August Recap

Top Five Performances
1. Lauryn Hill- Kauffman Stadium
My review.
2. Jupiter & Okwess- 1900 Building
My Instagram clip.
3. Mary J. Blige- Starlight Theatre
My review.
4. Brian Scarborough Quintet- RecordBar
My review.
5. Zakk Sabbath- Midland theater
My Instagram clip.

Top Five Albums
1. Raphael Saadiq- Jimmy Lee
Soul exorcism.
2. P.P. Arnold- The New Adventures of…
My review.
3. Shannon Lay- August
My review.
4. Brockhampton- Ginger
Pray right.
5. Merlin- The Mortal
Dark magic.

Top Five Songs
1. Mike and the Moonpies- “Cheap Silver”
That high and lonesome sound.
2. Rapsody featuring D’Angelo and GZA- “Ibtihaj”
Trying to catch a wave.
3. Pusha T featuring Kash Doll- “Sociopath”
Charcuteries.
4. Channel Tres- “Raw Power”
As in Iggy.
5. PJ Morton featuring Jazmine Sullivan- “Built For Love”
An homage to Donny and Roberta.

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

(Original image of Jupiter & Okwess by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Mary J. Blige and Nas at Starlight Theatre

An acquaintance made a distressing confession on Thursday morning.  Citing gun violence and festering social divisions, she told me she was dumbfounded by her daughter’s decision to become pregnant.  Had my friend joined me at the Mary J. Blige and Nas concert at Starlight Theatre that evening, her heartache might have been mended.  Blige offered a generous form of spiritual healing to members of the audience 6,000.

At the risk of committing blasphemy, I’ll suggest that Blige suffers for our sins.  Her unfiltered exploration of pain makes Blige one of the best performers of the new millennium.  She collapsed during a cathartic rendition of “No More Drama” and conducted her signature inelegant dance moves to chants of “go Mary” as if violent physical exertion might expel emotional trauma.

Blige exudes a sense of selflessness, but Nas is in it for himself.  Even though he and a backing band ran through many of his essential hits, his set was wack.  Nas said he didn’t recall the last time he performed in the area- this disappointed fan knows that his previous Kansas City appearance was with Damien Marley at the Beaumont Club in 2009- and repeatedly made the common faux pas of insisting he was in Kansas.  He doubled down on his geographical ignorance by asking “is this where Dorothy got lost?”

Nas’ indifference caused him to slip a few notches on my rap G.O.A.T. list.  My estimation of Blige, however, continues to grow.  If the $45.50 I paid at the gate doubled as a faith-based offering, Blige’s testimony represents one of the most rousing sermons I’ve heard.


---
I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Jimmy LaFave, 1955-2017

When I began attending SXSW more than 25 years ago, the event was a business conference that doubled as a showcase for locally based musicians.  Performances by the hometown hero Jimmy LaFave were among the most anticipated components of those early years.  Even though his popularity failed to keep up with the staggering growth of SXSW, LaFave remained faithful to the rootsy sound that once made him the toast of the Texas town. Nora Guthrie’s introduction of LaFave at the Folk Alliance International conference on February 18 was was warm and effusive.  Even though I wasn’t aware that he’d been diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer, I was moved by an intimate performance that included one or two of his signature Bob Dylan covers.  LaFave died last week.


---
I reviewed a concert by the Black Angels and A Place to Bury Strangers.

---
I reviewed outings by Railroad Earth, the Yonder Mountain String Band, Fruition and the Shook Twins at the Bluegrass in the Bottoms festival.  I also wrote a preview of the two-day event.

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

---
Julian Vaughn was the recipient of my most recent KCUR Band of the Week designation.

---
I appraise Norman Brown’s new album Let It Go at Plastic Sax.

---
Chris Cornell has died.  He looked and sounded great when I saw him with Soundgarden eight days ago.

---
I cued up Diana Krall’s Turn Up the Quiet out of professional obligation.  Boy, was I surprised!  The hushed collection of standards is easily my favorite release by the Canadian.  RIYL: Julie London, makeout music, June Christy.  Here’s ”Moonglow”.

---
I’m embarrassingly easy.  Add horns and a semblance of swing to almost anything and I’m in.  I adore the new sound Pokey LaFarge unveils on Manic Revelations.  Here’s ”Riot In the Streets”.

---
Julian Lage, Brad Mehldau, Larry Grenadier and Eric Harland support saxophonist Dayna Stephens on the predictably wonderful Gratitude.

---
I keep listening to Mary J. Blige’s Strength of a Woman in fruitless attempts to convince myself that it’s not a bitterly disappointing mess.  ”Love Yourself” typifies the miscalculations.

