To paraphrase Waylon Jennings’ 1977 hit, I was raised on Hank Williams' pain songs, Mickey Newberry's train songs and “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” Willie Nelson has been a more integral part of my life than any other musician. He and I have both changed considerably through the decades. During renditions of “Nuages” and “Funny How Time Slips Away” on Wednesday, the icon and I might have been the only people at Starlight Theatre who believed they were at a jazz concert. Nelson’s vocal phrasing and guitar technique were squarely in the tradition of Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt and Billie Holiday. I realize it sounds odd, but Nelson is one of my favorite jazz artists.
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I named the Sextet KCUR’s Band of the Week.
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I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.
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El Factor, Rich the Factor’s third album of 2017, further confirms what I tell anyone willing to listen to my ranting- the rapper is Kansas City’s most consequential musician.
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Blues man CeDell Davis has died.
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If I were to host a formal cocktail party, I’d make Dee Dee Bridgewater’s covers collection Memphis… Yes, I’m Ready a central part of the playlist. RIYL: Otis Redding, sophisticated soul, Ann Peebles.
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Our Point of View, a new release by an ensemble appropriately billed as the Blue Note Records All-Stars, is much more than a generic jam session. RIYL: Ambrose Akinmusire, up-to-the-minute jazz, Robert Glasper. Here’s ”Second Light”.
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Considering he’s imprisoned, Kevin Gates’ By Any Means 2 is more than adequate. Here’s “Why I”.
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Sweet Pea Atkinson’s Get What You Deserve is at the center of my wheelhouse. RIYL: Bobby “Blue Bland, self-aware soul, Bobby Womack.
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Ladilikan, a collaboration between the Kronos Quartet and Trio Da Kali, is a few notches too delicate for me.
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The chitlin-circuit soul of Ms. Jody’s Thunder Under Yonder brings me so much joy that I forgive her for conflating Spanglish and Jamaican patois on a goofy interpretation of “Stir It Up.”
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Jonas Kaufmann is transcendent on L’Opéra.
(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)
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