May 2020 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

My opera compulsion continues. I’ve taken in streams of 68 productions in the last 67 days.  The following albums, songs and livestreams balanced my maximal intake of ostensible high culture this month.

Top Five Albums
1. Bad Bunny- Las Que No Iban a Salir
Even the Puerto Rican’s discards are thrilling.
2. Sleaford Mods- All That Glue
My review.
3. Future- High Off Life
Chart-topping nihilism.
4. Aaron Parks- Little Big II: Dreams of a Mechanical Man
Fusion lives.
5. Dinosaur- To the Earth
Laura Jurd’s lawless group careens into the center lane.

Top Five Songs
1. Little Simz- “Might Bang, Might Not”
Oh, it bangs all right.
2. 6ix9ine- “Gooba”
I know, I know.  As the hooligan suggests, I must be “dumb, stupid or dumb.”
3. Shirley Collins- “Wondrous Love”
Selah.
4. The Magnetic Fields- “Favorite Bar”
Gloriously droll.
5. Hot Country Knights- “Then It Rained”
A gut-busting Garth Brooks spoof.

Top Five Livestreams
1. Bang on a Can Marathon
The online version of the canceled festival featured appearances by luminaries including Meredith Monk.
2. KC Bands Together
Full disclosure- I’m listed in the closing credits.
3. Bill Frisell- Blue Note at Home
The guitarist’s apartment has a better vibe than the venue.
4. Century Media’s Isolation Festival
Dead Lord was among the metal bands bringing the vital noise.
5. Molly Hammer- Jazzy Jamdemic
Classic Kansas City.

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

(Screenshot of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Nico Muhly’s "Marnie" by There Stands the Glass.)

January 2020 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Top Five Albums
1. Jeremy Pelt- The Art of Intimacy, Vol. 1
I usually can’t be bothered with new mainstream jazz albums, but this tender trio recording buckles my knees.

2. Bill Fay- Countless Branches
I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit to being profoundly moved by Fay’s loopy mysticism and sentimental folk-rock.

3. Jennifer Curtis and Tyshawn Sorey- Invisible Ritual
Avant-garde hoedown.

4. Diana Damrau- Richard Strauss
Wandering in darkness.

5. Majid Bekkas- Magic Spirit Quartet
Visionary gnawa.


Top Five Songs
1. Future and Drake- “Life is Good”
Turnt.

2. 070 Shake- “Guilty Conscious”
The pop of tomorrow sounds a lot like the pop of yesterday.

3. Sa-Roc- “Hand of God”
Sacred ground.

4. Eminem featuring Royce da 5’9” and Black Thought- “Yah Yah”
Bring da ruckus.

5. Moneybagg Yo featuring DaBaby- “Protect Da Brand”
Goon squad.


Top Performances
An extended period of mourning, a debilitating illness and the trip of a lifetime prevent me from listing five worthwhile shows.  I intend to make up for the uncharacteristic breach in February.

You can pick up where I left off in 2019 here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

The Top Musicians, Albums, Songs and Concerts of the Decade

I created this survey as a companion to a Kansas City compendium that serves as the outline for my appearance on the radio program Eight One Sixty on Tuesday, July 2.


The Top Ten Musicians of the Decade
1. Kanye West
2. Kendrick Lamar
3. Jóhann Jóhannsson
4. St. Vincent
5. Flying Lotus
6. Bill Frisell
7. Rihanna
8. Drake
9. Taylor Swift
10. Future


The Top 25 Albums of the Decade
1. Kendrick Lamar- Good Kid, M.A.A.D City 2012
2. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 2010
3. Frank Ocean- Channel Orange 2012
4. Rihanna- Anti 2016
5. Earl Sweatshirt- Doris 2013
6. Kendrick Lamar- To Pimp a Butterfly 2015
7. Kanye West- Yeezus 2013
8. Chance the Rapper- Coloring Book 2016
9. St. Vincent- Strange Mercy 2011
10. Ambrose Akinmusire- When the Heart Emerges Glistening 2011