---
Wavves continues to outshine its peers with the remarkable You’re Welcome.  RIYL: Green Day, crying on the beach, Brian Wilson.  Here’s ”Million Enemies”.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

I'm Trying To Keep My Faith: The Top Albums, Songs and Concerts of 2016

I made only one music-oriented trip in 2016.  I traveled to Atlanta to attend an ill-fated Kanye West concert.  Yet as these lists indicate, my ears weren't jilted at my home in Kansas City.

The Top 50 Albums of 2016

1. Kanye West- The Life of Pablo
2. Chance the Rapper- Coloring Book
3. Hélène Grimaud- Water
4. Logan Richardson- Shift
5. Rich the Factor- Smile
6. Rihanna- Anti
7. Jóhann Jóhannsson- Orphée
8. David Bowie- Blackstar
9. David Murray, Geri Allen and Terri Lyne Carrington- Perfection
10. Miranda Lambert- The Weight of These Wings

11. Maxwell- BlackSUMMERS’night
12. Nels Cline- Lovers
13. Danny Brown- Atrocity Exhibition
14. Childish Gambino- Awaken, My Love!
15. Pat Metheny Unity Group- The Unity Sessions
16. Kevin Gates- Islah
17. Amina Claudine Myers- Sama Rou
18. Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle- Kings & Queens
19. Savages- Adore Life
20. Joyce DiDonato- In War & Peace: Harmony Through Music

21. Adrian Younge- Something About April II
22. Kendrick Lamar- Untitled Unmastered
23. Leonard Cohen- You Want It Darker
24. Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom- Otis Was a Polar Bear
25. The Conquerors- Wyld Time
26. Walker Family Singers- Panola County Spirit
27. Kvelertak-Nattesferd
28. Rokia Traoré- Ne So
29. Anderson Paak- Malibu
30. Céu- Tropix

31. A Tribe Called Quest- We Got It From Here...
32. Willie Nelson- For the Good Times: A Tribute to Ray Price
33. Exmortus- Drive Forth
34. BJ the Chicago Kid- In My Mind
35. Corinne Bailey Rae- The Heart Speaks In Whispers
36. Shirley Collins- Lodestar
37. Sumac- What One Becomes
38. Elliot Galvin Trio- Punch
39. Run the Jewels- 3
40. The Weeknd- Starboy

41. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds- Skeleton Tree
42. Kandace Springs- Soul Eyes
43. Ingrid Laubrock- Serpentines
44. A$AP Ferg- Always Strive and Prosper
45. Young Thug- Jeffery
46. Volbeat- Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie
47. Drake- Views
48. Willie Nelson- Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin
49. YG- Still Brazy
50. The Grisly Hand- Hearts & Stars


The Top Five Reissues and Archival Releases of 2016
1. Charlie Parker- Unheard Bird: The Unissued Takes
2. Urgent Jumping: East African Musiki Wa Dansi Classics 1972-1982
3. Soul Fever: Afro Funk, Disco And Boogie: West African Disco Mayhem!
4. Miles Davis- Freedom Jazz Dance: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 5
5. Gov’t Mule- The Tel-Star Sessions


The Top Five EPs of 2016
1. T.I.- Us Or Else
2. Sarah Borges- Good and Dirty
3. Spoek Mathambo- Badimo
4. Chris Bathgate- Old Factory
5. Vince Staples- Prima Donna


The Top 50 Songs of 2016
1. Kanye West- “Ultralight Beam”
2. Anderson Paak- “Come Down”
3. Andre Williams- “Bury Me Deep”
4. Chance the Rapper- “Same Drugs”
5. Joe- “Our Anthem”
6. Danny Brown- “Really Doe”
7. Tedeschi Trucks Band- “Anyhow”
8. Miike Snow- “I Feel the Weight”
9. BJ the Chicago Kid- “Church”
10. Krizz Kaliko- “Didn’t Wanna Wake You”

11. Anthony Hamilton- “Ain’t No Shame”
12. T.I.- “40 Acres”
13. A Tribe Called Quest- “Kids...”
14. Rihanna- “Love On the Brain”
15. Sarah Borges- “Tendency to Riot”
16. Childish Gambino- “Redbone”
17. Frank Ocean- “Pink & White”
18. Parker Millsap- “Heaven Sent”
19. The Pretty Reckless- “Oh My God”
20. Kvelertak- “1985”

21. Boosie Badazz- “Cancer”
22. 21 Savage- “No Heart”
23. Babymetal- “Karate”
24. Rich the Factor- “Got ‘Em For Cheap”
25. Schoolboy Q- “That Part (Black Hippy remix)”
26. 5 Seconds of Summer- “Girls Talk Boys”
27. Descendants- “No Fat Burger”
28. YG- “Why You Always Hatin’?”
29. Agoraphobic Nosebleed- “Not a Daughter”
30. Jamie Lidell- “I Live to Make You Smile”

