B.B. King, 1925-2015

The first B.B. King concert I attended altered the way I perceive culture and society.

My date and I were among the only white people in the balcony of the Uptown Theater in 1979 (people under the age of 18 weren’t allowed on the floor at the time). 

The demonstrative audience- they preferred co-headliner Bobby Bland to King- showed me how to become completely immersed in the music.  Nothing was the same for me after that night.

I noticed the changing complexion of King’s audience each time I saw him perform.  The transition seemed to have been fully realized at the final King show I attended.  The great man served as an opening act for Peter Frampton at a sad 2013 concert at the Muriel Kauffman Theatre.

The giant of American music died last week.


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I reviewed a concert by Samantha Fish and Katy Guillen and the Girls.

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I contributed a Local Listen segment about Behzod Abduraimov to KCUR.

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The Numero Group has issued a 1969 recording by the Kansas City band White Eyes. RIYL: Crosby Stills & Nash, psychedelics, Richie Furay.  Here’s an 81-second video promoting the find.

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Heidi Lynne Gluck’s The Only Girl in the Room is impressive.  RIYL: Jenny Lewis, winsomeness, M. Ward.

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Teddy Dibble shares a handful of avant-garde jazz albums from his collection.

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Bernard Sollman of ESP-Disk has died.

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I’m not ready to proclaim as Chris Stapleton as the best thing since Dolly Parton’s wig, but Traveller is pretty great.  RIYL: Waylon, the Sturgill Simpson of 2015, Willie.

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I’ve been born again.  The Supreme Jubilees’ recently reissued album “It’ll All Be Over” is that powerful.  Here’s the title track.

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A version of  ”True Trans Soul Rebel” featuring Laura Jane Grace and Miley Cyrus is kind of weak, but it makes me smile anyway.

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John Patitucci’s Brooklyn is surprisingly hip.  RIYL: Lionel Loueke, international cocktail jazz for 2015, Steve Cardenas.

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The world didn’t need Stone Sour’s Meanwhile In Burbank… but I’m glad the covers EP exists.  

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As far as I can tell, I’m the only person on the planet who’s heard Juneteenth, Stanley Cowell’s excellent new solo piano album.

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I listened to media sensation Joey Alexander’s debut album.  It’s fine.  The problem with the cycle of hype associated with jazz prodigies, of course, is that most are discarded when they hit their mid-twenties.  There’s no denying that the visual element is very compelling.

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Portions of Pops Staples’ posthumous Don’t Lose This are magnificent.

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I’d rather think about Zac Brown Band’s dabblings in EDM and heavy metal than listen to  Jeckyll + Hyde a second time.  ”Heavy Is the Head” is my favorite track.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Surface Noise at Ink's Middle of the Map Fest

I don't share the musical sensibilities of the organizers of Ink's Middle of the Map Fest.  That doesn't mean that I couldn't find plenty to enjoy last weekend.  I caught at least two sets at each of the event's six stages in the 17 hours I logged at the festival.  All of my favorite performances, however, took place at the Riot Room.  Here's the top five:

• Wolf Eyes- searing noise
• Reggie and the Full Effect- a glorious mess
• Bummer- Olathe grunge
• Shabazz Palaces- interstellar hip-hop
• Josh Berwanger Band- Kansas power-pop

Some of my commentary is incorporated into reports here and here.


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Your Friend's session for KJHK at the KU Natural History Museum is impressive. 

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I ponder Mike Dillon's Band of Outsiders at Plastic Sax.

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Wayne Henderson of the Jazz Crusaders has died.

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Atmosphere's "Kanye West" is a bit disappointing.

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The European piano trio Phronesis is doing interesting things.

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Dave Koz's rendition of the "Game of Thrones" theme has gone viral.

