The Top Albums, Songs and Performances by Kansas City Musicians in 2019

Favorite Albums and EPs by Kansas City Artists
1. The Sextet- Among Friends
2. Samantha Fish- Kill Or Be Kind
3. Matt Villinger- All Day
4. Heather Newman- Rise From the Flames
5. Making Movies- Ameri’kana
6. Adam Larson- Listen With Your Eyes
7. Rich the Factor- The Tonite Show
8. Jay McShann- Live in Tokyo
9. Keaton Conrad- Nova
10. Drugs and Attics- Clean Their Room

11. Dylan Pyles- Popular Songs for the Heart
12. Hmph!- Hmph!
13. The Get Up Kids- Problems
14. Wing Walker Orchestra- Hazel
15. Joyce DiDonato- Songplay
16. Norman Brown- The Highest Act of Love
17. Jan Kraybill- The Orchestral Organ
18. Kevin Morby- Oh My God
19. The Greeting Committee- I’m Afraid I’m Not Angry
20. Julian Vaughn- Supreme

21. Merlin- The Mortal
22. A’Sean- One Big Happy Family
23. The Kansas City Chorale- Artifacts: The Music of Michael McGlynn
24. Le Grand- Plastic Jazz
25. Calvin Arsenia- LA Sessions


Favorite Songs by Kansas City Artists
Spotify playlist
1. Keaton Conrad- “What Am I Supposed to Do?”
2. Drugs and Attics- “Dad Party”
3. Samantha Fish- “Love Letters”
4. The Sextet- “To Be Determined”
5. Heather Newman- “Rise From the Flames”
6. Pat Metheny- “America Undefined”
7. Reggie B and the Popper- “Not Funky”
8. Sara Morgan- “Church in a Bar”
9. Tech N9ne- “Like I Ain’t”
10. The Sluts- “Break Their Heart”

11. Ubi- “Gameshow”
12. Norman Brown- “Free”
13. The Get Up Kids- “The Problem Is Me”
14. Stik Figa- “More or Less”
15. The Freedom Affair- “Rise Up”
16. Matt Villinger- “Shot Roulette”
17. Godemis- “Eye Zkreem”
18. Making Movies- “Accidente”
19. Puddle of Mudd- “Uh Oh”
20. Brody Buster’s One Man Band- “Week Long”

21. JL and Joey Cool- “That’s Him”
22. Drop Dead XX- “Betty Ford”
23. The Creepy Jingles- “Atom & Evolution”
24. Nick Schnebelen- “Crazy All By Myself”
25. Other Americans- “Neon Sunrise”


Favorite Performances by Kansas City Artists
1. Logan Richardson’s Blues People- Capsule
2. The Greeting Committee- West Bottoms (Boulevardia)
3. The Sextet- RecordBar
4. Ensemble Ibérica- MTH Theater
5. My Brothers & Sisters- The Brick (Crossroads Music Fest)
6. Bobby Watson & Horizon- White Recital Hall
7. Jerry Hahn and Danny Embrey- Recital Hall at the Carlsen Center
8. Making Movies- KC Live
9. Heather Newman- Legacy Park Amphitheater
10. Doubledrag- Riot Room

11. Matt Otto Quartet- Black Dolphin
12. The Kansas City Symphony- Helzberg Hall
13. Una Walkenhorst- Songbird Cafe (Middle of the Map Fest)
14. Ben Tervort’s Classically Trained- Westport Coffee House
15. Rod Fleeman and Gerald Spaits- Green Lady Lounge
16. Brian Scarborough Quintet- RecordBar
17. Tech N9ne- KC Live (StrangeFest)
18. Soul Revival- Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
19. Peter Schlamb Trio- Capsule
20. Guitar Elation- Green Lady Lounge

21. Midwest Chamber Ensemble- Lutheran Church of the Resurrection
22. ARQuesta Del SolSoul- RecordBar
23. Katy Guillen’s Womanish Girl- The Brick (Middle of the Map Fest)
24. Black Creatures- West Bottoms (Boulevardia)
25. Jason Vivone & the Billy Bats- PorchFestKC

(Original image of the Matt Otto Quartet at Black Dolphin by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Vince Staples- Big Fish Theory

Several obsessive listening sessions with the difficult Big Fish Theory compels me to paraphrase a familiar saying: it’s not the Vince Staples album I want, but it may be the Vince Staples album I need.  Electronica-based production choices presented the initial hurdle.  Where the melange of jazz, funk and R&B employed by Kendrick Lamar- Staples’ most worthy hyper-ambitious California art-rap peer- immediately resonates with me, Big Fish Theory draws on sonics that are outside my wheelhouse.  As for Staples’ lyrical concerns, well, they’re not a lot of fun.  Lamar provides resolution for his apprehensions.  Staples is more ambiguous.  The contrast make Lamar’s entrance on “Yeah Right” the most electrifying moment on an album of challenging music for unsettled times.


