Jose Feliciano- Hot Burrito #1

Consumed.

Juanes may have cleaned up at last night's Latin Grammy Awards, but it also seemed that Jose Feliciano was everywhere. Univision made him the star of their red carpet coverage. He was visible when the cameras panned the audience. He was featured on the tribute to Gloria Estefan. And he even won the Best Contemporary Tropical Album award.

I had no idea that the 63-year-old remains so relevant. Young readers may be startled to hear that Feliciano's version of "Light My Fire" was probably more popular than the Doors' original. And do any of you remember his theme to Chico and the Man? Oh, (bad) memories.

Feliciano also recorded a soulful version of this Gram Parsons classic. It's contained on an insanely great collection. As good as it is, it makes me long for an Elvis Presley treatment.

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My favorite performance last night was by the wonderful Julieta Venegas. Banda El Recodo blew my mind. Just look at the size of that band! It's also going to take a lot of tequila to erase the memory of Karyme Lozano snogging Kenny G's soprano sax.

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I also watched the CMA Awards Wednesday night. How tedious was it? I thought the three best performances were by Kid Rock, the Eagles and Kenny Chesney.

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Kansas City Click: The Gaslight Anthem, the subject of the previous There Stands the Glass post, open the show tonight at the Uptown Theater.

Kelley Hunt has a Kansas City-themed show Saturday at the Blue Room.

The Get Up Kids reunite for a Sunday show at the Record Bar.

The Gaslight Anthem- Miles Davis & the Cool

On to the next town.

Passion. Desperation. Sweat. Faith. Simplicity. Hope.

Perhaps it was Chuck Berry who first successfully combined these disparate elements in a rock'n'roll song. He's been followed by the likes of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bruce Springsteen, Social Distortion and the Hold Steady. Add the Gaslight Anthem to that distinctive list.

I'm just one of thousands who have fallen hard for the band this year. I was actually disappointed when I first heard "The '59 Sound" on commercial radio. I selfishly wanted the band to myself for a while; I'm angry that I hadn't discovered them a year or two ago. The New Jersey-based quartet is clearly the breakout rock act of 2008.

How could I resist "Miles Davis & the Cool"? In addition to the explicit reference of the title, the song alludes to Otis Redding, Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello. The '59 Sound is loaded with similarly memorable anthems.

The Gaslight Anthem's world tour takes them to Denver tonight. I hope to catch them at Kansas City's Uptown Theater on Friday. They'll also be featured on tomorrow's Fuse's "On Tour" broadcast at 6:30 p.m. EST.

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Mac Lethal, Grieves and Soulcrate Music unite for this new Black Clover video.

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Mitch Mitchell died this week. I was shocked to learn that he was only 62; Mitchell was just a baby while drumming for Jimi Hendrix. This essay is disrespectful but highly entertaining. The author references this remarkable video footage. It's probably how Mitchell would like to be remembered.

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Kansas City Click: Bram Wijnands is joined by Hal Melia at the Blue Room.

(Image from the Gaslight Anthem's MySpace.)

Miriam Makeba, 1932-2008

Farewell.

I can't find the link, but I recently read about a prominent entertainer who had set funding aside for the making of a biopic with an as-yet undetermined subject. "That's crazy," I thought at the time. "Just pick a person already." If that celebrity read an obituary of Miriam Makeba this week, that speculation has surely ended. What an epic life "Mama Africa" lived! The high political, social and personal drama of Makeba's life spanned continents. She's heard here on a 1959 selection available on a typically excellent Rough Guide disc.

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Cafe Tacuba disappointed me Saturday night. Here's my review.

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Blip continues to wreck my life.

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Kansas City Click: I continue to believe that "Dumbo Wins Again" is one of the best songs of 2008. Ghosty will play it tonight at the Czar Bar.

Esbjorn Svensson Trio- From Gagarin's Point of View

Farewell.

Five months have passed since the accidental death of Esbjorn Svensson. It's become increasingly apparent that the loss is one of the most significant of 2008. The European musician was 44. The Swede might have had decades of innovative, groundbreaking ahead.

I'll confess that I've resisted acknowledging the fact that much of the most interesting jazz of the last decade has come from Europe. Perhaps it's because musicians there are not confronted daily with the American politics of jazz. Europeans are freer.

Svensson infused jazz with elements of rock, new age, classical and electronica without cheapening the music. That's a rare feat. This track from an out-of-print 2001 release is a fine example. This stylized video is also instructive.

I'm a strong advocate of forward-thinking jazz acts like the Bad Plus. While Svensson was certainly part of that generational surge, he was also doing something that felt deeper and even more promising.

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I must have a minimum of five hours of sleep in order to function as a human being. The outstanding Atmosphere show I attended Thursday night/Friday morning wiped me out. Here's my zombie-esque review.

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Ray Ellis, arranger for the likes of the Four Lads, Bobby Darin and Doris Day, died October 24. (Tip via BGO.)

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Kansas City Click: Tim Finn composed a great feature about Abigail Henderson. I previewed Saturday's benefit show at Davey's Uptown and Sunday's benefit show at the Record Bar in Tuesday's post.

Welcome To the Future

"Welcome to the future" is the annoying catchphrase of one of my good friends. It serves as an appropriate theme as I break with the usual format of There Stands the Glass to comment on three irregular topics.

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I caught Hat Triq at my neighborhood shopping center the other day. Their very existence brings to life the theory that Guitar Hero and Rock Band are changing the way popular music is being consumed. I don't know these pre-teens and this video of them struggling through the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Dani California" isn't mine. The original version of the song is featured on Rock Band; I'd be willing to wager everything that the band grew directly out of video play. Is this a good thing? I think so.

