Good Timing

Rolex watches don’t tempt me.  I’ve never even touched one of the expensive status symbols.  And while I haven’t been inside one of the luxury cars, I’m sure top-of-the-line Mercedes sedans merit their price tags.  I have the same sort of conflicted feelings about RoundAgain, the new album by the reunited quartet of saxophonist Joshua Redman, pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade.  I was initially floored by the shimmering summit of four of the world’s best musicians.  Yet I grew increasingly irritated by the quartet’s relentless perfection with each subsequent listen.  Is there such a thing as being too good?  Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard, the second most notable acoustic jazz album released July 10, is far from flawless.  The sound is surprisingly sketchy for a Blue Note Records release, and the quintet of pianist and bandleader Gerald Clayton, saxophonists Logan Richardson and Walter Smith III, bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Marcus Gilmore occasionally flirts with chaos.  While it’s clearly inferior, I find the slightly derelict Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard more interesting than the crystalline RoundAgain.  Then again, I wear a $50 watch and prefer Fords to Ferraris.


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The latest diary entry essay at Plastic Sax addresses the reevaluation of my priorities during the pandemic.

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Opera update: I eagerly devoured all four hours of last night’s free stream of Richard Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde.”  The tally currently stands at 113 operas in 113 days.

(Original image of the primary clock at Grand Central Station by There Stands the Glass.)

June 2020 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

The absence of Ambrose Akinmusire, Armand Hammer, Hum, Norah Jones, Ingrid Laubrock/Kris Davis, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Sara Serpa, Teyana Taylor, Kahil El’Zabar and 6lack on the following lists reflects the crushing avalanche of outstanding music released in the past four weeks.

Top Five Albums
1. Moor Mother and Nicole Mitchell- Offering
My review.
2. Brad Mehldau- Suite: April 2020
Quarantine-era solo piano from the modern-day Gershwin.
3. Bob Dylan- Rough and Rowdy Ways
God might smite me if I failed to recognize the prophet.
4. Bobby Watson- Keepin’ It Real
My review.
5. Run the Jewels- RTJ4
A timely torrent of rage.

Top Five Songs
1. Beyoncé- “Black Parade”
Ankh charm.
2. City Girls- “Jobs”
I won’t apologize.
3. Megan Thee Stallion- “Girls in the Hood”
Another hot girl summer.
4. John Legend featuring Rapsody- “Remember Us”
Hot buttered corn.
5. John Prine- “I Remember Everything”
Tears.

Top Five Livestreams
1. Alicia Keys and John Legend- Verzuz battle
2. Bang on a Can Marathon- Iva Bittová, Roscoe Mitchell, Terry Riley, etc.
3. A Night For Austin- James Taylor, Alejandro Escovedo, Bonnie Raitt, etc.
4. Roots Picnic- Roddy Ricch, Lil Baby, Black Thought, etc.
5. Kandace Springs- Blue Note at Home

I conducted the same exercise in May, April, March, February and January.

(Screenshot of Alice Coote in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Hansel and Gretel by There Stands the Glass.)

It Ain’t Over 'til the (Talented) Lady (Stops) Sing(ing)

Even after finally managing to cross attending a performance at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center off my bucket list in January of 2019, I never could bring myself to pony up $25 to watch recorded versions of the institution’s new opera productions at a nearby movie theater.  Not only are the tickets expensive, I’m constitutionally incapable of sitting still as images flicker across a screen.

I finally know what I’ve been missing.  The Metropolitan Opera offers a different free video stream of its cinematic productions every 24 hours during the ongoing lockdown.  (Donations are requested.)  Indulging in the benevolent gesture changed the tone of my quarantine. 

I could only afford a ticket in the nethermost tier of the Metropolitan Opera House to take in the double bill of “Iolanta” and “Bluebeard’s Castle” in New York City last year.  The filmed versions place the viewer in the front row and behind the scenes during set changes and between each act.  I was especially grateful for the clear vantage points that allowed me to admire Anna Netrebko in her starring role as Norina in a 2010 production of “Don Pasquale” on Saturday.

Now that I’ve learned how to insulate my laptop in ice packs to prevent overheating during the lengthy, data-heavy performances, I know I’ll be able to watch all of “Boris Godunov” tonight, and more importantly, Netrebko’s 2019 star turn in “Adriana Lecouvreur” on Saturday.


