Album Review: Peter CottonTale- Catch

My life partner feared I might succumb to Jerusalem syndrome during our trip to Israel three months ago.  She was relieved by the absence of unhinged surges of spiritual intensity during our ecumenical pilgrimage to holy sites.  The ecstatic mania she expected me to exhibit at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre manifested in my living room on Friday night as I listened to Peter CottonTale’s Catch.  Not only does Jesus save, the new music He inspired interrupted my obsessive bingeing of devilish ambient music.

My profound appreciation of the gospel recording isn’t surprising.  Its tone and personnel parallel my top album of 2019 (Jamila Wood’s Legacy! Legacy!) and my #2 album of 2016 (Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book).  I adored performances by Peter CottonTale’s collective at a pair of Chance the Rapper concerts in Kansas City and in a star-studded performance by The JuJu Exchange at the Chicago Jazz Festival last year.

I anticipate finding inspiration in vital hymns like “Hi 5,” “Feels Like Church” and “Pray for Real” for the remainder of my life.  The joy-imbued Catch is a vigorous representation of the optimism at the core of my faith.  Aside from the inclusion of a brief skit, my sole grievance is the brevity of the selections.  Songs fade out moments after my delirious convulsions begin to kick in.


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I report on the results of the American Jazz Museum’s Charlie Parker Song Contest for KCUR.

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I review the Cur3’s The Anecdote at Plastic Sax.

(Original image of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by There Stands the Glass.)

The Big Shoulders of Avery R. Young, Chance the Rapper and Resavoir

Avery R. Young’s Tubman. is a historically-minded, gospel-oriented song cycle emphasizing liberation theology.  Clearly influenced by Syl Johnson’s urgent 1970 album Is It Because I’m Black, the murky blend of gospel, blues and soul on Tubman. is another momentous statement from Chicago.  The curtains of the mysterious project are parted for Young’s appearance on a daytime television show in his hometown.

Gospel also informs the highly anticipated album by a far more popular Chicago artist.  As the programming director of the hypothetical radio station The Juice, I’d immediately put a third of the tracks on Chance the Rapper’s The Big Day into heavy rotation.  In the real world, however, The Big Day is a massive disappointment.  I continue to adore Chance’s outlook, but the transcendent magic that characterizes his best work is missing. 

The Big Day would have benefitted from a more open embrace of Chicago’s thriving jazz scene.  The city threatens to overtake New York as the jazz capital of the world.  Resavoir’s thrilling new self-titled album on the essential International Anthem label documents a transportive component of Chicago’s improvised music scene that bears little resemblance to anything on the conventional The Big Day or the gritty Tubman..

(Original image of Chicago by There Stands the Glass.)

Another One

“We the Best Music!”  DJ Khaled is ridiculous.  Yet because the hip-hop svengali is in on the joke, I laugh with him rather than at him.  Khaled’s Father of Asahd suffused me with unqualified joy as I drove through Kansas City with the windows rolled down today.  Hearing titans like Cardi B, Nas, Post Malone and Beyoncé rap and sing on state-of-the-art beats accentuated the gorgeous spring day.  The project’s only real flaw is yet another weak Chance the Rapper track.  Aside from providing further confirmation that Chance lost his mojo more than a year ago, Father of Asahd is indeed “another one.”  The star-studded “Holy Mountain” opens the album.


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Tyler, The Creator is a weirdo.  That’s hardly news.  Yet with the release of his new album I finally understand that he’s also a card-carrying music nerd.  Every track on the breakup-themed collection Igor seems to be based on either a dusty R&B song or a vintage pop nugget.  His radical remakes of oldies pay homage to the past even as they break new sonic ground.  Here’s “Earfquake”.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: The Mavericks- Brand New Day

Regrets, I’ve had a few thousand.  Like Frank Sinatra, I did it my way.  It hasn’t always been easy.  I was reminded of one missed opportunity while listening to the Mavericks’ new release Brand New Day.