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I laughed at the recent spate of essays suggesting that Twitter will render blogging irrelevant. How could a 140-character post compete with this format? Well, I discovered Blip last week. The ingenious site marries the social networking of Twitter with the joyous sense of discovery provided by music blogs. I became addicted instantly. Here's my Blip account.

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While I'm on the subject, here's my Twitter account and my new Facebook account. There Stands the Glass will return to its usual format tomorrow- if I find the willpower to break away from Blip.

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Kansas City Click: Joey DeFrancesco hits the Blue Room tonight.

Benefit For Abigail Henderson

Thanks, Howard.

Start making your plans for the weekend. Two of the best parties in Kansas City will be benefits in support of Abigail Henderson. The full schedule is here.

Friends and fans of the songwriter and vocalist, best known as a member of The Gaslights, are assisting Henderson with medical bills incurred by a bout with inflammatory breast cancer. Details are at Apocalypse Meow. I also recommend Hope Is My Middle Name, Henderson's deeply affecting blog.

Ten acts are participating Saturday at Davey's Uptown. Highlights include a reunion of local favorites Parlay and Sandoval. It's also likely the only time that the off-color sleaze of Bacon Shoe and the sincere folk of Kasey Rausch will share the same bill.

The nine acts Sunday at the Record Bar may be even more impressive. They include a Sister Mary Rotten Crotch reunion, the Pedal Jets, Kristie Stremel and Pendergast.

There Stands the Glass favorite Howard Iceberg is performing at Davey's Saturday. He'll also be selling November Nights, his first CD in five years. The package includes a DVD containing footage of Henderson performing with Iceberg and the Titanics. All proceeds from the sale of November Nights will go directly to Henderson.

The Pitch recently designated Iceberg as Kansas City's Best Songwriter. "Sentimental"- available on the benefit CD- shows why.

EDIT: The Titan Records listening party at the Record Bar Saturday afternoon is also part of the Henderson benefit. Read more about the new reissue Titan: It's All Pop! at Back To Rockville.

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There Stands the Glass trainspotters: While composing this post, I discovered that this is the third time I've featured Iceberg. Ike Turner is the only other artist I've highlighted more than once in about 700 posts.

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Yma Sumac died Saturday. Man, I hadn't even realized that she was still with us. (Tip via BGO.)

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Jimmy Carl Black died Sunday. His late-career freak-folk collaboration with Eugene Chadbourne was remarkably prescient.

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My pal BGO recently let me know that Frankie Venom died on October 15. I loved Teenage Head.

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Kansas City Click: Hat Triq will almost certainly be pedestrian when they perform at Foo's this afternoon. But I love the idea of pre-teens playing Green Day and Ramones covers.

(Photo of Henderson lifted from Facebook.)

Chet Baker- Balzwaltz

We all miss Chet.

Because jazz still held a bit of cultural currency when Chet Baker died in 1988, the circumstances of his somewhat notorious demise received a great deal of media play. The stunning documentary Let's Get Lost was released the same year, and Baker's association with young rock artists including Flea had the trumpeter enjoying a late-career vogue. In spite of the presence of Larry Coryell, Buster Williams and Tony Williams, this German session from 1979 is the most obscure title in my library of Baker recordings.

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The constant campaigning is really starting to bug me. It's not politics. Horrified that I wasn't even considering Santogold for my year-end top ten list, two of my best friends are demanding that I open my ears. I don't dislike her; I just can't get over the strong sonic resemblance to Missing Persons, a band I associate with bad times.

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I'd like to begin using Yahoo's Media Player, but I'm having a hard time getting it properly installed. Please let me know if you're willing to hold my hand or give me any insider tips.

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Kansas City Click: Around the time of Baker's death I loved to hang out at the Levee. The last of the Blue Devils- including Sonny Kenner and Claude "Fiddler" Williams- regularly played there. I haven't been inside the club in ages, but I've been meaning to catch their reggae night. Elisha Israel and AZ One are featured this evening.

Merl Saunders, 1934-2008

Goodbye, Merl.

What's that saying? "Don't hate the player, hate the game."

I've always taken the opposite approach. I love the game; it's the players I don't always care for.

There Stands the Glass rarely references the jam band movement.

But in my world view, exceptions aren't just made- they're embraced.

Merl Saunders is a prime example. The man made all sorts of compelling music and diligently played small club dates both before and after the death of his sometime associate Jerry Garcia.

The genial groove of "M.S." is found on this 2000 release. And for personal reasons, I also have great affection for Saunders' Blues From the Rainforest.

Saunders died last week.

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Miles Bonny offers a free "Soundtrack to a Presidency" mix featuring the likes of Donny, Stevie and Curtis.

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Popular Russian vocalist Muslim Magomayev died October 25. This nationalist video is really creepy. (Tip via Meesha.)

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The new album by The Cure really appeals to me, and I'm not even much of a fan.

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Kansas City Click: The wonderful Alexi Murchoch opens for Alanis Morisette tonight at the Midland.

Mac Lethal As "The Local Opener"

With ears ringing and a bounce in my step, I hustled from the Sprint Center to the Riot Room Saturday night.

Although Metallica's concert was immensely satisfying, I also wanted to catch Mac Lethal's semi-secret show at the Riot Room.

He was billed as "The Local Opener" on a Black Clover label showcase and was on stage when I arrived. I was told that he'd spent the first portion of his set premiering new material. Someone had joined him on the new electro-style track "Go! Motorcycle"- I assume the guest was next-big-thing XV, although I never spotted my fellow Kansan. (It's interesting that both Mac and Kanye West are gravitating toward an electro-techno style.)