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It’s not all opera and ambient noise in my retreat.  I list my ten favorite jazz albums of 2020 (so far) at Plastic Sax.

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Apropos of nothing, here’s a reminder of Brad Mehldau’s brilliance.

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Nostalgic fans of gentle folk-rock of 1970s artists like Christine McVie, Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake will be beside themselves when they catch up with Laura Marling’s exceedingly lovely Song For Our Daughter. 

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Dream team!  Kevin Parker and Mike Skinner combine forces on “Call My Phone Thinking I’m Doing Nothing Better”.

(Original image of Anna Netrebko on my television by There Stands the Glass.)

I'm KC

My latest audio feature for KCUR aired this morning.  I enjoyed my hangs with Walter Edwin, aka The Popper.  The segment lives online here.


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I reviewed James Taylor’s concert at the Sprint Center for The Kansas City Star.

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I also reviewed Jimmy Buffett’s concert at the Sprint Center for The Kansas City Star.  Opening act Caroline Jones was a revelation.  Her overproduced new album is almost unlistenable, but her solo renditions of songs like “Old Blue” charmed me on Saturday.

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I reviewed Harold O’Neal’s Piano Cinema at Plastic Sax.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I previewed Greta Van Fleet’s appearance at the Middle of the Map festival.

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Reggie Lucas has died. (Via BGO.)

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I woke up three hours earlier than usual today because I was so eager to hear Pusha T’s Daytona.  Kanye West’s production is stupendous.

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Old-boy networks can be good things.  Don Was, the current top dog at Blue Note Records, signed his old Was (Not Was) bandmate Dave McMurray.  Music Is Life is an old-school instrumental party album.  RIYL: Maceo Parker, Detroit, Lou Donaldson.

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The Brad Mehldau Trio is a victim of its own success.  If Seymour Reads the Constitution doesn’t sound revolutionary, it’s only because so many imitators have made the trio’s attack seem commonplace.  It’s not.

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What sorcery is this? Elina Duni’s magical Partir is unlike anything I’ve encountered.  RIYL: June Tabor, Albania, Márta Sebestyén.

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I don't hear what everyone else claims to hear in Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour.  Post-Christine McVie pop doesn’t appeal to me.  Musgraves’ new songs remind me of the formulaic music I hear during my periodic digs through the closeout racks at Macy’s.

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I hadn’t encountered the striking music video for “Ndogal,” a track from Cheikh Lô’s 1995 album Ne La Thiass, until World Circuit uploaded it this week.

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Iceage’s Beyondless is a mess- and I like it.  Strings, horns and other unlikely embellishments complement the slurred vocals of Elias Bender Rønnenfelt on the Danish band’s strung-out fourth album.  RIYL: The Saints, hitting rock bottom, Nick Cave.

(Original image of The Popper by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Brad Mehldau- After Bach

Brad Mehldau is the Keith Jarrett of his generation.  Much as Jarrett hoodwinked admirers into listening to extended freeform piano improvisations in the 1970s, Mehldau’s iconoclastic approach has transformed the perception of jazz piano in the new millennium.  I’m selectively sipping the Kool-Aid.  I loathed the project Mehldau and Chris Thile released last year.  Even though I suspect I’m being duped, the new album After Bach transfixes me.  Here’s “After Bach: Rondo”.


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I extolled Joyce DiDonato in my weekly feature for KCUR.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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Here’s a reminder that I maintain the comprehensive Kansas City Jazz Calendar.

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Craig Mack has died.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

I Am a Small Axe

Managers at an area tavern invite luminaries to spin records at their establishment.  I considered angling for an engagement until I attended one of the functions.  The volume was absurdly low and I seemed to be the sole patron who was listening.  Even so, I recently created a playlist that’s heavy on groove-based jazz, funk, Latin boogaloo, vintage R&B and neo-soul that I might someday employ in a different setting.  In other words, my mix sounds a lot like a compilation of the music of David Axelrod.  The multi-dimensional artist died on February 5.


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I reviewed a concert by Datsik, Crizzy and Virtual Riot.

