I'm Not the Player of the Year

Although a poster of Bootsy Collins has watched over me for years, I haven't seen a performance by the funk giant in eons.  A few hours before I intended to drive to Collins' concert on Saturday, I peeked at Ticketmaster to confirm the schedule.  Only then did I notice that the casino event was a seated show.  Left with a choice of spending $75 to be tethered to a chair or spending $50 to stand in the back recess of the room, I opted to save my money.  I'm still pouting.  Here's Joel Francis' review.


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I reviewed a Burt Bacharach concert.

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I contributed a Local Listen feature on Kasey Rausch to KCUR.

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Here's the video for Ces Cru's "Double OT".

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Jimmy Ruffin has died.

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The Oliver Lake Organ Quartet's What I Heard is excellent.  RIYL: Charles Gayle, genius, John Patton.

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Beyoncé wins. Again.

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The Last Southern Gentlemen, a new recording led by Delfeayo Marsalis is lovely.  RIYL: Al Grey, sophisticated swing, Vic Dickenson.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Keyshia Cole- Point of No Return

I like it when Keyshia Cole gets angry.  She's furious on Point of No Return, a dark song cycle in the tradition of Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear.  I admire the album so much that I've even talked myself into liking features by three of 2014's most annoying rappers.  Future's profane rap on the despairing "Love Letter" provides context.  Cole punks an unwitting 2 Chainz on "N.L.U.".  Juicy J helps Cole pull of the ridiculous "Rick James".  I won't argue if There Stands the Glass readers suggest that Point of No Return is a second-rate imitation of Beyoncé's self-titled 2013 release.  It's still my jam.


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I reviewed a concert by Black Veil Brides, Falling in Reverse, Set It Off and Drama Club.

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I reviewed a concert by Hunter Hayes.

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I contributed a Local Listen segment on Gene Clark to KCUR.

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The Architects are "Out of the Woods".

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Molly McGuire has released a new album.

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Kyle James made a video for "This Is Love".

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A recent performance of "Heliophonie," a new composition by Dwight Frizzell & Thomas Aber, was documented for posterity.

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Big Bank Hank of the Sugarhill Gang has died.

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I'm mildly disappointed by Dave Hollister's Chicago Winds… The Saga Continues.  RIYL: R. Kelly, grown-and-sexy music, Johnny Gill.  Here's "Spend the Night".

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Jeff Coffin & the Mu'tet's Side Up is RIYL: Lenny Pickett, jazz with humor, Steve Turre.

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St. Vincent gets Sound Advice.

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Frank Catalano's Love Supreme Collective is RIYL: John Coltrane, the right kind of tribute album, Pharaoh Sanders.

(Original image of D.I.A. by There Stands the Glass.)

Darn That Dream

I wandered into a packed coffeehouse in the shadow of Oregon's capitol building last Thursday.  For a few intoxicating minutes, I thought I'd stumbled across a vibrant jazz scene.   A student big band from a nearby university had just played and I was convinced that the jovial crowd was primed to hear a professional band play a headlining set.

The low turnout in Kansas City for the one of the most celebrated artists in jazz was still fresh in my mind.  Although he's pictured on the cover of the current issue of Downbeat, was featured in a 6-minute segment on NPR the previous day and was spotlighted in The Star's jazz column, Miguel Zenón attracted just a few dozen people to the Blue Room last Monday.  (Here are my notes.)

Yet Salem turned out in equal numbers for a superb regional ensemble.  Alas, half the audience fled after 15 minutes of this.  Ten people remained after 30 minutes.  The deliberate evacuation was one of the most discouraging refutations of jazz I've witnessed.


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I featured Sara Swenson on KCUR's Local Listen segment.

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Making Movies appear in a Tiny Desk Concert.

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Manitas de Plata has died.

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Call me a Maggot.  Slipknot's Slipknot- .5: The Gray Chapter rings true to me.  RIYL: rage, Slayer, frustration.

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Cat Stevens is the comeback artist of the year.

(Original image of the Salem jazz debacle by There Stands the Glass.)

It's the Talk of the Town

My traveling companions nixed my plan to catch Bob Dylan's concert in Denver on Saturday night.  One associate had seen him three times.  That was plenty for her.  Another had attended a Dylan performance as a child but was aware of his dubious reputation as an entertainer.  A glutton for punishment, I can't get enough of Bobby. 

As Dylan played elsewhere, I found myself at a David Sedaris reading at Macky Auditorium on the campus of the University of Colorado.  I was astounded that over 2,000 people paid $40 and $50 to hear an author read.  I laughed a lot during the show, but never as heartily as when fans triumphantly raised their arms in the air when the presentation began. 

The reading was a revelation for this music-centric scribe.  I finally located the missing audience for the likes of the Kronos Quartet, Ambrose Akinmusire and Mary Gauthier.


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I contributed a Local Listen segment about White Girls to KCUR's Up to Date.

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Mr. Acker Bilk has died.

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Wayne Static of Static X has died.

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Here's T-Pain's viral Tiny Desk Concert.

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Run the Jewels 2 is about as imaginative as its title.  I expect more from two of the smartest men in hip-hop.  RIYL: 2 Live Crew, songs about genitals, UGK.

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I can deal with the passing sirens on "Improvisation No. 3," but I wish Branford Marsalis' otherwise sublime solo recording In My Solitude: Live at Grace Cathedral didn't include vibe-killing bursts of applause.  RIYL: echo, John Coltrane, reverb.

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The Stanley Clarke Band's new album leans towards the cheesiest versions of Return to Forever and Weather Report.

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Here's a video trailer for a new set of Trip Shakespeare reissues.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)