31. Kevin Gates- “Thought I Heard (Bread Winner’s Anthem)”
32. Phantogram- “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore”
33. Regina Belle- “He’s Alright”
34. Miranda Lambert- “Ugly Lights”
35. 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne- “Bounce”
36. Margo Price- “Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)”
37. Mayhem Lauren- “Badmon Ting”
38. Volbeat- “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown”
39. Various Blonde- “All Bases Covered”
40. Soul Revival- “If You Ask Me Again (I Do)”

41. Josh Hoyer and Soul Colossal- “Parts of a Man”
42. Famous Dex- "I Get the Drip From My Walk"
43. Shirley Caesar and Anthony Hamilton- “It’s Alright, It’s Ok”
44. Maxwell- “Lake By the Ocean”
45. Solange- “Don’t Touch My Hair”
46. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis- “Bolo Tie”
47. Psychic Heat- “Anxiety Eater”
48. M.I.A.- “Visa”
49. Car Seat Headrest- “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales”
50. Allen Toussaint- "American Tune"


The Top 50 Shows of 2016
1. Maxwell and Mary J. Blige- Sprint Center
2. Chance the Rapper- Midland theater
3. Lee Fields and the Expressions- The Granada
4. Aida Cuevas with Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles- Yardley Hall
5. Bonnie Raitt- Midland theater
6. Florence + The Machine- Providence Medical Amphitheater
7. Marilyn Maye- Quality Hill Playhouse
8. Exmortus- Aftershock
9. Tortoise- The Granada
10. Stephonne Singleton- Tank Room

11. Adia Victoria- Riot Room
12. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band- Sprint Center
13. Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle- Tank Room
14. Twenty-One Pilots- Sprint Center
15. Goddamn Gallows- Riot Room patio
16. Dolly Parton- Sprint Center
17. Steven Wilson- Folly Theater
18. R. Kelly- Sprint Center
19. Be/Non- Scottish Rite Temple
20. The Who- Sprint Center

21. Lamb of God- Midland theater
22. Chic- Starlight Theatre (opening for Duran Duran)
23. Christian McBride Trio- Folly Theater
24. Tedeschi Trucks Band- Midland theater
25. Pablo Ziegler and the Quartet for New Tango- Polsky Theatre
26. Les Arts Florissant- Helzberg Hall
27. UFO- VooDoo
28. Logan Richardson- Blue Room
29. Lianne La Havas- Uptown Theater (opening for Leon Bridges)
30. Dwight Yoakam- Uptown Theater

31. Roy Ayers- Blue Room
32. Diana Reyes- Barney Allis Plaza
33. Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom- Blue Room
34. Elle King- Midland theater
35. Matt Villinger- Orion Room at the Green Lady Lounge
36. 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne- Sprint Center
37. Maarja Nuut- Westin Kansas City at Crown Center
38. Toni Braxton- Sprint Center
39. Midori with the Kansas City Symphony- Helzberg Hall
40. Matt Otto Septet- Blue Room

41. Fantasia- Starlight Theatre
42. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats-Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
43. Elvis Costello- Yardley Hall
44. Avant- Uptown Theater
45. Helado Negro- RecordBar
46. Julion Alvarez- Sprint Center
47. Josh Groban- Starlight Theatre
48. Ebony Tusks- Midland theater (opening for Zhu)
49. Kevin Gates-  Providence Medical Center Amphitheater (opening for Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa)
50. Candido- American Jazz Museum

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Ingrid Laubrock- Serpentines

Free jazz is often deliberately off-putting.  I suspect that a lot of obtuse improvised music may be little more than self-indulgent pranks.  That’s not the case with Serpentines, a new recording overseen by Ingrid Laubrock.  The saxophonist’s adventurous cohorts include the monumental drummer Tyshawn Sorey and celebrated pianist Craig Taborn, but it’s the electronics of Sam Pluta that differentiate Serpentines from less credible noisemakers.  ”Chip in Brain” is my jam.


---
I reviewed a spectacular concert by Maxwell and Mary J. Blige.

---
I wrote an extended concert preview about Third Eye Blind for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

---
I named Eddie Moore the Plastic Sax Person of the Year.

---
I was a guest on a two-hour edition of the Eight One Sixty radio program on 90.9 The Bridge.

---
I reviewed a concert by Milky Chance, Marian Hill, Banks & Steelz and Shaed.

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

---
Joe Ligon of the Mighty Clouds of Joy has died.