11. Kanye West- The Life of Pablo 2016
12. Jlin- Autobiography 2018
13. Kendrick Lamar- Damn 2017
14. Vince Staples- Summertime '06 2015
15. Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah- Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah 2012
16. Jill Scott- Woman 2015
17. Solange- When I Get Home 2019
18. Robert Glasper- Black Radio 2012
19. Killer Mike- R.A.P. Music 2012
20. Jóhann Jóhannsson- Orphée 2016

21. Beyoncé- Beyoncé 2013
22. Brad Mehldau- Highway Rider 2010
23. Brockhampton- Saturation II 2017
24. Miranda Lambert- The Weight of These Wings 2016
25. Drake- Scorpion 2018


The Top 25 Songs of the Decade
1. Kanye West- “Ultralight Beam” 2016
2. Tyler, the Creator- "Yonkers" 2011
3. Nicki Minaj- "Beez in the Trap" 2012
4. Pusha T featuring Kendrick Lamar- “Nosetalgia” 2013
5. Lorde- "Royals" 2013
6. Drake- “Nice For What” 2018
7. Kendrick Lamar- “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” 2012
8. Ledisi- "Pieces of Me" 2011
9. Taylor Swift- “Getaway Car” 2017
10. Akwid- "California" 2010

11. Run the Jewels- “Close Your Eyes (And Count to F*ck)” 2014
12. Nas and Damian Marley- "As We Enter" 2010
13. Leela James- "Tell Me You Love Me" 2010
14. ASAP Rocky- "Purple Swag" 2013
15. Kanye West- "Power" 2010
16. Pusha T- "Numbers on the Boards" 2013
17. Cardi B- “Bodak Yellow” 2017
18. Skating Polly- "Alabama Movies" 2014
19. Rick Ross featuring Kanye West and Big Sean- "Sanctified" 2014
20. E-40 with YG- "Function" 2012

21. Das Racist- "Rainbow In The Dark" 2011
22. Waka Flocka- "Hard In Da Paint" 2010
23. Rihanna with Kanye West and Paul McCartney- “FourFiveSeconds” 2016
24. Rosalía- “Malamente” 2018
25. Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment- “Sunday Candy” 2015


The Top 25 Concerts of the Decade
1. Kanye West- Sprint Center 2013
2. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds- Midland theater 2014
3. Joyce DiDonato with the Philadelphia Orchestra- Carnegie Hall (New York City) 2015
4. Bobby Rush- Living Room at Knuckleheads 2013
5. Deftones- VooDoo Lounge 2011
6. Chance the Rapper- Midland theater 2015
7. The Dubliners- Royal Albert Hall (London) 2012
8. Mary J. Blige- Sprint Center 2013
9. David Byrne- Muriel Kauffman Theatre 2018
10. Maze- Municipal Auditorium 2014

11. The Art Ensemble of Chicago- Tennessee Theater (Knoxville) 2019
12. Miranda Lambert- Sporting Park 2013
13. Pharaoh Sanders- Blues Alley (Washington D.C.) 2014
14. Salif Keita- Town Hall (New York City) 2017
15. Lawrence Brownlee and Eric Owens- Folly Theater 2017
16. Erykah Badu- Sprint Center 2018
17. Future- Petco Park (San Diego) 2018
18. Philip Glass and Tim Fain- Helzberg Hall 2012
19. Anthony Braxton and Jacqueline Kerrod- American Turners Club (Louisville) 2018
20. Miguel- Midland theater 2015

21. Bettye LaVette- Knuckleheads 2014
22. Juan Gabriel- Sprint Center 2015
23. Enrico Rava's Tribe- Winningstad Theatre (Portland) 2012
24. Merle Haggard- Uptown Theater 2015
25. Os Mutantes- Granada 2010

(Original image of the Soul Rebels at the Gem Theater in 2017 by There Stands the Glass.)