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I wrote extended concert previews about Chief Keef and Gaelynn Lea for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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I reviewed Matt Otto’s latest album at Plastic Sax.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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The Menzingers’ After the Party isn’t for me, but many of my pals will fully embrace the strong album.  RIYL: the Hold Steady, balding punks, the Get Up Kids.  Here’s ”Lookers”.

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The self-titled duet album by Brad Mehldau and Chris Thile is insufferably precious.  RIYL: fake folk, Yo-Yo Ma, grad school.

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Ballrogg’s Abaft the Beam is RIYL Elliott Carter, “free chamber Americana,” B.J. Cole.  Here’s ”Block and Tackle”.

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My high hopes for Nate Smith’s Kinfolk have been doused.  RIYL: Laura Nyro, limpid neo-soul, Lizz Wright.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

In My Solitude

One of the most satisfying things about being an obsessive music consumer in the age of on-demand entertainment is that every Friday feels like Christmas.  I scour the recommendations of Spotify’s bots, listings at online retailers, emails from record labels and the social media discourse of my friends as I drink my first cup of coffee on Friday mornings. 

Yet plenty of things of interest to me inevitably fall through the cracks.  I’m repeatedly shocked and disappointed when “important” titles by “major” artists are almost completely ignored by the official and unofficial gatekeepers. 

I accidentally stumbled across Nearness, the new duet album by Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau, three days after its release.  The saxophonist and pianist- two of the most prominent living jazz artists under 50- are in top form on the live recording.  The 16-minute reading of ”The Nearness of You” is sublime.

The Guardian, The Financial Times and The Wall Street are the only outlets that have bothered to post reviews of the project.  Times are tough for all 13,065 fans of contemporary improvised music and even harder for the 21,872 musicians who practice the form.


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My three favorite acts at the Crossroads Music Fest were Stephonne Singleton, the Mitch Towne Trio and Julian Davis & the Hayburners.  My capsule reviews are here.

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I chatted about Dan Thomas on KCUR last week.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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I reviewed the Jorge Arana Trio’s Mammoth at Plastic Sax.

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Bud Isaacs, steel guitarist to the stars, has died.  (Tip via BGO.)

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Prince Buster has died.  (Tip via BGO.)

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The contents of Young Thug’s Jeffery aren’t as provocative as the album cover, but it’s still plenty of fun.  RIYL: Future, mild disappointments, Rich Homie Quan.  Here’s the mind-boggling ”Kanye West”.

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Lydia Loveless’s Real is RIYL: Neko Case, me too-ism, Gretchen Wilson.  Here’s ”Longer”.

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Don’t believe the hype.  The Beatles’ Live at Hollywood Bowl is still unlistenable.

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Shirley Collins is back.

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Eric Bellinger’s Eric B for President: Term One is filled with empty calories and even emptier promises.  RIYL: Usher, amorous R&B, Chris Brown.

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Oh, for Pete’s sake.  Catherine Russell’s old-school Harlem On My Mind charmed me in spite of my predilections.  RIYL: Alberta Hunter, the era in which jazz was popular music, Ernestine Anderson.

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Jeremih’s Late Nights: Europe is filled with nasty sex songs, but ”Dubai” is my jam.

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M.I.A.’s AIM is ridiculously entertaining and entertainingly ridiculous.

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Nathan Bowles’s excellent Whole & Cloven is RIYL: John Fahey, old sounds made new, Glenn Jones.

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In a perfect world, the Banks & Steelz collaboration wouldn’t be an unusual.  Anything But Words is RIYL: Run-D..M.C./Aerosmith, Beastie Boys/Rick Rubin, Public Enemy/Anthrax.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Fishbone at Crossroads KC

I attended my first Fishbone concert at the Outhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, on November 1, 1986.  During the influential band’s free show at Crossroads KC last night, I realized that I’d changed a lot more than Fishbone in the last 30 years.  Older but not wiser, Fishbone remains gloriously raw.  Partly because I had yet to absorb Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain, I felt as if I’d been transported to a different planet at the 1986 show.  On Thursday, I couldn’t stop analyzing song structures. I recall ducking for cover as Angelo Moore swung from the wiring on the ceiling of the Outhouse.  As the front man showed off with cartwheels and roundhouse kicks last night, I evaluated the troubling new ache in my right ankle.