What I saw of Mac- particularly the renditions of "Black Widow Spider" and "Rotten Apple Pie"- was typically cathartic.

Mac's at an important crossroads in his career; the top-quality video for "Calm Down Baby," perhaps his definitive song, was officially unleashed on the world last week.

Soulcrate Music, three amiable guys from South Dakota, had improved markedly since their previous Kansas City show. Their goofy Halloween-themed "Stealing Kid's Candy" was particularly fun.

The unappealing sight of Grieves, the night's headliner, swapping spit with an attractive young lady at the bar, combined with the sudden realization that my ears were practically bleeding, had me out the door before Grieves took his turn in the spotlight.






















(Original images of Mac Lethal, top, and Soulcrate Music, bottom, by There Stands the Glass.)

Paul Mussan- 59fifty

Bald.

I don't wear a hat. And on the rare occasions when I feel the need, I just slap a beer gimme cap on my melon. Kansas City rapper Paul Mussan gets all scientific about the subject on this song. Our sartorial differences aside, I recognize that Mussan is one of his town's most promising hip hop artists.

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Maxwell was everything his fans had hoped for last night. Here's my review. Don't miss the professional photographer's stunning documentation.

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Kansas City Click: The latest reports indicate that LL Cool J will open for Janet Jackson tonight at the Sprint Center. This is one of my all-time favorite recordings.

The Black Clover Records roster will pack the Riot Room on Saturday.

Akil The MC is Sunday's headliner at the Record Bar.

Rudy Ray Moore, 1937-2008

Thanks, Rudy.

I clearly recall the smackdown I received when I made a sales call on an urban-oriented retailer about twenty years ago. The store owner made a series of references that sailed way over my head. "That's Rudy Ray Moore, son!" he chided. "Don't tell me you don't know about Dolemite!" I didn't. That entrepreneur would still disapprove of me- I can hardly listen to Moore's material to this day. It's just too dirty. "Health Department" is easily the least objectionable track on This Ain't No White Christmas. I know it's heresy, but I actually prefer the Little Richard-style material found on this collection. Moore died October 19.

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Rod Warner, one of my favorite music bloggers, is working on a book about "the street music scene in London, Paris and beyond during the sixties." Check out this evocative post.

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Here's my review of Sunday's concert by Queensryche, Tesla, MiniKiss and the Leo Project.

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I'm pretty sure I have some Dee Dee Warwick in my collection, but for now I'll just note that the R&B vocalist died October 18. (Tip via BGO.)

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Kansas City Click: Olympic Size and American Catastrophe make themselves at home at the Czar Bar tonight.

Dave McKenna, 1930-2008

Farewell.

His obituary in the New York Times quotes Dave McKenna as once suggesting that he played "saloon piano." He repeated the assertion in the liner notes to the gorgeous 1989 Maybeck Recital series session. If that's the case, I need to start hanging out in better saloons. His swing and bop-informed stride style will be missed. Thankfully, a great deal of fine McKenna footage is available on YouTube. He wrings every bit of wistfulness out of "Some Other Time".

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I've been at a loss as to how to memorialize Levi Stubbs. He died October 17. Substantially rougher, grittier and more emotive than Smokey, Marvin or any of the Temptations, Stubbs was easily my favorite male vocalist among Motown's top stars. The Four Tops were featured at There Stands the Glass eight months ago.

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Edie Adams died October 15. Until Friday, I'd never seen this crazy Muriel cigar spot co-starring Stan Getz.

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A drunk rock chick deliberately doused my camera in beer last night. It's ruined. Is photographing Mini Kiss really that objectionable? Until I buy a new camera I'll be copping images online. I know you're disappointed, but look at the bright side- it allows me to feature this atrocious McKenna album cover.

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Kansas City Click: I don't care what you think- I love Straylight Run's "Existentialism On Prom Night". They're on the bill at the Beaumont tonight.

Iain Matthews- New Shirt

Clean.

It was odd at the time and it seems even stranger now.

NBA fans attending a Kansas City Kings game one night in the late '70s were handed copies of an album by British folk rock artist Ian Matthews. I recall being delighted, but I can't imagine that many other people who came to Kemper Arena to see Otis Birdsong and Sam Lacey play would have had any interest in Matthews' music.

I hadn't yet heard of Matthews or his previous bands Fairport Convention (don't miss this primal footage), Matthews Southern Comfort and Plainsong, but I've kept tabs on his career ever since.

Complicating matters, Matthews changed his first name from "Ian" to "Iain" with the release of Pure and Crooked in 1990. It's filled with great songs that are somewhat hampered by an overly polite production. "New Shirt," for instance, could have been a power pop smash in the hands of someone like Marshall Crenshaw or Lindsey Buckingham.

(Incidentally, iTunes lists the song as "New Shift." The mistake is appropriate given Matthews' history of near misses.)

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European jazz/electronica artist Marc Moulin died September 26. I have a weakness for grooves like "Into the Dark". (Found via ContemporaryJazz.com.)

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Kansas City Click: Octarium sing tonight at Visitation Church.

Tickets for Luis Miguel's concert Saturday at the Sprint Center start at $50.

I'd love to see the reactions of the volunteer ushers Sunday at the Folly Theater when Los Lobos starts playing.

Johnny Darrell- Come See What's Left of Your Man

Nothing's left.