Sign of the Times

Like a full-fledged creep, I examined a stack of confiscated homemade signs near one of the entrances of Silverstein Eye Centers Arena last night.  The children and teens who created the fan art must have been devastated upon learning that the symbols of their devotion wouldn’t be seen by the headliner Kane Brown.  Friends and colleagues have long asked me how I suffer through concerts by mainstream country artists, facile pop stars and over-the-hill rockers.  I respond to their queries with indignant disbelief.  Seeing joy on the faces of fans and hearing their unreserved screams of appreciation never fails to thrill me.  I unreservedly adored last night’s concert by Brown, Granger Smith and Lacy Cavalier.  I reviewed the show for The Kansas City Star.

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I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I’m not quite sure how or why, but I’ve always been aware of Carol Channing.  She died earlier this week.

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Lorna Doom of the punk band Germs has died.

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My ongoing appreciation of Future’s druggy, vulgar materialism shames me.  Even so, I'm willing to confess that I’ve already derived enormous pleasure from the new release Future Hndrxx Presents: The Wizrd.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Dia de los Deftones at Petco Park

I’ve limited myself to a single live music event during my second honeymoon in San Diego.  But man, what a show!  Dia de los Deftones, a festival curated by hometown heroes Deftones, was held just beyond the outfield of Petco Park and spilled over into a street adjacent to the baseball stadium on Saturday, November 3.

Complications with a rideshare caused me to miss the opening act Vowws, but Vein’s ferocious attack on the secondary stage made me feel a lot better about skipping the 2018 edition of Warped Tour.  The cool kids insisting that Vein is one of rock’s best hopes may be right.  Ho99o9, an industrial rock/rap trio in the style of Death Grips and Injury Reserve, was even better.  Failing to get hurt after getting swept into the mosh pit a couple times confirmed my sense that I’m living the life of Riley.

I’ve never managed to get into Rocket From the Crypt.  The veteran San Diego band received a cold shoulder from Deftones fans who shared my indifference.  I felt sorry for Mike Shinoda.  Not only did the music of the cofounder of Linkin Park ironically resemble second-rate Twenty One Pilots, his tribute to his late bandmate Chester Bennington was a major buzzkill.

The set by Future was easily the best effort I’ve witnessed by the rap superstar.  He’s floundered the past couple times I’ve seen him but Future did his best to engage the audience of approximately 5,000.  Unlike Future, Doja Cat didn’t have any baggage to overcome.  The immensely likable Cardi B knockoff gamely delivered her risque material including the hilarious novelty hit "Mooo!".

I had so much fun bouncing between the two stages for six hours that I forgot to eat.  Unfortunately, I remembered to down three Belching Beaver lagers introduced at the festival.  Overcome by a sudden wave of hunger when Deftones hit the main stage, I couldn’t enjoy its headlining appearance.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Halestorm- Vicious

I regularly run into a diligent concert photographer who is a steadfast rock loyalist.  After bemoaning the invariably diminished crowd sizes for his favorite form of music, our discussions shift to the general decline in the popularity of mainstream rock.  My go-to line is “where’s the new Guns N’ Roses?”  The next time I see my friend, I’ll be able to tell him that rock’s savior has finally arrived. 

On its fourth album Vicious (July 27 street date), Halestorm shows it’s capable of kicking up fresh dust with the one foot rock has moldering in the grave.  I’ve been on the Halestorm bandwagon for years, but the wholly accessible Vicious is the band’s first release that’s capable of crossing over to fans of classic rock, contemporary country and pop.

“Uncomfortable” is just one of several potential hits on Vicious.  Fashionable bands like Deafheaven and Parquet Courts will get the lion’s share of breathless reviews.  Halestorm is destined to pack arenas.  It’s about time.  Let the commercial revival of rock commence.


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I reviewed a concert by Kenny Chesney, Thomas Rhett, Old Dominion and Brandon Lay at Arrowhead Stadium for The Kansas City Star.

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I reviewed a concert by Henrique Eisenmann and Ehud Ettun at the 1900 Building for Plastic Sax.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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Ponty Bone has died.  Without Bone’s essential contributions, I probably wouldn’t have fallen in love with the first few Joe Ely albums.  The accordion player is featured in grainy footage from 1980.  (Tip via BGO.)