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Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s concert at Crossroads KC was wack.  Here’s my review.

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I named Making Movies KCUR’s Band of the Week.

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In a dazzling display of poor judgement, I put off listening to Hudson, the new collaboration between John Scofield, John Medeski, Larry Grenadier and Jack DeJohnette.  The prospect of hearing them cover the likes of “Woodstock” didn’t appeal to me.  I shouldn’t have doubted the brilliant men.  The excellent album isn’t the least bit portentous.  Here’s the title track.

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Tigran Hamasyan’s An Ancient Observer is an enchanting piano-based album.  Here’s "Markos and Markos".  RIYL: Brad Mehldau, Armenia, Ethan Iverson.

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Sometimes I dodn’t know if I should envy the cool kids or laugh at them.

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Outside the Echo Chamber, an astounding collaboration between Coldcut and On-U Sound, overflows with ideas.  RIYL: No Doubt, dub, Lee Perry.

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Even though I think it’s a pointless exercise, I’d be lying if I claimed not to derive great pleasure from Ala.Ni’s You & I.  RIYL: Madeleine Peyroux, fine wine, Blossom Dearie.  Here’s ”Cherry Blossom”.

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Pop Makossa- The Invasive Dance Beat of Cameroon 1976​-​1984 sounds like an exuberant remix of Nile Rodgers’ discography.  In other words, it’s an instant party.  (Tip via Big Steve.)

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A viable new contender for the title of the worst song of all time features one of the best artists of the moment.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Christian Scott- Stretch Music

I’m no longer crestfallen that Christian Scott isn’t performing in Kansas City on his current tour.  I expected his new release to expand on the exciting advances he made on Christian aTunde Adjuah, my #2 album of 2012.  Instead, it’s a tedious retrenchment.

Stretch Music is billed as "a genre-blind musical form that stretches the rhythmic, melodic and harmonic conventions of jazz to encompass as many musical forms, languages, thought processes and cultures as possible."

The project reeks of unflattering me-too-ism.  Scott seems to be trying to unnecessarily prove that hip-hop, rock and jazz can coexist.  He’s merely rehashing the work of Flying Lotus, Nicholas Payton, Miles Davis and Gil Evans. 

I expect Scott to be a leader.  He’s opted to be a follower.  Unless Frank Ocean or Kanye West stumbles, Stretch Music will be the most disappointing album of 2015.


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I reviewed Citizen Cope’s concert at Crossroads KC.

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Here are the weekly music previews I write for The Kansas City Star.

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I spotlighted Making Movies’ Carnaval for Ink magazine.

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I contributed a Local Listen segment about Making Movies to KCUR.

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Bobby Watson and his touring band thrilled me at the Folly Theater on Friday.  Here’s my review.

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A man seated near me softly snored through much of the Kansas City Symphony’s concert on Sunday afternoon.  The tiresome program didn’t excite me either.  I’m more of a Berg: Lyric Suite; Wellesz: Sonnets By Elizabeth Barrett-Browning guy.  Here’s the intriguing EPK for the new collaboration between the Emerson String Quartet and Renée Fleming.

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I assume that Shannon and the Clams and the critics who extol the band are trolling.  Gone By the Dawn is dismal.  RIYL: The Shaggs, the first rehearsal of an unpromising garage-rock band, Jonathan Richman at his most insufferable.

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The subtleties of The Evolution of Oneself initially eluded me.  Repeated listens have revealed that the trio of Orrin Evans, Christian McBride and Karriem Riggins have created one of the year’s best jazz albums.  Recommended to people who appreciate both Ray Brown and the Wu-Tang Clan.

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I love everything about Windhand’s Grief’s Infernal Flower.  RIYL: Slayer, cemeteries, Pallbearer.

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Mary Halvorson’s Meltframe does nothing for me.  RIYL: Robert Fripp, dissertations about music theory, Bill Frisell.

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I don’t have anything bad to say about Keith Richards’ Crosseyed Heart.  RIYL: Ian McLagan, lions in the winter, Chuck Berry.

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Steve Van Zandt’s maximalist production of Introducing Darlene Love is too much for me.  Here’s the overblown ”Forbidden Nights”.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Darn That Dream

I wandered into a packed coffeehouse in the shadow of Oregon's capitol building last Thursday.  For a few intoxicating minutes, I thought I'd stumbled across a vibrant jazz scene.   A student big band from a nearby university had just played and I was convinced that the jovial crowd was primed to hear a professional band play a headlining set.