The only thing better than a drinking song is a hangover song. With its references to the shakes, "Come See What's Left of Your Man" is one of the most extreme examples on record. Bad luck, an alleged obstreperous nature and hard-living habits tagged Johnny Darrell as one of country's original outlaws. There's no reason for fans of Waylon, Willie, Cash and Kris not to own this insanely great collection. It includes the original version of "With Pen In Hand", Darrell's sole big hit.

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Say it ain't so, Kanye! You issued my favorite album of 2007. And 2004's The College Dropout almost single-handedly revived my love of hip hop. I'm all for artistic exploration, but I'm sensing that I'm not going to appreciate the electro-pop of 808s & Heartbreak.

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Kansas City Click: Broken Social Scene and Land of Talk visit the Beaumont Club tonight.

The Ray Brown Trio- Li'l Darlin'

Thanks, Mr. Hefti.

I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't realize Neal Hefti was still around in 2008 until I saw his obituary this morning. He was 85. Like every American boy my age, this TV theme song composed by Hefti is part of my DNA. As an ostensibly mature Kansas Citian, I now recognize that Hefti's greatest contribution may be the Count Basie staple "Li'l Darlin'." This relaxed, elastic arrangement of the gorgeous ballad was performed in 1988 by bass legend Ray Brown, pianist Gene Harris and drummer Jeff Hamilton. It's available on Live At the Loa.

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I'll keep my opinion of the tour vlog of Mac Lethal and Grieves to myself.

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Kansas City Click: The freakin' Flobots play a free show on the Power & Light stage tonight. Great... now I'm going to have to chant "A Milli" for a few minutes until their earworm of a hit crawls out of my noggin.

Orrin Evans- Explain It To Me

Class dismissed.

Jazz is clearly less relevant today than it was forty years ago. Has the quality of the music diminished accordingly?

I could argue both sides of this question endlessly, but if I was called upon to make a case for jazz's continuing vitality, I might begin by citing Criss Cross Jazz. Just as Blue Note Records did in its heyday, the Dutch label tirelessly turns out outstanding mainstream jazz releases by the era's top musicians.

As with classic Blue Note efforts, Criss Cross' dates are mostly loosely organized blowing sessions. That doesn't mean, however, that its output isn't compelling and innovative.

Orrin Evans' "Explain It To Me" is a great example. World-class rhythm section Avishai Cohen and Ralph Peterson chime in after the pianist's opening statement. Ralph Bowen, Antonio Hart and Tim Warfield then engage in an old-fashioned saxophone battle. It's from the excellent 1998 release Captain Black. Not surprisingly, Evans is spending much of the next two months touring Europe.

That so few take notice of Criss Cross' work is a symptom of jazz' commercial- not artistic- malaise.

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Alton Ellis died Friday. The reggae great's "Black Man's Pride" was featured at There Stands the Glass eighteen months ago.

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Kansas City Click: Dwight Foster leads the Monday jam session at the Blue Room.

XV- Shades of Grey

No more color.

Kansas! I regularly feature Kansas-based hip hop artists but I'm a little behind the curve with XV. Blogs much cooler than There Stands the Glass have been heaping praise on the kid. XV's EPK shoots for ironic but comes uncomfortably close to glorifying the very things he mocks. The video for "Get Fresh", co-starring Seven, isn't much better. Both, however, reveal significant starpower and flashes of brilliance that make it clear that XV is Kansas' next big export.

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I'm fascinated by this 1904 video of Kansas City students on a playground. (Found via Tony's Kansas City.)

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Kansas City Click: Koufax hit the Czar Bar tonight.

I can waste hours playing the "What's your favorite Randy Newman song" game. The brilliant songwriter will almost certainly play "Sail Away" at the Folly Theater Saturday.

You know, the Renaissance Festival doesn't sound too bad right about now. Sonic Sidhe Tribe perform there Sunday.

(Photo of XV pilfered from his MySpace page.)

Dexter Gordon- Besame Mucho

No mas.

"I don't like jazz."

Now, more than ever, I'm accustomed to hearing that phrase. It doesn't really bother me, but I suspect that many of the naysayers are merely uninformed. I wish everyone could experience the sounds and images contained in this documentary footage featuring Dexter Gordon. If doubters still aren't feeling it, then I guess jazz really isn't for them. I'm fine with that.

The out-of-print 1982 album American Classic looks great on paper. The icon is joined by the likes of Shirley Scott and Grover Washington, Jr. Excepting Gordon's extended meditation on "Skylark," the project doesn't completely click. The somewhat lackluster "Besame Mucho" is typical.

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I loved Nikka Costa's performance at the Record Bar last night. Here's my review.

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Kansas City Click: Unless someone buys me a cocktail, I'll be on a "Natural High" during Bloodstone's show tonight on the Power & Light District stage.

Hopeless Destroyers- Trouble

Safe.

I spend way too much time fretting about the death spiral of jazz. The future of punk rock, however, doesn't worry me a bit. Punk rock will prosper as long as there are angry, disaffected kids who love distorted guitars and loud fast rules. "Trouble" by Hopeless Destroyers provides immediate visceral satisfaction. The Kansas City punks were part of a free show I caught last weekend in a dark alley behind a tattoo parlor. Perfect. (Another band, seemingly nameless, is pictured.)

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"I miss the innocence I've known." I never even liked Pale Divine, St. Louis contemporaries of Tupelo/Wilco, yet their excellent new site has me choked up with nostalgia. (Found via the Riverfront Times music blog.)

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Hip hop producer Johnny "J" died October 3.

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Kansas City Click: Nikka Costa is at the Record Bar tonight.

Kim Sivils and Steve Rigazzi- Dindi

No more beauty.