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The influential music journalist Roy Carr has died.  (Tip via BGO.)

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Binker and Moses’ electrifying Alive in the East? lives up to the hype.  Maybe London really is the new jazz capital of the world.  That said, I could do without the annoying harp of Tori Handsley.  RIYL: Courtney Pine, trendiness, Shabaka Hutchings.

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Beastmode 2 is fine, but I guess I’ve moved on from the Future/Zaytoven formula.  It doesn’t move me much anymore.

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The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra is a new-school big band led by Russell Gunn.  Get It How You Live is worthwhile, but RKJO is clearly an ensemble that’s best experienced live.  RIYL: Snarky Puppy, progress, Dionne Farris.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Jock Jams

I dedicated much of a recent vacation in Portland to watching men’s college basketball games at the Moda Center.  Teams representing Duke, Michigan State, North Carolina and Gonzaga were among the elite squads competing in the PK80 tournament.  Attending 12 games in three days became a tedious chore, but the soundtrack in the arena was far from tiresome.  Customary jock jams by the likes of Gary Glitter, Bon Jovi and C+C Music Factory weren’t aired.  Instead, crowds were treated to a vibrant playlist of hip-hop and rap hits that included Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble,” Kanye West’s “Power,” Post Malone’s “Rockstar” and Diddy’s “Watcha Gon’ Do.”  Seeing thousands of seated sports fans and a handful of players warming up on the court chanting “percocet, molly, percocet” in unison to Future’s “Mask Off” was one of the most surreal moments I’ve experienced in 2017.


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I wrote a profile of Edison Lights’ Chris Doolittle for KCUR.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I named Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear the KCUR Band of the Week.

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I reviewed the Matt Cook Collective’s Along Those Lines at Plastic Sax.

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Jon Hendricks has died.

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Tommy Keene has died.

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Wayne Cochran has died.

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Jim Nabors has died.

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I felt as if I was trapped in an episode of Portlandia when I caught a set by The Minders at Turn! Turn! Turn! in Rip City last week. 

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CyHi the Prynce’s No Dope On Sundays is a minor masterpiece.  RIYL: Pusha T, the dirty South, Big K.R.I.T.  Here’s “God Bless Your Heart”.

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Björn Meyer’s Provenance is RIYL Steve Tibbets, meditation, Terje Rypdal.

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I love Lizz Wright.  I loathe her new album.  Grace is RIYL Ruthie Foster, naps, Shawn Colvin.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

No Future

Anyone who has listened to Future more than me in recent months probably has a nasty codeine habit.  The Atlanta artist has overwhelmed his admirers with an avalanche of high-quality, opiate-laced music in 2017.  My addiction is problematic.  As a guy who recently reminded readers of his affinity for overtly Christian rappers, it’s a blessing that I don’t always comprehend Future’s lyrics.  Even so, mesmerizing tracks like ”Feed Me Dope” from Future’s new collaboration with Young Thug match my current mindset.  The audaciously synthetic sound will almost certainly sound hopelessly dated in a year or two, but at this moment, I’m a hopeless fiend for Future.


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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I named the MGDs the KCUR Band of the Week.

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I put Changing the Tune: The Kansas City Women’s Jazz Festival, 1978-1985 into context at Plastic Sax.

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Muhal Richard Abrams has died.  I’m horrified that I never heard the jazz giant perform.  I need to get serious about checking the likes of Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill and James “Blood” Ulmer off my bucket list.

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L’Orange’s The Ordinary Man packs 16 tracks into 39 minutes.  The ratio doesn’t make for a fluid listening experience.  Each track ends just as the groove begins to sink in.  RIYL: spoken word samples, 9th Wonder, short attention spans.

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I’m predictably elated by Kanye West’s verse on CyHi’s “Dat Side”.

