook (KC Anthem)"
7. Jaheim- "Never"
8. Airborne- "To Much, Too Young, Too Fast"
9. Ghosty- "Dumbo Wins Again"
10. Idle Warship- "Fall Back"

10 BEST ALBUMS
1. Erykah Badu- New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War
2. N.E.R.D.- Seeing Sounds
3. Gary Burton & Chick Corea- The New Crystal Silence
4. Atmosphere- When Life Gives You Lemons...
5. Lil Wayne- Tha Carter III
6. 9th Wonder & Buckshot- The Formula
7. Duffy- Rockferry
8. Miles Bonny- Remixes, Volume 1*
9. Nine Inch Nails- The Slip*
10. Andrew Calhoun- Bound To Go: Folk Songs & Spirituals

30 BEST SHOWS
1. Stone Temple Pilots- Liberty Memorial
2. Tech N9ne- Sandstone
3. Kid Rock- Sprint Center
4. Tech N9ne- Uptown Theater
5. Megan Birdsall- Jazz In the Woods*
6. Busy Bee- Liberty Hall
7. Shirley Brown- Hale Arena
8. Napalm Death- Beaumont
9. Mac Lethal- Riot Room
10. The Mars Volta- Beaumont Club
11. Peter Mulvey- Fred P. Ott's*
12. Wynton Marsalis & the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra- Folly Theater
13. Ashes Divide- Liberty Memorial
14, Rodney Crowell- Frontier Park*
15. T.I.- Sandstone
16. Luciano- Beaumont Club
17, Lil Mama- Sprint Center
18. Olympic Size- Record Bar
19. The Last Town Chorus- Knuckleheads
20. Ashton Shepherd- Country In the Woods*
21. Grupo Control- Crown Center*
22. The Redwalls- Record Bar
23. Leeland- Kemper Arena
24. Drowning Pool- VooDoo Lounge
25. Gregory Hickman-Williams memorial jazz jam- Jardine's*
26. American Music Club- Record Bar
27. Mark Olson- Davey's Uptown
28, Say Anything- Power & Light District*
29. Ed Fenner memorial jazz jam- Gem Theater*
30. M.I.A.- Liberty Hall

Andrew Calhoun & Campground- Lost John

Found.

Have you ever heard a well-intentioned church choir perform an "authentic" black spiritual? The result is often unfortunate.

Accordingly, I had reservations about Bound To Go: Folk Songs & Spirituals, a new release in which folk stalwart Andrew Calhoun and his associates perform 35 songs from the African American folk tradition. It held the potential to be painfully awkward.

Instead, Bound To Go is a revelation. In his extensive essay in the accompanying 24-page booklet, Calhoun makes a strong case that the 19th century material revived on the disc is more closely connected to the European folk tradition than it is an antecedent of the blues. Considered from that enlightening perspective, the music can be appreciated as invaluable historical literature.

Bound To Go is a profoundly important document.

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It was a treat to cover Friday's T.I., Keyshia Cole, Tech N9ne, Eric Benet, Noel Gourdin, Gorilla Zoe, Camp 22 and Keanthony show. Jason Whitlock's extensive profile of Tech N9ne sheds light on the behind-the-scenes drama that I only allude to in my review.

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I caught Megan Birdsall Saturday. That's a video montage of the show.

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I loved Ashton Shepherd's show Sunday. Here's my review.

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I thought I bought a ticket to a reggae concert. I was wrong. Matisyahu played over two-and-a-half hours of prime jam band grooves last night. He and his band were really good, but their style was more String Cheese Incident than Barrington Levy. And Trevor Hall is a cool dude.

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I have no plans to attend an auction of the remaining Music Exchange inventory. Too many ghosts.

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Nigerian singer Sonny Okosuns died May 24.


Kansas City Click: Barbaric Merits are among the hip hop artists hitting the weekly Jumpoff at the Peanut tonight.

Ingrid Michaelson Ticket Contest

There Stands the Glass is pleased to present an Ingrid Michaelson ticket giveaway contest.

The winner will receive two tickets to Michaelson's July 1 all-ages concert at the Beaumont Club in Kansas City. The singer-songwriter launched her first major headlining tour last week.

Michaelson's jaw-dropping talent and adorable disposition charmed the audience at the sold-out Record Bar in April when she toured as part of the Hotel Cafe ensemble. (Original image above.)

Although Michaelson is rightfully acclaimed for hits like "The Way I Am", her unlikely cover versions of songs including Radiohead's "Creep" and Rihanna's "Umbrella" are part of what makes her one of today's best live performers.

The winner will be the person who names the most intriguing new song for Michaelson to cover. For instance, I'd love to see Michaelson interpret Lil Wayne's "Lollipop." And who knows?- maybe Michaelson will actually follow through on your idea.

You may leave your suggestion and email address in the comment section of this post. You may also email your entry to happyinbag(at)gmail(dot)com. I'll contact the winner the afternoon of Friday, June 27.

(The tickets are provided by Michaelson's publicist.)

MilkDrop- Let Me

Denied

The theme of the Soul Providers' Saturday night show bugs me. Sure, I loved catching Busy Bee and the Egyptian Lover earlier this year but I'm really not nostalgic for the '80s. Even in the increasingly difficult recession of 2008, it's what's happening right now that most excites me. In fact, the Soul Providers are one of dozens of contemporary acts producing engaging music in the Kansas City area. While Reach is the best known member of the collective, MilkDrop continues to gain prominence. He allows fans to download much of his File Cabinet Flows release at his MySpace account. The sample of Lucille on "Let Me" grounds the otherwise disorienting mix.

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I saw both Rick Derringer and Blue Oyster Cult last night. My review is here. The legends attracted a substantially smaller crowd than Say Anything and Queens Club the previous night. My review of that gig is here.

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The Pitch's annual music awards ballot provides interesting insights into Kansas City's music scene.

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Kansas City Click: The weekend offers bountiful choices in addition to Saturday's show at the Record Bar. KPRS hosts "Summer Jam 1." T.I., Keyshia Cole, Tech N9ne, Gorilla Zoe and Noel Gourdin are just a few of the artists scheduled to perform at Sandstone Friday.

There Stands the Glass favorite Erin Bode is among the artists booked at this weekend's Jazz In the Woods Festival.

Ashton Shepherd will surely sing her excellent "Takin' Off This Pain" when the same site is transformed into Country In the Woods on Sunday.

Steve Gorn and Badal Roy- Rag Bhairavi

No more peace.

I need to calm down. My manic nature leaves me breathless. Instead of studying Ornette Coleman, turning up Tool and compulsively downloading Lil Wayne mixtapes, perhaps I should decompress to recordings like this. Yantra is smart but soothing, transcendent but not lightweight. Both Steve Gorn and Badal Roy have jazz backgrounds. Roy's crazy list of credits includes work with Miles Davis on Big Fun and On the Corner. This is an enlightening but frustratingly brief clip of Badal explaining his craft. John Coltrane and Charles Lloyd were Gorn's gateway to India. Although Yantra is a respectfully traditional classical Indian recording, the careful listener will hear jazz flourishes in its improvisational shadings.

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New York Fashion at Ward Parkway Shopping Center offers a weirdly compelling mixtape starring "Mr. So Heavy," a.k.a. XTA-C. It's equal parts music and advertising. "If it looks good on the rack, it'll look even better on you!"

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My lastest "jazz is dead" freakout is here.

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Kansas City Click: Say Anything play a free show at the Power & Light complex tonight.

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.