The low turnout in Kansas City for the one of the most celebrated artists in jazz was still fresh in my mind.  Although he's pictured on the cover of the current issue of Downbeat, was featured in a 6-minute segment on NPR the previous day and was spotlighted in The Star's jazz column, Miguel Zenón attracted just a few dozen people to the Blue Room last Monday.  (Here are my notes.)

Yet Salem turned out in equal numbers for a superb regional ensemble.  Alas, half the audience fled after 15 minutes of this.  Ten people remained after 30 minutes.  The deliberate evacuation was one of the most discouraging refutations of jazz I've witnessed.


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I featured Sara Swenson on KCUR's Local Listen segment.

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Making Movies appear in a Tiny Desk Concert.

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Manitas de Plata has died.

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Call me a Maggot.  Slipknot's Slipknot- .5: The Gray Chapter rings true to me.  RIYL: rage, Slayer, frustration.

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Cat Stevens is the comeback artist of the year.

(Original image of the Salem jazz debacle by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Toni Braxton and Babyface- Love, Marriage & Divorce

I suppose my obsession with adult-themed duet albums began when I first put a ring on someone's finger.  Whether it's Womack & Womack or Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, hearing a man and a woman address difficult themes in song thrills me. 

That's why I had high hopes for Love, Marriage & Divorce, a new collaboration between Toni Braxton and Babyface.  I was initially disappointed that the album sounds exactly like a Toni Braxton and Babyface project. 

Obviously, I shouldn't have been surprised.  Babyface gave a genre a name with the title of his 2004 album Grown & Sexy.  Braxton is the quiet storm version of Céline Dion.  It's tempting to suggest that the soundtrack to Disney's Frozen may be funkier than Love, Marriage & Divorce. 

Mocking the album's smooth aesthetic is easy, but the truth is that I've had the album on repeat all week.  It speaks directly to me.  What tracks like "Hurt You" lack in sonic grit is made up for in the raw emotion conveyed by the blunt lyrics and exceptional vocals.

I intend to remain faithful to Love, Marriage & Divorce for the remainder of my life.


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Here's the promotional video for the 2014 edition of the Middle of the Map festival.

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Conflict's cover of Tech N9ne's "It's Alive" is solid.

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Making Movies covered "Aguanile".

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My favorite entry in the latest episode of the KC Cypher Series is Info Gates.

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The 2014 edition of the Gathering of the Juggalos will take place in the Ozarks.

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I somehow missed the news of the passing of jazz trumpeter Roy Campbell, Jr. until this week.  Here's how I'll remember him.

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Danilio Pérez has an impressive track record of making entertaining albums.  Panama 500 is no exception.  The related EPK, however, is terrible.  RIYL: Chick Corea, the unexpected, Ruben Bladés.

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"Move That Dope" is undeniable.  RIYL: Pusha T, crime, Pharrell. 

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James Brandon Lewis' Divine Travels showcases the saxophonist in a free jazz trio setting.  RIYL: David Ware, conversing with God, Cecil Taylor.

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I'll probably never listen to it again, but the strong moments outnumber the embarrassing moments on David Crosby's new album Croz.

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Indian's From All Purity is truly devastating.  It took me three sessions to get all the way through the metal album.  RIYL: pain, suffering, hopelessness. 

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I'm looking forward to "Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton", a documentary about Stones Throw Records.

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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.)

Where Are We Now? Music Midway in 2013

Best Albums (Spotify playlist)
Thanks to seamless streaming services, I've listened to over 225 new releases in their entirety during the first six months of 2013.  These are indeed "the days of miracle and wonder."

1. Pat Metheny- Tap: John Zorn’s Book of Angels, vol. 20
2. The Grisly Hand- Country Singles
3. Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge- Twelve Reasons To Die
4. Kvelertak- Meir
5. Kanye West- Yeezus
6. José James- No Beginning No End
7. Mark Lowrey- Tangos for 18th Street
8. A$AP Rocky- Long Live A$AP
9. Barbara Hannigan and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France- Dutilleux: Correspondances
10. Fidlar- Fidlar
11. Joe Lovano & Us Five- Cross Culture
12. Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba- Jama Ko
13. Baptists- Bushcraft
14. Rudresh Mahanthappa- Gamak
15. George Strait- Love Is Everything
16. Bill Frisell- Big Sur
17. James Blake- Overgrown
18. Cherokee Rock Rifle- Ta-Li
19. Terri Lyne Carrington- Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue
20. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds- Push the Sky Away
21. Soweto Kinch- The Legend of Mike Smith
22. Alaturka- Yalniz
23. The Haxan Cloak- Excavation
24. DJ Muggs- Bass For Your Face
25. Pat Metheny- The Orchestrion Project


Best Singles (Spotify playlist)
My car may not have heat or air conditioning, but it has a radio.