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I overlooked Move Upstairs, the wondrous new album by the Como Mamas, when it was released several months ago.  RIYL: Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens, salvation, the Staple Sisters.  Here’s “Count Your Blessings”.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Sour Concord Grapes

I’m not one of the three pasty men in the photograph that accompanies a The New York Times report about the latest transmutation of the entity once known as Concord Records.  While I bear a slight resemblance to the executives who oversee the conglomerate, I suppose I lack some of their business acuity.  I certainly had myriad opportunities to get in on the ground floor of the operation.  I regularly interacted with Carl Jefferson, the late founder of Concord Records, as I toiled as a sales rep for independent record labels when his company was strictly devoted to mainstream jazz recordings.  When he wasn’t scolding me about slow payments or the ostensibly light spreads of his latest releases, Jefferson and I had delightful discussions about our mutual admiration of musicians like Ruby Braff.  Even though things have worked out for me, I occasionally regret not striving to become a redoubtable music industry mogul.


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I reviewed the 25th anniversary edition of Rockfest.

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I reviewed Tech N9ne's return to the Midland.

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Future’s concert at the Sprint Center was my show of the week for The Kansas City Star and
Ink magazine.

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I gave Nick Schnebelen my KCUR Band of the Week designation.

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

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I reviewed Hermon Mehari’s solo debut album at Plastic Sax.

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Danny Cox recalled the summer of 1967 for The Kansas City Star.

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Bern Nix has died.

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The remix of Bob Marley & the Wailers' Exodus is disorienting.  Here’s ”Turn Your Lights Down Low”.

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Mad Decent added just the right amount of production sweetening to Omar Souleyman’s music on To Syria, With Love.  Here’s ”Chobi”.

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Cuong Vu’s Ballet is miraculous free-ish jazz.  RIYL: Bill Frisell, four (brilliant) dudes jamming, Dave Douglas.

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Orrin Evans might be my favorite mainstream jazz pianist.  His presence elevates Sean Jones’ Live From at the Bistro.  RIYL: Hermon Mehari, the St. Louis jazz club, Terrel Stafford.

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Rock may be dead, but the members of Greta Van Fleet are expert necromancers.  Black Smoke Rising is RIYL Led Zeppelin IV, gravedigging, Houses of the Holy.  Here’s ”Highway Tune”.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Simone Porter at the Folly Theater

Almost every one of the dozens of children and teenagers who made up about half of the audience in the back of the balcony of the Folly Theater on Sunday afternoon were riveted by the performance of Simone Porter.  The young violinist’s ability to transfix kids impressed me almost as much as her sterling readings of works by Mozart, Janáček, Pärt and Brahms during the free concert in the venerable Harriman-Jewell Series.  Even the boys who played video games at intermission were silent as Porter and pianist Armen Guzelimian played the challenging selections.  I won’t pretend to understand how the star-making machinery works in the classical realm, but the poise and artistry Porter displayed on Sunday made her a commendable celebrity in the eyes and ears of hundreds of young devotees in Kansas City.


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I reviewed Stik Figa’s Central Standard album for KCUR.

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

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I wrote an extended concert preview about Lee Fields for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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My review of Alaturka’s concert at Polsky Theatre is posted at Plastic Sax.

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I discussed Poor Bishop Hooper on KCUR this week.

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Horace Parlan has died.

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”Freedom Cobra” is the rawk song I’ve long wanted from the Kansas City band Bummer.

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David Longstreth of Dirty Projectors is the Donald Fagen of indie-rock.  That makes Dirty Projectors’ new self-titled album the equivalent of Aja.

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Much like Dirty Projectors, Thundercat’s Drunk is the eccentric brainchild of a California man who’s often too smart for his own good. Drunk is much better on paper than in practice.  RIYL: Frank Zappa, concept albums, Van Dyke Parks.  ”Walk On By” is the best track.

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And much like Drunk, Karriem Riggins’ Headnod Suite indulges the occasionally whimsical impulses of a master musician.  RIYL: Clyde Stubblefield, drumming lessons, Garageband.