I didn't appreciate intimate piano jazz until I was in my thirties. The acclaim accorded to performances including Bill Evans' "Waltz For Debby" completely baffled me.

Things have changed.

I haven't mellowed so much as I've become a more patient listener. The hard knocks that can only come with age have also taught me that beauty need not be banal and that pretty doesn't have to be precious.

In my youth I would surely have mistaken the music of Kansas City piano and bass duo Kim Sivils and Steve Rigazzi as lovely but hollow lounge music. Only in recent years have I been able appreciate the pair's sublime interplay and wistful work. They're very good. In fact, their approach compares favorably to this duet between Evans and Eddie Gomez.

In addition to their weekly gig at EBT's, the duo appears regularly at jazz clubs like Jardine's, where these original images were captured last week.

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The video for Tech N9ne's "Like Yeah" was posted Friday.

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If you think Lil Wayne is everywhere, you're not hallucinating. Check out his sports blog for ESPN.

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Nick Reynolds, a founding member of the Kingston Trio, died last week. (Tip via BGO.)

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Kansas City Click: Mark Lowrey plays "Name That Tune" at Jardine's tonight.

The Popper- Vibe On This

Vibe no more.

"Created a buzz by just being me on these beats/Ain't never shot a n***** but I'm still a G in these streets." It's true- The Popper is an underground king. He and Ron Ron headline a KC Landmarks label event at Club 4400 tonight. The two-minute "Vibe To This," from the Here Comes the Popper mixtape, references Kansas City crimefighter Alvin Brooks, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, "nuns in a convent," haters and artists "stuck in a time lapse." Ron Ron was featured at There Stands the Glass in August. I also adore "Way Gone," a morally reprehensible ode to inebriation that streams at the neglected MySpace page of KC Landmarks.

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I review my listening history of Bill Shapiro's KCUR radio program Cypress Avenue here

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How does an independent record store stay relevant in 2008? Euclid Records in St. Louis has plenty of answers. Their latest initiative involves issuing 45s and prints documenting Euclid's in-store performances. Steve Wynn of Dream Syndicate will be the program's first participant.

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Kansas City Click: There Stands the Glass favorite Howard Iceberg warbles at Good JuJu in the West Bottoms this evening.

Prog-rock hero Peter Hammill materializes at the Cashew Saturday.

Sara Evans sings at the Midland on Sunday. Is it just me, or does a certain politician look a lot like her at the five-second mark of this video?

Vast Aire- Why'sdaskyblue

Sundown.

Brooklyn rapper Vast Aire appears at the Record Bar tonight. Although his 2004 album Look Mom... No Hands received only lukewarm reviews, I've always appreciated its somewhat unsettled vibe. The alternately profane and lyrical "Why'sdaskyblue" is deliriously random. Much like Kool Keith, Vast Aire is an unusual character. The blunt-heavy "Painkillers" video by Vast Aire's former group Cannibal Ox offers additional insight into what's on tap tonight.

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A revitalized ZZ Top blew my mind last night. I proclaim that they're the best blues band in the world in my review.

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Dear Lord! I stumbled into this video while researching ZZ Top's opening act Blackberry Smoke. Something tells me that this disturbing slice of Americana is not an authorized viral ad for Bud Light. I laughed, I cried, I planned to move to Canada.

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Kansas City Click: Dave Brubeck opens the Folly Theater's jazz series' new season tonight.

Amelia- Tragedy

Resolved.

A Long, Lovely List of Repairs, the title of Amelia's third full-length album, may or may not deliberately allude to Shawn Colvin's A Few Small Repairs. The Portland-based band has a lot to offer the Triple-A folk-rock crowd. But where Colvin's hit songs are based on catchy choruses, Amelia veers left into European cabaret, jazz-inflected lullabies and Ennio Morricone-style atmospherics. "Tragedy" only hints at Repairs' truly "lovely" moments.

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There Stands the Glass is the co-winner of the Pitch's "Best Music Blog" of 2008 award. Who's the interloper who tied me? Well, that'd be my alter ego Plastic Sax. Thanks one and all!

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Birdsongs of the Mesozoic's albums are being reissued by Cuneiform Records. The original releases came at a time when I was trying to make sense of my passion for both punk rock and straight-ahead jazz.

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I'd already been asleep for an hour and a half when Dr. Dog was scheduled to begin performing at 11:45 last night at the Record Bar. Weak, I know...

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Kansas City Click: Tina Turner kicks off her tour tonight at the Sprint Center.

(Amelia publicity photo by Brian Lee.)

Subramaniam- Blossom

Wilted.

I rescued Blossom from a cutout bin a couple decades ago. As with many such impulsive purchases, I immediately regretted it. I was going through a jazz purist phase and not even the presence of my hero Herbie Hancock allowed me to forgive the decidedly commercial tone of the 1981 album led by the Indian violinist. Today, the 1981 album sounds absolutely visionary. It's sample heaven. Guitarist Larry Coryell and pianist George Cables are featured on the title track.

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Maroon 5 fans are unhappy with my review of Friday's show. I did like Counting Crows and Augustana.

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The Sting, starring the late Paul Newman, was my introduction to Scott Joplin.

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Big band vocalist Connie Haines died last week. (Tip via BGO.)

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Don't forget that the "new" Bob Dylan release begins streaming at midnight at NPR.

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Kansas City Click: MGMT opens for Beck tonight at the Uptown.

Bobby Womack-Baby I'm Back

Gone again.

Your long, agonizing wait is over. I'll finally let you in on how I'd vote on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 2009 ballot.