1. B.o.B- "We Still In This Bitch"
2. Janelle Monae- "Q.U.E.E.N."
3. Justin Timberlake- "Suit & Tie"
4. David Bowie- "Where Are We Now?"
5. Marc Anthony- "Vivir Mi Vida"
6. Tamar Braxton- "Love and War"
7. Pusha T- "Numbers On the Boards"
8. José James- "Trouble"
9. Black Sabbath- "God Is Dead?"
10. Kutt Calhoun- "I Been Dope"
11. Charlie Wilson- "My Love Is All I Have"
12. Robin Thicke- "Blurred Lines"
13. Ashley Monroe- "Like a Rose"
14. Chris Brown- "Fine China"
15. Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly- "Cruise (Remix)"
16. Carlos Vives- "Como Le Gusta a Tu Cuerpo"
17. Alice In Chains- "Stone"
18. Future- "Karate Chop (Remix)"
19. Kelly Rowland- "Dirty Laundry"
20. Rittz- "Switch Lanes"
21. Ms. Jody- "Still Strokin'"
22. Kenny Chesney- "When I See This Bar"
23. Dr#ke- "Started From the Bott#m"
24. Frank Turner- "Recovery"
25. Deftones- "Swerve City"


Best Shows
I've taken in 163 performances during the first six months of 2013.

1. Bobby Rush- Living Room at Knuckleheads
2. Mary J. Blige- Sprint Center
3. The Grisly Hand- Take Five Coffee + Bar
4. Rakim- Riot Room
5. Julian Lage and Jorge Roeder- Yardley Hall
6. Grizzly Bear- Uptown Theater
7. Diana Krall- Midland Theater
8. Volbeat- Penn Valley Park
9. Dave Douglas- Blue Room
10. Limp Bizkit- Granada
11. The Appleseed Cast- Riot Room
12. Making Movies- Yardley Hall
13. Kurt Elling- Gem Theater
14. They Might Be Giants- Crossroads KC
15. The Matt Otto/Alan Ferber Quartet- Westport Coffee House
16. Sweet Honey In the Rock- Muriel Kauffman Theatre
17. Gov't Mule- Uptown Theater
18. James Carter- Folly Theater
19. A Celebration of the Poetry of Langston Hughes with Vinson Cole- White Recital Hall
20. People's Liberation Big Band- RecordBar
21. Elena Urioste and Gabriela Martinez- Folly Theater
22. Diverse with Tony Tixier- house party
23. C.J. Boyd- Psychfest HQ
24.  Eliane Elias- Folly Theater
25. Jason Isbell and 400 Unit- Crossroads KC

(Original image of Regina Carter and Yacouba Sissoko at the American Jazz Museum on April 4 by There Stands the Glass.)

Selena Gomez!

I stood behind a couple of bros during a portion of Limp Bizkit's concert Sunday at the Granada.  (Here's my review.)  Not only did they know every word to every song, the ecstatic dudes appeared to associate specific memories from high school with hits like "My Way."  Limp Bizkit was obviously their favorite band- then, now and always. 

I envy that sort of single-minded dedication.  My love of most everything makes obsessing on just one thing impossible.

That's why I was delighted when I encountered the handiwork of a kid in my neighborhood.  I can't remember the last time I scrawled a musician's name on a driveway in pink chalk.


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Mac Lethal is an author.

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Making Movies made a video for "Cuna De Vida".

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"The Loon" is a new name-your-own-price track by The Jinxed.  RIYL: Ben Folds Five, Pablo Cruise, Ha Ha Tonka.

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I'm digging Made To Break's Provoke.  RIYL:  Ken Vandermark, Matthew Shipp, skronk. 

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Maybe I'm not taking the right drugs, but I'm not hearing what everybody else is hearing in Daft Punk's Random Access Memories.  While I enjoy the acclaimed album, it's just an homage to the dance music of 1976.

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Remember Urge Overkill?  The band's free concert at a suburban shopping mall last weekend was superb.

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The week's new releases of the most interest to me come from David Binney, Camera Obscura, Future Bible Heroes, the Giovanni Guidi Trio, Megadeth, Luis Perdomo, Queens of the Stone Age, Quercus (June Tabor, Iain Ballamy and Huw Warren) and Third Reel.  I'll get to those albums after I tire of my sordid little fling with Gretchen Wilson's new album of cover songs.

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Kansas City Click: The XX appear at the Uptown Theater on Tuesday.

The Bryant Carter Band perform before The Royals' game on Wednesday.

Richard Thompson may perform the bleakest song ever written at the Folly Theater on Thursday.

Cowboy Indian Bear headline the free Crossroads Block Party on Friday.

(Original images by There Stands the Glass.)