An unsolicited CD by the then-unknown Miami based band crossed crossed my desk when I was the sales manager of a beleaguered music distribution company in 1990.  Even though I loved the music, I had to pass.  As a one-off, unproven project in the pre-internet era, I knew that timely payment to the band for shipped units would be impossible.

Having recognized the music’s potential, however, I should have offered to assist the Mavericks in a different capacity.  I would have loved to have been a part of selling and promoting What a Crying Shame, Music for All Occasions and Trampoline, three of my favorite albums of the 1990s.

The band was marketed as a country act at its commercial peak, but Brand New Day continues the band’s drift into an alternate universe in which Roy Orbison, Johnny Otis, Pérez Prado and Phil Spector are in the same band. It’s gloriously preposterous.  Here’s the title track.


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I reviewed the sixth of Garth Brooks’ seven sold-out concerts at the Sprint Center.

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I reviewed a concert by Soundgarden and the Dillinger Escape Plan on Sunday.

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I honored Ensemble Ibérica with the KCUR’s Band of the Week designation.

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I didn’t attempt to hide my inner fanboy in my extended concert preview of Chance the Rapper’s return to Kansas City.

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

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I extol Bobby Watson’s Made in America at Plastic Sax.

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Bruce Hampton has died.  I first heard the jam band pioneer perform at a festival in a field outside of Lawrence, Kansas, in the early 1990s.

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Patti LaBelle performs a Broadway-style version of jazz on her florid new album Bel Hommage.  It’s hammy, cheesy and entirely delicious- and I love it.  LaBelle pitched the project on QVC.

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The combination of Avishai Cohen, Manfred Eicher and Nasheet Waits lights up several of my pleasure centers.

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Smino’s invigorating Blkswn is recommended if you like Chance the Rapper, St. Louis, Frank Ocean.  Here’s ”Anita”.

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Trombone Shorty courts the mainstream on Parking Lot Symphony. RIYL: Allen Toussaint, artists with staying power, Fred Wesley.

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Sarah Shook & the Disarmers’ Sidelong doesn’t quite do it for me.  Even so, I hope to catch the group in 2017. RIYL: Grisly Hand, boozin’, Bottle Rockets. Here’s ”Dwight Yoakam”.

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Don Bryant’s Don’t Give Up On Love is an unexpected treat.  RIYL: Otis Clay, soul survivors, Syl Johnson.  Here’s ”How Do I Get There?”.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Zydeco Boogaloo

Black Top 1024.  That’s how my customers and I identified Buckwheat Zydeco’s 100% Fortified Zydeco when they reordered the album.  The title was one of several releases by the exceptional ambassador of Louisiana music that were in my catalog during my tenure as a music industry sales rep.  No strain of indigenous American music is more discordant or just plain weird than zydeco.  Stanley Dural, the bandleader behind Buckwheat Zydeco who died last week, made the music accessible.  Without his genial refinements, the language barrier, scratch of washboards and cacophonous accordions associated with zydeco might have continued to keep the form a safe distance from the mainstream. 


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I reviewed Chance the Rapper’s concert.

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

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I praised Heidi Lynne Gluck on KCUR last week.

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I address a pet peeve at the Kansas City jazz blog Plastic Sax.

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I highlighted the music offerings at the Plaza Art Fair for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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I reviewed a concert by Steve Martin, Martin Short and the Steep Canyon Rangers.

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Jerry Corbetta of Sugarloaf has died.  (Tip via BGO.)

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Shawty Lo has died.

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Jean Shepherd has died.

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Pádraig Duggan of Clannad has died.  (Tip via BGO.)

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John D. Loudermilk has died.  (Tip via BGO.)

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The music video for Shirley Collins’ ”Death and the Lady” is almost more than I can bear.

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The heir to John Coltrane and Jimi Hendrix may be hiding in plain sight.  His name is John Scofield. On his excellently titled Country For Old Men, Scofield interprets classics like “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.”