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The sense of fun that’s often absent in jazz abounds on the hilarious Loafer’s Hollow, the latest effort from Mostly Other People Do the Killing.  RIYL: Louis Armstrong, audacity, Henry Threadgill.

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The spacey R&B on Kingdom’s Tears in the Club is RIYL Jhene Aiko, spacing out, SZA.  Here’s ”Nothin’”.

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Although Stormzy overshares on the schizophrenic Gang Signs & Prayer, the angry tracks are genuine bangers.  Here’s ”Big For Your Boots”.

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A few of my pals will lose their minds over Brokeback’s instrumental guitar album Illinois River Valley Blues.  RIYL: Link Wray, imaginary movies, the Coctails.

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Until I ingested Man Vs. Sofa last week, I hadn’t listened to a new Adrian Sherwood album in years.  He’s still great.  RIYL: bass, Lee “Scratch” Perry, dub.

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Víkingur Ólafsson’s Philip Glass: Piano Works is stunning.

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Pissed Jeans’ relentless Why Love Now is RIYL testosterone, F8cked Up, angry white men.  Here’s ”The Bar Is Low”.

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I wondered how Future expected to fill arenas on his forthcoming tour after issuing an inaccessible self-titled album two weeks ago.  The immediate follow-up Hndrxx solves the problem by serving as the vehicle for several likely hits.

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I wanted to love Los Campensinos!’s Sick Scene, but it’s about four notches too subdued for me.  Here’s ”The Fall of Home”.

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I can almost imagine an alternate universe in which Son Volt is my favorite band.  Notes of Blue is RIYL consistency, Furry Lewis, the Midwest.

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Even though I won’t spend much time listening to Little Big Town’s The Breaker for pleasure, I’m awed by its seamless merger of pop, country and classic rock.  Here’s ”Better Man”.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Different Strokes and Indifferent Folks

I spent three nights working at the Folk Alliance conference last week.  (My summaries are here, here and here.)  While I admired a lot of what I heard- showcases by Bill Miller, Gaelynn Lea, Barbara Dane, Elle Márjá Eira and Wink Burcham were magnificent- I felt a bit detached.  

A good portion of the attendees had dedicated their lives to folk music.  Not me.  I might have been forcibly ejected from the conference had the true believers around me known that I had listened to the latest release by the rapper Future on the way to the event each night.

During one showcase, I was seated next to a man with no awareness of personal space.  I suspected that his life was transformed by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Pete Seeger in the early ‘60s.  He went into ecstatic paroxysms when a performer broke into the protest song “(Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody) Turn Me Around.” 

I was both annoyed and envious.  That was his moment.  What’s mine?  If I love everything, am I deeply attached to nothing?   I often feel like a profligate philanderer who sleeps with a different partner every night and inevitably winds up alone and friendless.


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I reviewed Run the Jewels’s return to the Midland theater.

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I elected to hit the Green Lady Lounge instead of attending the Kansas City Folk Festival on Sunday afternoon.  My notes on Dominique Sanders’ momentous weekend are posted at Plastic Sax.

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Benjamin Netanyahu bumped me off the airwaves last week.  I was slated to yak about the Ozark Mountain Daredevils.

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

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Clyde Stubblefield has died.

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Al Jarreau has died.

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Junie Morrison has died.

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I confess to reading the recent spate of rock-is-dead essays with almost as much relish as the inescapable jazz-is-dead dissertations.  And man, when I hear certain songs on “rock” radio stations, I’m overwhelmed with an urge to break stuff.  Uniform’s Wake in Fright makes me feel better.  Excoriating noise in the vein of Big Black and Jesus Lizard, Uniform’s Wake in Fright is a vicious ghost of rock past.  Here’s ”Tabloid”.

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The New Year's Concert 2017 with Gustavo Dudamel is less than three hours long, but it took me more than a month to work my way through the opus.  Maybe Vienna isn’t for me.

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David Bowie probably made scouting expeditions at New York jazz clubs before selecting Donny McClaslin’s band to create Blackstar.  A group led by David Binney might have been his second choice.  Binney’s fine new album The Time Verses is similarly exploratory. 