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B.B. King's performances continue to deteriorate.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image of James Dewees by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Julian Waterfall Pollack Trio- Waves of Albion

For a guy who claims to have had his fill of piano trios, I'm spending a lot of time listening to the format in 2013.  The passing of Cedar Walton served as a bittersweet excuse to dig out a few of the pianist's recordings from the Museum of Dead People located in my dusty basement.  Hearing Walton work with David Williams and Billy Higgins on the sublime Manhattan Afternoon soothed my troubled soul. 

Walton's lyrical work helped me gain an even deeper appreciation of Waves of Albion, the excellent new album by Julian Waterfall Pollack.  Pollack and his colleagues don't attempt to replicate the work of Walton, Williams and Higgins.  Instead, they work in the entirely different conception associated with Brad Mehldau and Esbjörn Svensson. 

With Waves of Albion, Pollack contributes something new to the stylish sound of the new millennium.  A sense of deep spirituality pervades the album.  Elegiac versions of "Amazing Grace" and "Shenendoah" serve as its emotional core.  Jazz pianists including Duke Ellington and Mary Lou Williams have explored sacred music.   Yet to my knowledge, Pollack is the first of the new wave of pianists to explore religious themes. 

While the title of "I Don't Believe In Love Anymore" indicates that Pollack had other things on his mind as he composed the mournful piece, I hear it as a spiritual elegy.  Even a cover of Bon Iver's "Flume" sounds like a devotional exploration.  As with the recordings of Mehldau and Svensson, the sound field of Waves of Albion places each musician on equal footing.  Bassist Noah Garabedian propels each selection with no less force than Pollack or drummer Evan Hughes. 

How sweet the sound, indeed.


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I reviewed a concert featuring Peter Frampton, B.B. King, Sonny Landreth and Davy Knowles.

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Pianist Marian McPartland has died.

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Albert Murray has died.

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Allen Lanier of Blue Oyster Cult has died.

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"Scars" is the latest video from Krizz Kaliko.

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Here's an EPK for Samantha Fish's Black Wind Howlin' album.

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I've only listened to Earl Sweatshirt's Doris twice.  It's going to take time to decide if the dense album is a classic, a disjointed mess or merely an interesting experiment.  RIYL: Bob Dylan, OFWGKTA, The Chronic.

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Derrick Hodges' disappointing Live Today sounds more like a resume than a proper album.  RIYL: Robert Glasper, Stevie Wonder, Stanley Clarke. 

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King Krule's "Easy Easy" picks up where the Jam and the Arctic Monkeys left off.  (Tip via S.S.)

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Jashwha Moses' fine roots-rock-reggae album No War On Earth is RIYL: Burning Spear, Black Uhuru, Augustus Pablo.

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Diarrhea Planet's I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams is a shockingly great.  RIYL: Green Day, Tame Impala, Fidlar.

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My friend at The Daily Record turned me on to Terrace Martin's 3ChordFold. Guests include Kendrick Lamar, Robert Glasper and Snoop Dogg.  The lush production is recommended to fans of those artists.

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Gosh!  Bakersfield, the 2013 album by Vince Gill and Paul Franklin, contains worlds of fun.  RIYL: Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Chris Hillman.

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Volto!'s Incitare is a solid jazz fusion album.  RIYL: Tool, instrument shops, Billy Cobham.

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A recent interview with Orrin Keepnews about the early days of Riverside Records is pretty great.

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Minimal research alert. Good Vibrations appears to be a movie about the Undertones, the troubles in Ireland and a music retailer.

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What a huge week for exciting new releases!  The list includes A$AP Ferg, Belle & Sebastian, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys, Stefano Bollani and Hamilton de Holanda, Crocodiles, Devildriver, Diarrhea Planet, Bob Dylan's Another Self Portrait (1969-1971): The Bootleg Series Vol. 10, Earl Sweatshirt's Doris, Tim Easton, Robbie Fulks, Philip Glass, the Greencards, Juicy J, Krizz Kaliko's Son of Sam, King Krule, Black Joe Lewis, No Age, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ty Segall and Superchunk.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)