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I loved the 2000 album dwightyoakamacoustic.net.  The country artist’s Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars… may be just as good.

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Willie Nelson is on a roll.  For the Good Times: A Tribute to Ray Price is perfect.

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Rose Out the Concrete, Rich the Factor’s third album in as many months, isn’t as good as Smile or Whale Mafi.  Here’s the Kansas City legend’s ”In the Kitchen”.

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I won't pretend to understand Yermande, an astounding recording by Mark Ernestus' Ndagga Rhythm Force.  But it's wonderful.  (Tip via Big Steve.)

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Sing Me Back Home

The insistent thump of Waylon Jenning’s bassist often rattled the floorboards of my home on Saturday and Sunday mornings when I was a kid.  My dad enjoyed blasting his favorite country albums by the likes of Waylon, Willie and Merle as he gave me marching orders.  I was reminded of those bygone days when I unexpectedly encountered a performance by Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys at a farmer’s market on Saturday morning.  I almost broke down when the honky-tonk band revived “Little Ole Wine Drinker Me,” a song I closely associate with my old man.


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I wrote a lengthy examination of the previously uncharted career of the underground Kansas City rap legend Rich the Factor for KCUR.

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I reviewed a concert by Death Cab For Cutie, Chvrches, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats and the Greeting Committee. 

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Candido renewed my faith in humanity last week.  My notes are posted at Plastic Sax.

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

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Chance the Rapper’s return to the Midland theater is my show of the week for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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I discussed the reunion of the Anniversary on KCUR last week.

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Lou Merenstein, the producer of Astral Weeks, has died.  (Tip via BGO.)

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A young quartet of British geeks has released one of the best jazz albums of 2016.  Together, As One by Laura Jurd’s Dinosaur, is RIYL flouting convention, Esbjörn Svensson Trio, prog-rock.

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I have a hard time appreciating the music of Sigur Rós, but I’m all in on Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Orphée.

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“Do the funkro dance!”  Even when they’re terribly flawed, the obscurities on Nigeria Soul Fever: Afro Funk, Disco And Boogie: West African Disco Mayhem! give me enormous pleasure.  (Tip via Big Steve.)

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Two or three excellent songs are hidden among the dreck of Usher’s Hard II Love.  Here’s ”No Limit”.

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Something about Ben Wendel’s What We Bring, the mainstream jazz album of the moment, repels me.  RIYL: Gerald Clayton, jazz consensus, Kneebody. Here’s ”Song Song”.

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A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie doesn’t do anything for me. Artist is RIYL generic radio rap, Bobby Shmurda, hype.  Here’s ”Friend Zone”.

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Touché Amoré’s Stage Four is a contender for my favorite rock album of 2016.  RIYL: Kvelertak, rawk, Red Fang.  Here’s ”Palm Trees”.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

This Is a God Dream: Music Midway in 2016

I’ll share my enthusiasm for the best music released so far in 2016 on KCUR’s Up To Date program on Friday, June 17.  The following lists of my favorite albums, songs and performances will provide my detractors with fresh ammunition.  I hope that that everyone else will make a few gratifying discoveries.


Top Albums
Even though it’s Kanye West’s weakest album, The Life of Pablo is a revelation.  (Spotify playlist.)

1. Kanye West- The Life of Pablo
2. Chance the Rapper- Coloring Book
3. David Murray, Geri Allen and Terri Lyne Carrington- Perfection
4. Logan Richardson- Shift
5. Savages- Adore Life
6. Hélène Grimaud- Water
7. David Bowie- Blackstar
8. Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom- Otis Was a Polar Bear
9. Walker Family Singers- Panola County Spirit
10. Kendrick Lamar- Untitled Unmastered

11. Willie Nelson- Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin
12. Exmortus- Drive Forth
13. Adrian Younge- Something About April II
14. Volbeat- Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie
15. Céu- Tropix
16. Pat Metheny Unity Band- The Unity Sessions
17. Charles Lloyd & the Marvels- I Long To See You
18. Lecrae- Church Clothes 3
19. Conflicts- The North Slope
20. A$AP Ferg- Always Strive and Prosper

21. Anthony Hamilton- What I’m Feelin’
22. BJ the Chicago Kid- In My Mind
23. Psychic Heat- Sunshower
24. Babymetal- Metal Resistance
25. Kevin Gates- Islah


Top Songs
Chance Bennett has been reading my mind.  (Spotify playlist.)