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I reviewed a concert by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

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I wrote an extended preview of A$AP Ferg's return to the Midland.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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Fishbone, Montgomery Gentry and KT Tunstall headlined free concerts in the Kansas City area last night.  The perpetually beleaguered owners of live music venues have it rough.

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The Kansas City garage rock band Psychic Heat released a video for ”Elixir”.

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Steve Gunn’s Eyes On the Lines is RIYL Richard Thompson, indie-rock guitar heroes, Television.  ”Ancient Jules” is pretty great.

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The Brad Mehldau Trio reminds listeners that it can play mainstream jazz with exquisite nuance on Blues and Ballads.  RIYL: the Bill Evans Trio, beauty, Ahmad Jamal Trio.  Here’s ”Little Person”.

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Peter Bjorn and John’s Breakin’ Point is RIYL Paul McCartney, unadulterated pop circa 1975, Paul Carrack.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

All the Young Punks

I've yet to tell Steve Pick that he was once one of my heroes.

Soon after I became obsessed with bands like the Sex Pistols, the Specials, the Buzzcocks and most significantly, the Clash, I encountered Jet Lag at a record store.  With internet and cable still in the future and with mainstream media yet to acknowledge the underground, the commentary in the St. Louis-based fanzine served as a treasure map that led me to new sounds.

Pick recalls this era in a new interview.

"In those days, you could be beaten up, attacked, because you liked the Sex Pistols or the Clash or Elvis Costello. If you weren't beaten up or attacked, you would be threatened, or called a 'fag.' It was that dramatic." 

It's true.  I endured many beatdowns in high school that were ostensibly based on a skinny tie or PiL t-shirt.  I never disavowed my allegiance to the locker room staples of Led Zeppelin and Van Halen but my open affection for "new wave" was a punishable offense.  My love of Michael Jackson, Lakeside and Donna Summer further antagonized my adversaries. 

My taste in music has since diverged with Steve's, but this post serves as a belated acknowledgment of his influence during my formative years.


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My notes on Saturday's outing by the Brad Mehldau Trio are at Plastic Sax.

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The Kansas City Business Journal reports on the unlikely transformation of El Torreon.

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Live and B Sides is the latest release by Quiet Corral.

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Forgive the blasphemy: Caetano Veloso sounds as if he's following rather than leading on Abracaco.  RIYL: failed experiments, St. Vincent, geniuses living in the moment. 

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Balani Show Super Hits: Electronic Street Parties from Mali is astounding.  RIYL: Oumou Sangare, surprises, M.I.A..  (Tip via Big Steve.)

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Unreleased Led Zeppelin to the rescue.  (Of course I'm excited.)

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Ana Tijoux's Vengo disappointed me.  RIYL: Dessa, blandness, Ozomatli.

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Even though I'm a proud member of the ol' Chevrolet set, I'm charmed by Sabina's jet-setting Toujours.  RIYL: Nico, passports, Rufus Wainwright.

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Jello Biafra is featured in an episode of "Cratediggers".  I hadn't realized that he's an obsessive music nerd. (My brother!)

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Future's "I Won" is gross.

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Homeboy Sandman raps about vegetarian food on "Fat Belly".  I've given his sketchy project White Sands repeated listens, an indication that 2014 is shaping up as a terrible year for hip-hop.

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Reunited and it feels so good: Dave and Phil Alvin.

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Kelis' Food will be released tomorrow.  It's my most highly anticipated album of 2014.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana- Taming the Dragon

In the recollection of a dream that opens Taming the Dragon, a man is characterized as "a cross between Joe Walsh and Dennis Hopper."

In that spirit, I'll suggest that the collaboration between Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana is a cross between Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters and Tangerine Dream's Rubycon.

The collage of synths and percussion is less a response to EDM than an homage to the synth pioneers of the 1970s.   Taming the Dragon is a nice companion piece to Daft Punk's Random Access Memories.

Folks in nearby Atchison should note that one noodly track is titled "Elegy for Amelia E."  "The Dreamer" goes nowhere fast but I love the casual funk of "Sassysassed Sassafrass." A live version of "Hungry Ghost" is illuminating.   I understand why many Mehldau devotees are disappointed by the recording, but I like it.   

Taming the Dragon is a decidedly minor album by one of our time's most important musicians.