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I can’t defend my affection for John Garcia’s The Coyote Who Spoke In Tongues.  It’s a bombastic metal-goes-acoustic jam.  And I love it.  RIYL: Alice In Chains, smoke, Kyuss.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Song For Sisyphus: A Remembrance of Phil Woods

Phil Woods was the first angry jazz musician I encountered.  He certainly wasn’t the last.

I recall being titillated by the rage Woods unleashed on impolite people on blankets and in lawn chairs at a free concert sponsored by Kansas City, Missouri, in the mid-’70s. 

I’d never seen a performer act like that. 

As a kid who managed to talk a parent who didn’t have any interest in jazz into driving him to the show (I recall that it was near our home north of the river), I didn’t have much context for what I was witnessing.  But I could tell that it was good.

I was riveted. 

In hindsight, it’s clear to me that Woods’ fiery outing and a free concert by the elegant Roland Hanna at Crown Center in the same time period ignited my tempestuous obsession with jazz.

An appearance at the Folly Theater in 2012 was the last of several times I saw Woods.  I admit to crying in my review of his bittersweet performance.  Woods died on September 29.


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I reviewed the Grisly Hand’s new Flesh & Blood album for KCUR.

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I reviewed a Zappa Plays Zappa concert.

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I wrote an extended preview about KC Psych Fest for Ink magazine.

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

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My review of Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle’s Live in Kansas City album is on page 27 of the October issue of JAM magazine.

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I contributed a Local Listen segment about Mark Lowrey to KCUR.

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I reviewed Matt Villinger’s All Night at Plastic Sax.

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Kansas City’s music nerds have been posting fond recollections about the RecordBar in response to the venue’s tenth anniversary and pending relocation.  One friend claims to have taken in more than 700 performances at the RecordBar.  I don’t keep meticulous records; my number is probably around 225.  I haven’t appreciated everything I’ve seen in the room.  For instance, I detested Mumford & Sons when I caught the soon-to-be-massive band in the club in 2010.  Here are my ten favorite performances at the RecordBar:  Nikka Costa (2006), The National (2005), The People’s Liberation Big Band (2012), V.V. Brown (2010), Marijuana Deathsquads (2014), Mission of Burma (2012), Peter Schlamb’s Electric Tinks (2015), American Music Club (2008), Blind Pilot (2009) and Helmet (2015).

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The Buhs created a representative promotional video.

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Wilton Felder of the Crusaders has died.

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Pop quiz: which two artists have had two #1 albums on Billboard’s Top 200 chart in 2015?  Why, it’s D---e and Future, of course.  As I detailed in my notes about his 2013 concert at the Sprint Center, I loathe He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.  Even so, I have to admit that I enjoy much of his latest chart-topper What a Time To Be Alive. 

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I admire Ron Carter’s big band album My Personal Songbook.  Note that I didn’t say I liked it.  RIYL: Oliver Nelson, swangin’, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

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I recently discovered The Milken Archive, "the largest collection of American Jewish music ever assembled."  I’ve heard almost none it, an oversight I intend to rectify.

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Children of the Light features Wayne Shorter’s band without their leader.  The trio of Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade is in top form.

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A recent appearance in Olathe reminded me that Shemekia Copeland is really smart.  That’s partly why I can’t help but think that she’s patronizing the blues audience on Outskirts of Love.  I like it anyway.

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Evan Parker performed in St. Louis last week.  There’s not an audience for the British free jazz artist in Kansas City.  Ninth Square, Parker’s new album with Joe Morris and Nate Wooley, is RIYL: skronking, Sonny Sharrock, screeching.

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I’d been looking forward to the release of the New Mastersounds’ Made For Pleasure, but now that it’s here I’m just not feeling it.  RIYL: St. Paul & the Broken Bones, nice tries, the Budos Band.

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I can’t resist the cheap nostalgia of Graveyard’s Innocence & Decadence.  RIYL: Thin Lizzy, 1975, UFO.

(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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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.)