I'd opt for Metallica, Run-D.M.C., the Stooges, War and Bobby Womack. I'd take no pleasure in excluding Jeff Beck, Chic, Wanda Jackson and Little Anthony and the Imperials, but four candidates need to be rejected. I just hope Womack's not one of them. I never understood why he doesn't enjoy equal status with, say, Little Milton and Marvin Gaye. Womack split the difference between the former's sophisticated innovation and the latter's mastery of Southern soul.

Womack's "Across 110th Street" has enjoyed a recent vogue, but either "That's the Way I Feel About 'Cha" or "If You Think You're Lonely Now" is probably the definitive Womack statement. "Harry Hippie" is the song that first introduced me to Womack.

This obscure out-of-print recording documents an early '90s London show.

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Oh no they didn't! That was my initial reaction upon discovering that Buckcherry had appropriated the Dead Kennedys' "Too Drunk..." on their latest hit. I suppose it was inevitable. Besides, I happen to like Buckcherry. (So sue me.)

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Kansas City Click: Spanish folk ensemble La Musgana appears at Unity Temple tonight.

Speaking of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the current incarnations of the Temptations and the Four Tops perform at Starlight on Saturday.

Billy Joe Shaver is scheduled to return to Knuckleheads Sunday.

Muggsy Spanier- At the Jazz Band Ball

The party's over.

I write about jazz at Plastic Sax.

It's a lonely, largely thankless pursuit, but I continue to believe it's a worthy endeavor. And it keeps me thinking about stuff like this:

The majority of the jazz fans here in Kansas City can be grouped into one of two categories. There's the aging white audience for whom Glenn Miller is still the king. This crowd would blissfully sigh at the mere mention of Muggsy Spanier's name.

Then there's the primarily black fans in their 40s, 50s and 60s who came of age to Grover Washington, Jr.'s Mr. Magic and Ramsey Lewis' The In Crowd.

The first group's communal vigilance has kept the scene together for decades. As their numbers dwindle, jazz clubs continue to change formats. For the second crowd, the concept of "jazz" is less rigid. Norman Brown, Earth, Wind & Fire, Najee and Mary J. Blige all have equal merit in this more liberal world view. While I applaud this perspective, it's not going to sell many tickets to a Cecil Taylor concert.

If the economy continues its downturn, the federal funds and the charitable grants that have propped up area jazz series and institutions might disappear. Toss in a rapidly aging fan base, and you have to wonder what's to become of jazz in this town.

Who's going to pay money to see the Count Basie and Tommy Dorsey ghost bands? What will happen to the careers of trad jazz guys like Scott Hamilton? And who's going to buy wonderful Spanier collections like this?

I know there are plenty of local musicians willing to step up. But will there be an audience to support them?

"At the Jazz Band Ball" was recorded in New York 69 years ago. I'd love to be able to say that this timeless music will live forever. But seriously- in another 69 years will anyone want to hear it? Watch this appropriately hazy snippet of Spanier in 1963 as an entire culture evaporates.

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I'm having a hard time believing that it's Bruce Hornsby and not the late Chris Whitley singing on "20/20 Vision" on Charlie Haden's new release. The entire album streams here.

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Kansas City Click: My friend C. would strangle me with his ponytail if I didn't recommend Xavier Rudd's show tonight at the VooDoo Lounge.

Stuart Duncan- Whistlin' Rufus

Stuart Duncan- Whistlin' Rufus (MP3)

Who needs Led Zeppelin?

Robert Plant's decision to tour with Alison Krauss rather than working with a reconstituted Led Zep was validated last night during a thoroughly captivating show at Starlight Theater.

The Raising Sand collaboration is just a tad too polite for me. Thankfully, its sedate and genteel qualities were absent Tuesday. As Robert Plant said, the band- T-Bone Burnett, Buddy Miller, Dennis Crouch, Jay Bellerose and Stuart Duncan- was "smokin'."

The show's best moments were inspired by rock'n'roll. They included the tangible sexual tension on "Black Dog," unbound chaos on Townes Van Zandt's "Nothin'" and Plant's vocal on Benny Spellman's "Fortune Teller."

Plant, of course, is an engaging showman. The night's biggest surprise was Krauss' demeanor. Counting individual sets at '80s and '90s bluegrass festivals, I've seen Krauss over twenty times. She's never been more alluring or- dare I say it, sultry- than she was last night. She was more Stevie Nicks than Bill Monroe.

Here's Tim Finn's review.

Alternating between fiddle and banjo, Stuart Duncan seemed to represent the band's connection to bluegrass and Appalachian music. The traditional "Whistlin' Rufus" is from Duncan's fine 1992 solo album.

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Nappy Brown died September 20. I'm pretty sure I saw him only once. A Black Top Records package tour featuring Brown, Grady Gaines, Snooks Eaglin, Hubert Sumlin and several other greats stopped at the Grand Emporium in the early '90s. I fondly recall Brown's playful leer.

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Kansas City Click: Beppe Gambetta picks at the Mountain Music Shoppe tonight.

Don & Dewey- Jump Awhile

Grounded.

Even though I was never that into Blink-182 (I am quite partial to the Transplants), I was naturally horrified when I learned of Friday's fatal plane crash that seriously injured Travis Barker. The art of rock'n'roll drumming had been on my mind; I'd just received word that Earl Palmer, one of America's most important drummers, had died. Palmer can be heard on essential recordings by Little Richard, Frank Sinatra, Tom Waits, Jimmy Witherspoon, Julie London and Dinah Washington.

He's also the drummer on Richie Valen's "La Bamba" for crying out loud! And it's Palmer that makes Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band's "Express Yourself" one of the funkiest songs of all time.