1. Chance the Rapper- “Same Drugs”
2. Anderson Paak- “Come Down”
3. Parker Millsap- “Heaven Sent”
4. Kanye West- “Ultralight Beam”
5. Tedeschi Trucks Band- “Anyhow”
6. BJ the Chicago Kid- “Church”
7. Agoraphobic Nosebleed- “Not a Daughter”
8. Krizz Kaliko- “Didn’t Wanna Wake You”
9. Boosie Badazz- “Cancer”
10. Steve Gunn- “Ancient Jules”

11. Anthony Hamilton- “Ain’t No Shame”
12. A$AP Ferg- “Strive”
13. Regina Belle- “He’s Alright”
14. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis- “Bolo Tie”
15. Mount Moriah- “Precita”
16. Deftones- “Doomed User”
17. Margo Price- “Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)”
18. Rihanna- “Love On the Brain”
19. Keys N Krates featuring Ouici- “Love Again”
20. The Philistines- “Radiation Drive”

21. French Montana, Kanye West and Nas- “Figure It Out”
22. Kvelertak- “1985”
23. Carrie Rodriguez- “Z”
24. Sturgill Simpson- “Breakers Roar”
25. Josh Hoyer and Soul Colossal- “Parts of a Man”


Top Shows
I've attended about 200 individual performances since January 1.

1. Lee Fields and the Expressions- The Granada
2. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band- Sprint Center
3. Exmortus- Aftershock
4. Florence + The Machine- Providence Medical Amphitheater
5. Tortoise- The Granada
6. The Who- Sprint Center
7. Lamb of God- The Midland
8. Christian McBride Trio- Folly Theater
9. Goddamn Gallows- Riot Room patio
10. Be/Non- Scottish Rite Temple

11. Maarja Nuut- Westin Kansas City at Crown Center
12. Tedeschi Trucks Band- The Midland
13.  Logan Richardson- Blue Room
14.  Dwight Yoakam- Uptown Theater
15.  UFO- VooDoo
16.  Pablo Ziegler and the Quartet for New Tango- Polsky Theatre
17.  Les Arts Florissant- Helzberg Hall
18.  Fantasia- Starlight Theatre
19.  Roy Ayers- Blue Room
20. Matt Villinger- Orion Room at the Green Lady Lounge

21. Ebony Tusks- The Midland
22. Avant- Uptown Theater
23. Group of the Altos- The Brick
24. Midori with the Kansas City Symphony- Helzberg Hall
25. R. Kelly- Sprint Center

Top Five Opening Acts
1. A$AP Ferg, for G-Eazy- The Midland
2. Tombs, for 1349- Riot Room
3. Deafheaven, for Lamb of God- The Midland
4. OMD, for Barenaked Ladies- Starlight Theatre
5. Elle King, for Vance Joy- The Midland

(Original image of my 38th favorite performance of 2016- the Calamity Cubes at the Riot Room patio- by There Stands the Glass.)

Speaking to God in Public

My two favorite albums of 2016 are by Chicago rappers.  Here’s the kicker: Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo and Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book are gospel albums.  West insists that “this is a God dream.”  Chance avers that “I speak to God in public.”  Their testimonials aren’t negated by the inclusion of raps about inebriation, pride, lust and avarice.  The name of this site indicates that I’m sympathetic to their imperfections.  As a person of faith, I neither seek nor require categorical spiritual validation from artists.  Nevertheless, the praise songs on The Life of Pablo and Coloring Book inspire me.