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I reviewed Thursday's concert by 2 Chainz, Pusha T and August Alsino.  Here's my analysis of Friday's performances by Black Joe Lewis and Pickwick.

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The Missouri Arts Council recently recognized There Stands the Glass and Plastic Sax.

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"Keep Me in the Dark" is the latest video from the Noise FM.

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Paco de Lucia has died.  A lot of people I knew played Friday Night in San Francisco constantly in 1981-82.

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The audio of Leonard Feather's legendary blindfold tests are available as free downloads.  (Incredible tip via Big Steve.)

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The lineup of Moogfest 2014 is amazing.

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I continue to root for Lisa Marie Presley, but the tone of her promotional material is all wrong.

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I'm calling it right now- this is the single worst pop hit of all time.  Watch and listen at your own risk. 

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It turns out that I liked the idea of Neneh Cherry's first proper solo album in 16 years more than the album itself.  Blank Project isn't nearly as good as her 2012 jazz-based album with the Thing.  RIYL: Portishead, feeling underwhelmed, Robyn.

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Amerigo Gazaway created a "conceptual collaboration" between Marvin Gaye and Mos Def.  RIYL:

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Paul Cebar- Fine Rude Thing

Albums like Fine Rude Thing, the new release by Milwaukee's Paul Cebar, provided the primary soundtrack of my mid-20s.  Cebar's sound is rooted in a divine combination of Creedence, Otis Redding and the Faces.  When my life started getting complicated, however, my taste for party-oriented roots music diminished.  It's a drag- Fine Rude Thing is a good time.  Perhaps I'll add regaining an undiluted enjoyment of cheerful bar bands to my list of long-term goals. 


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I reviewed a concert by Kenny G and the Kansas City Symphony at Helzberg Hall on Friday.

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From my friend Chris Doolittle: I don't know if you remember Symetrix from the late 80's and early 90's but a friend of mine, Eason Pritchard, is an old high school friend and the band's leader. His drummer and friend, Jerry Bayton, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer… Eason asked me to help him finish these few songs he has been working on for a couple of years before Jerry left for treatment in New York earlier this month. This mission was accomplished. Now I am trying to spread the good word to all and especially my music friends about this release as all proceeds go to Jerry's treatment. There are only 3 songs and I play lead on the first two.

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Making Movies made a video for "Pendulum Swing."

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Kansas City pianist Mark Lowrey filmed a performance of a new composition.

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A video was made for D/Will's "Pure."

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My favorite album of the first three weeks of 2014 is the self-titled outing by the supergroup De La Tierra. RIYL: Sepultura, metal en Español, Deftones.

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NPR's coverage of GlobalFest is impressive.  And why didn't any of you jerks tell me about Brushy One-String?

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Fusion lives!  "Just Call Me Nige" is a track from Mehliana, a collaboration between Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana.

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A new album by Neneh Cherry will be released next month.  The advance track "Everything" is RIYL: Four Tet, the future, Dessa.

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I hadn't realized that Anthony Braxton was (the best kind) of hippie until I heard his fascinating speech at the 2014 NEA Jazz Masters Concert.  Braxton's segment begins a bit before the one-hour-17-minute mark here.

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I'm a Rick Rubin fanboy, but I have to call him out for whatever role he played in spoiling Jennifer Nettles' That Girl.  The new album might have been as impressive as Gwen Stefani's Love. Angel. Music. Baby. had Nettles' enormous voice not been allowed to overwhelm the mix.  RIYL: ibuprofen, Ethel Merman, epic production fails.

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"CS60" is a track from BadBadNotGood's forthcoming album.  RIYL: Jack DeJohnette's electronic albums, jazz with a young and enthusiastic audience, OFWGKTA.

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I don't want to be "that guy," but really, Jazz Fest?

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A$AP Ant "See Me" fails to impress me.

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I was excited to hear that Plague of Babylon was Iced Earth's "heaviest album in years."  It's not all that.  Legion of the Damned's Ravenous Plague is more like it. RIYL: Vader, punching walls, Morbid Angel.

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The trailer for Mary Chapin Carpenter's new orchestral album is appropriately overblown.

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I recently discovered Ausmuteants' 100 Ausmuteants Fans Can't Be Wrong?100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can.  RIYL: T.S.O.L., the spirit of rock and roll, 999.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)