Palmer worked with Don & Dewey on several of their most famous hits, including "Farmer John" and "The Letter". Those tracks, along with the 1959 instrumental "Jump Awhile" are contained on the absolutely delightful Jungle Hop collection.

Palmer was 83.

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I hate the New York Yankees organization just a little less today. I practically fell off my couch last night when I heard Yankee Stadium's organist play a swinging version of Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite" during ESPN's broadcast of the final home game at the landmark. Hey, Kansas City Royals- I'm reluctant to suggest that you copy the Yankees, but how about replacing John Denver with Bird next season?

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According to this video, a Mac Lethal DVD titled Bald and Beautiful is "coming soon."

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I have no regrets about paying $15 to hear Jim White and the Steel Drivers perform Saturday at the Folly. Even so, it was one of those inconsequential shows that you realize (even as you're enjoying it) is destined to become merely a vague memory in a year or two. Here's Tim Finn's review.

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Kansas City Click: The deliberately messed up noise of This Is My Condition will precede The Dead Science tonight at the Record Bar.

Anthony Crawford- The Noise Around Us

Silenced.

Anthony Crawford has the saddest MySpace page I've ever encountered. It's not like it's been abandoned; someone logged in yesterday. It wouldn't be a big deal if his web site wasn't blank.

Why should you care about Crawford's internet woes? The guitarist is in Neil Young's current touring band. They're playing 24 dates between between tomorrow and December 15, including an election night concert in my town.

By definition- at least in my world- that makes Crawford important. The first few seconds of "The Noise Around Us" could easily be mistaken for a track from Young's Harvest Moon. Crawford's sadly overlooked 1993 album was co-produced by Pete Anderson and Dusty Wakeman.

Visit Crawford's MySpace page if you like what you hear; he could use some friends.

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I've been inside a few Hard Rock locations, but I've never quite grasped the mania so many people have for the establishments. Officials in Kansas City, Kansas, announced today that a combination Hard Rock casino, hotel and nightclub will be built adjacent to the city's racetrack. A quick glance at Hard Rock's music site indicates that their locations present live music only sporadically.

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Kansas City Click: Bobby Watson leads his Live & Learn band tonight at the Blue Room.

I listened to Rapture for the first time in years last night. It still sounds great. Anita Baker will undoubtedly reprise much of that album Saturday night at the Midland by AMC.

The Gem Theater hosts Rich the Factor Sunday. The Kansas City rapper's Bucks Over Fame was supposed to have been released this week, although I'm told that 7th Heaven and Streetside have yet to receive it.

Walter "Wolfman" Washington- Just My Imagination

Imagine it.

Ashford-Simpson. Holland-Dozier-Holland. Whitfield-Strong. Even the names of Motown Record's top songwriting teams seem magical. Norman Whitfield died Tuesday.

Many of Whitfield's songs- including "Ain't Too Proud To Beg," "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone"- are in constant rotation in our culture of aural wallpaper. One of my favorites, Rose Royce's "I Wanna Get Next To You", has been spared from overexposure.

New Orleans blues and soul mainstay Walter "Wolfman" Washington puts a refreshing spin on Whitfield-Strong's "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)." Appropriately, he uses the song to remember Little Willie John, Nat "King" Cole and Louis Armstrong. It's from a reissue of a fine 1981 release.

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Deleting MP3s is the new listening to B-sides.

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I seem to miss out on the fun stuff at 7th Heaven. Sliccs Gotcha raps from the roof on this distorted clip.

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I never thought I could tire of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes," but the 18-month-old hit has been ubiquitous the past couple months.

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Kansas City Click: Ron Block's former bandleader Alison Krauss (along with Robert Plant) will return to Starlight Theater next week. Block picks and grins in the intimate confines of the Mountain Music Shoppe tonight.

Clay: A Review

I've never featured a theatrical production at There Stands the Glass. I'll gladly make an exception for Clay. I caught the "hip hop musical" last weekend at Kansas City's Copaken Stage. After the Kansas City run ends September 28, Clay opens in New York at Lincoln Center's Duke Theater on October 6.

As this is a music blog, I won't rave about the spectacular performance of Matt Sax. I'll only suggest that Clay feels nothing like a one man show.

Familiar songs by Kanye West and Common filled the theater before the lights went down. That's misleading; Clay's actual music content is far different. I suspect the narrative style of The Streets served as the production's creative blueprint. Mike Skinner's "Blinded By the Lights", with its female vocal hooks acting as a Greek chorus, offers a sense of Clay's tone. Eminem's "Stan" might also have served as an inspiration.

I loved everything about Clay save its anti-climatic conclusion. We're led to believe that the protagonist's first single, the song that is destined to propel Clay and his mentor Sir John to stardom, is a radio hit. The song is just not very convincing.

I suggest that Clay's creative team contact Mike Skinner- quick snap!

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Kansas City Click: Tonight's The Beautiful Bodies show at the Beast House sounds like a good time.

Bheki Mseleku, 1955-2008

Farewell.

Bheki Mseleku, one of the most compelling pianists in jazz, died last week. Like fellow South African Abdullah Ibrahim, Mseleku brought new concepts and textures to the music. As his career developed Mseleku became associated with English jazz musicians including Courtney Pine. The saxophonist and several other Englishmen assist Mseleku on Celebration, but "Joy" is propelled by precisely the sort of groove I associate with Marvin "Smitty" Smith, the 1992 date's American drummer.

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Forget my review. You need to see the incredible photos Keith Myers took of Norman Brown and Chante Moore on Saturday night.