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I reviewed a Florence + The Machine concert.

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KCUR published my review of Go, the new album by the underappreciated Kansas City musician Krizz Kaliko.

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I reviewed Andrew W.K.’s concert on Saturday.

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I logged eight hours at the Westport Roots Festival.  Here are my notes for The Kansas City Star.  I also wrote a preview of the annual event.

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

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I admire Logan Richardson’s momentous homecoming concert at Plastic Sax.

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The Kansas City rapper Gee Watts created a video for ”Hallelujah”.

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The eponymous album by the young Tuareg band Imarhan is exciting.  Here’s a video for the title track.

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I’ve long appreciated David Bazan.  Blanco is RIYL: despair, the Magnetic Fields, lo-fi synths.

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Black Mountain might be trolling on IV.  RIYL: Dio, ‘80s nostalgia, the Tubes.  Here’s ”Mothers of the Sun”.

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I don’t enjoy playing the role of a fussbudget, but Robert Glasper's revision of Miles Davis’ music on Everything’s Beautiful is a bummer.  RIYL: Erykah Badu, jokers who like to shout “remix!”, Marcus Miller.

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A Love Electric’s exciting Psychmonde is RIYL Chris Whitley, drugs, Ziggy Stardust.

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I’ll cop to liking Otep’s dystopian pop-metal.  Generation Doom is RIYL: Nine Inch Nails, Hot Topic apparel, Korn.   Here’s ”Down”.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Arlo Guthrie at Yardley Hall

I’ve always thought of the people who listen to “Alice’s Restaurant” every Thanksgiving as intemperate masochists.  Arlo Guthrie’s signature song really doesn’t need to be heard more than once in a lifetime. 

Then again, I’ve never been an Arlo fan.  I’d succeeded in avoiding his concerts until Sunday.  I cringed as I bought the ticket that would break my winning streak.

As is often the case, I had it all wrong. 

Once I became acclimated to the nursing home odor that emanated from a few dozen members of the audience of more than 1,000 at Yardley Hall, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert.

Before Arlo and a tasteful band played his biggest hits, Sarah Lee Guthrie performed a charming opening set.  Partly because Arlo implied that he was also sick of the song, I wasn’t even inclined to flee during “Alice’s Restaurant.”  I may or may not have teared up during “Highway In the Wind,” a tribute to Arlo’s late wife Jackie.

Arlo dismissively characterized folk sing-alongs as “all that 'Kumbaya' stuff” near the end of his appearance.  It was a trap.  The sing-alongs that followed swelled my heart. 

Even so, I won’t tolerate any suggestions that “Alice’s Restaurant” be cued up in my presence on Thanksgiving.


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I reviewed the Kansas City debut of Chance the Rapper.

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I reviewed Gregg Allman’s concert at a casino.

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I wrote an extended preview about Passion Pit for Ink.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I reviewed Ron Carlson’s Kind Folk at Plastic Sax.

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The Popper made a Royals-centric remix of “I’m KC.”

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Here’s the video for Tech N9ne’s “Roadkill.”

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Here’s the video for Radkey’s “Glore.”

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Smokin’ Joe Kubek has died.

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I somehow missed the September release of John Scofield’s Past Present.  It’s so good that I’m mourning the weeks that I could have spent listening to the funky collaboration with Joe Lovano, Larry Grenadier and Bill Stewart.  RIYL: Grant Green, soul jazz, Charlie Hunter.

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I endured BET’s “Hip-Hop Awards” broadcast last week.  It was rough sledding.  As usual, the cyphers provided the highlights.  I loved seeing Casey Veggies and Vince Staples and was tickled by the efforts of Erick Sermon, Redman and Keith Murray, but the clear winner was the beat-boxing trio of Doug E. Fresh, Nicole Paris and Rahzel.

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Here’s the trailer for the B.B. King/UGK mashup that the world needs now.