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Charlie Walker died Friday. This vintage Walker video will make you smile. (Tip via BGO.)

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Richard Wright of Pink Floyd died today.

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Soul great Marva Whitney posted a blog update over the weekend.

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Kansas City Click: Cut Copy and the Presets will fill the dance floor at the Record Bar tonight.

Two Cow Garage- Your Humble Narrator

Closed book.

Speaking In Cursive, the forthcoming album by Two Cow Garage, is so shockingly good that it's forcing me to reassess the overall health of the alt-country genre.

Between No Depression ceasing print publication and many of the music's best artists following Jeff Tweedy out of the stylistic ghetto, I reckoned the sound was perilously close to receiving a grevious angel's escort to heaven. Yet Speaking In Cursive is no moldy exercise in nostalgia; Two Cow Garage's passionate new songs teem with vitality. I suspect the Ohio band learned a few tricks from the Hold Steady. With the addition of a keyboard player, they now swing as if Guy Clark had hijacked the E Street Band.

Need more? The boys go all helter skelter on a live version of the Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down."

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Thinking of "Galveston"... (I've seen Jimmy Webb perform, but until I uncovered this video, I never realized that his ears are even more enormous than mine.)

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Sakes alive! This tale about partying with Head East is hilarious.

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Kansas City Click: Here's something no other music blogger would write- I'd gladly pay $9.89 to see Puddle of Mudd at the Midland tonight.

Ruben "El Gato Negro" Ramos is Saturday's headliner at Fiesta Hispana.

It's difficult to believe, but Awilo Longomba is supposedly performing Sunday at the Roxy in Overland Park.

(Image from Two Cow Garage's MySpace.)

Irma Thomas- Zero Willpower

Zero sound.

The late career renaissance of Irma Thomas is deeply rewarding for fans of rhythm and blues. Simply Grand, her acclaimed new album, might also provide encouragement to the Marva Whitneys and Ida McBeths of the world. It's possible that their best work may still lie ahead. Thomas' out of print Safe With Me, recorded in 1979, hasn't aged well. This Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham song is probably its best track. Look out for the spoken word bit.

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Forget music- Miles Bonny is a great photographer! The images from his European trip on his blog are incredible. The evocative video for "Miles Gets Open" serves as an excellent primer on Bonny's approach and as a travelogue of downtown Kansas City.

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Am I just resistant to change, or is "Love Lockdown" the worst song of Kanye West's career?

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Kansas City Click: Shawty Lo and an enormous cast of locals- including There Stands the Glass favorite Sliccs Gotcha- are scheduled to appear at Moda Mansion tonight.

New Klezmer Trio- Phrases

Edited out.

My pal BGO suggested that I feature outstanding clarinetist Anat Cohen here at There Stands the Glass. Her intriguing new album was released yesterday. Instead, here's an experimental clarinet showcase by New Klezmer Trio from an obscure collection that also features John Zorn's Masada and the Klezmatics. It's listed for sale here. Fifteen years later, clarinetist Ben Goldberg is an associate of Tin Hat. He makes a racket in this skronky video.

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It's been a full year since I last pledged allegiance to The Driftwood Singers. My favorite music bloggers recently wrote about their cosmic encounters in Room #8.

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The Popper has a basic but captivating video for "It's Like That." It's pure Kansas City.

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Kansas City Click: The Garrett Nordstrom Situation provide the soundtrack at JP Wine Bar tonight.

Adullesence- Something Real

No more reality.

Is Topeka the next hip hop hot spot? I raved about the Kansas capital's Stik Figa three months ago. Now it's Adullesence's turn. "Something Real," one of the tracks on his free download, opens with a deep breath and is anchored by a vintage soul sample. It deserves an audience beyond the state of Kansas. Stik Figa and Adullesence also collaborate under The Only Ones banner.

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I reviewed last night's Motorhead, Misfits and Valient Thorr concert.

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I caught John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers at Knuckleheads on Friday night.

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Kansas City rapper James Christos created a credible video for "Higher (Opus 13)."

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A Grand Don't Come For Free was my favorite album of 2004 but the Streets' subsequent output has disappointed me. I have high hopes for the new release based on the free (tagged) download of "The Escapist" from Vice. The video is almost perfect.

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Harry Dean Stanton plays the role of an obsessive Bob Dylan bootlegger in a new video for Dylan's "Dreamin' of You."

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Kansas City Click: Baltimore's Wye Oak strum at the Record Bar tonight. They're joined by The Expassionates.

(Image from Adullesence's MySpace.)

Chris Connor- Kansas City

No more Kansas City wine.

I usually cringe at every rendition of Leiber and Stoller's "Kansas City." I hear it so often that it's just completely played out for me. The impossibly bright voice of hometown girl Chris Connor, however, adds a refreshing twist to the standard. It doesn't hurt that her accompanyists include Oliver Nelson, Joe Newman and Phil Woods. The 1962 session is included on this outstanding compilation. The eighty-year-old is still among us. Here's live footage from 1995.

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I once harbored a schoolboy crush on the waifish "Ways To Be Wicked"-era Maria McKee. And there's no denying the beauty and commercial instincts of Faith Hill. Last night Sarah Buxton found the sweet spot between the two artists at her enchantingly carefree performance on the Power & Light stage. A photo I took doesn't begin to capture Buxton's charm.

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Kansas City Click: Excellent jazz guitarist Mike Moreno performs at Jardine's tonight.

The Crossroads Music Festival is Saturday.

The VooDoo Lounge offers the dream bill of Motorhead, the Misfits and Airbourne on Sunday.