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I’m just beginning to learn that the European jazz/prog releases I’ve written about in recent months aren’t anomalies.  As the kids say, it’s a thing.  My latest discovery is Samuel Hällkvist’s Variety of Live.  Men affiliated with Pink Floyd and King Crimson are among the project’s participants.  RIYL: Terje Rypdal, anti-swing, Soft Machine.

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Joe Ely has an uncommon ability to conjure colorful Tex-Mex atmospheres.  Too many of the songs on Panhandle Rambler, however, are clunky.  RIYL: Jimmie Dale Gilmore, songs about Bob Wills, Butch Hancock.  ”When the Nights Are Cold” is my favorite song on the album.

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I was so tempted by Rhymesayers’ 20th Anniversary Concert that I checked on airfare to Minneapolis.  It’s only $150....

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Alegria de Viver, a new recording featuring the duet of Brazilian vocalist Leny Andrade and New York guitarist Ari Ben-Hur, might be perfect.

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Marbin’s Aggressive Hippies is RIYL: Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, DIY jazz, Mahavishnu Orchestra.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: The 18th & Vine Jazz and Blues Festival

Jazz can seem like an afterthought at the American Jazz Museum’s 18th & Vine Jazz and Blues Festival.

After spending more than nine hours at the annual event on Saturday, I came away with only three jazz performances to document at my Kansas City jazz blog Plastic Sax.  Much of the remainder of my time was dedicated to listening to R&B and blues cover bands.  My notes on a few of the performances are listed in the order of my appreciation.

Jamii
Children playing R&B classics with enthusiasm?  Sold!  Rather than pointing out Jamii’s obvious limitations, I’ll note that I smile at the thought of the cherubs knocking out the Isley Brothers’ “Footsteps in the Dark.”  (Here’s representative footage of a previous performance.)

John Paul and the Hellhounds
The longstanding blues quartet doesn’t do anything that hasn’t done countless times before; they just do it better.

Charlotte Fletcher & Soigné
I’d try to book this band for my wedding reception if I was getting married.  The group’s covers of hits by Labelle, the Crusaders and a Taste of Honey were celebratory.

Langston and Prototype
I appreciated hearing a faithful rendition of Tyrese’s “Shame”, one of my favorite songs of 2015, and samples of Jazmine Sullivan’s undervalued catalog.

Dwele
Prior to Saturday, I thought of Dwele as the vocalist who delivered the hooks on Kanye West classics like ”Flashing Lights”.  I’ll now remember him as loquacious guy who performed only three or four songs during the 30 minutes I spent watching his set. 

Popa Chubby
A lot of people adore burly boogie.  I’m not one of them.


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I reviewed Seether’s concert at the Midland theater last week.

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I’ve never written about music to curry favor with stars, but it’s nice nonetheless that Chance the Rapper has embraced my extended preview of his concert at the Midland theater.

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Here’s the latest batch of the weekly music previews I write for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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Billy Joe Royal has died.

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I feel like a rich man when I listen to Janet Jackson’s Unbreakable.  The airy production sounds like a billion dollars.  RIYL: Michael Jackson, money, Celine Dion.

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I need to find a way to get to a performance by the Malian band Songhoy Blues.

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Youth Lagoon’s Savage Hills Ballroom sends me back to the era in which I reverently listened to albums by the likes of Mercury Rev and Sparklehorse.  RIYL: drugs, St. Vincent, weeping.  Here’s ”Highway Patrol Stun Gun”.

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Does liking Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott’s Songs From the Arc of Life and Lang Lang’s Live In Paris make me a middlebrow ninny?

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Rolando Villazón’s Treasures of Bel Canto failed to rouse me.

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St. Germain reduces Malian music to smooth jazz.  And I like it.

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Sullivan Fortner’s Aria is about three notches too polite for me.  RIYL: Branford Marsalis, bespoke suits, Jon Batiste.

(Original images of Jamii, above, and festival grounds, below, by There Stands the Glass.)