---
Even as an impressionable kid attending one of his first big indoor concerts, I was nonplussed by the garish drum and keyboard workouts during Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s 1977 appearance at Municipal Auditorium.  Greg Lake’s efforts have always been considerably more appealing to me.  Lake died earlier this month.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Kanye and Stanley

I fell in love with Atlanta last week.  I was smitten by the city’s Southern hospitality, collard greens, excellent public transportation and vibrant downtown.  Even so, I was unable to get past the highly publicized cancellation of Kanye West’s tour.  I had wheeled the trip around the troubled star’s concert at Philips Arena.  I settled for a Stanley Clarke show.  While the jazz-fusion legend looked and sounded amazing, I never got into his performance.   Not even keyboard whiz Beka Gochiashvili’s lovely playing on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” allayed my disappointment.


---
I reviewed The Owen/Cox Dance Group and the People’s Liberation Big Band’s interpretation of The Nutcracker.

---
I wrote an extended preview of tonight’s Mary J. Blige and Maxwell concert for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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

---
The new compilation Doing It In Lagos: Boogie, Pop & Disco in 1980s Nigeria is an amusing diversion.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Ian McLagan, 1945-2014

I've never met Mick Jagger.  It's probably just as well.  After all, what would we talk about?  I don't have any insights into jet ownership or luxury apartments in Cannes.  Talking to Ian McLagan was easy.  The occasional sideman for the Rolling Stones and a founding member of the Small Faces and the Faces was one of rock's most approachable stars.  Back when SXSW was more of a regional music conference than a global marketing platform, I made a point of catching McLagan perform at the Saxon Pub every March.  Watching a British legend joyously perform in a Texas roadhouse thrilled me.  His appearance in Kansas City at Davey's Uptown in 2004 (or maybe it was 2005) was even more rewarding.  Alas, McLagan's 2013 gig at Danny's in Lenexa was merely adequate.  McLagan died last week.


---
I reviewed Jenny Lewis' concert at Liberty Hall.

---
My favorite jazz performances of 2014 are listed at Plastic Sax.

---
It would be churlish of me not to share the "2014 Year In Review" promotional video from a company that employed me for several years.

---
Mary J. Blige's The London Sessions isn't quite as good as I'd been lead to believe.  RIYL: Keyshia Cole, pain, Charlie Wilson.

---
I'm horrified to confess that I find Room, the new collaboration between Julian Lage and Nels Cline, entirely unlistenable.

---
I sold my rarest Sun Ra vinyl years ago at $100 a pop.  Even so, I'm inclined to buy vinyl copies of Marshall Allen Presents: Sun Ra and His Arkestra- In the Orbit of Ra to give to my fashion-conscious friends this holiday season.  The new collection is an excellent introduction to Sun Ra.

---
Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone of the Zombies are charming in their "What's In My Bag" segment.

---
"Yeezus Film" hints at the brilliance of Kanye West's 2013 tour.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Kanye West- Yeezus

Yeezus, the relentlessly jarring new album by Kanye "I Am a God" West, is brilliantly profane and alarmingly vulgar.  And I love it.

The album sounds as if the tapes from all of Rick Rubin's productions were put into a blender and reassembled randomly in order to provide West with something interesting to rap over.  A constant barrage of sonic shards reminiscent of Danzig, LL Cool J, Lords of Acid, American Head Charge, Johnny Cash and the Mars Volta make Yeezus an avant-garde art project.  Needless to say, I don't hear a single.

Not only is West angry, he seems to be inspired by intoxicants.  A dizzying drug album, Yeezus could be considered an angry response to Frank Ocean's equally groundbreaking Channel Orange.  Yeezus is the next logical step in West's nearly unprecedented artistic quest.  The album affirms his status as the most vital artist in popular music of the last ten years. 


---
Mary J. Blige and Kem are the recipients of the most positive concert review I've ever written.

---
There Stands the Glass reader Gary Shindler wrote an accurate review of Blue Öyster Cult's appearance at Old Shawnee Days.

---
The Kansas City Dance Festival is June 28-29 at the Spencer Theater.

---
Here's a 78-minute performance by Don Byron's New Gospel Quartet.  RIYL: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Steve Coleman, Duke Ellington.

---
The disturbing video for Poliça's "Tiff" is almost unwatchable.  I don't want to hear anyone wonder why Poliça isn't more popular.

---
I just got around to listening to Jimmy Herring's impressive 2012 instrumental album Subject To Change Without Notice.  RIYL: John McLaughlin, Steve Morse, Widespread Panic.

---
The kids in internet sensation Unlocking the Truth are delightful.

---
In addition to Yeezus, this week's new releases include albums from Billy Bang (his final session), Kenny Barron, Beady Eye, Bester Quartet, J. Cole, Donna the Buffalo, Bill Frisell, High On Fire (two live albums), Locash Cowboys, Maysa, Delbert McClinton and Glen Clark, Mac Miller, Kelly Rowland, Sigor Ros, Wadada Leo Smith, Eddie Spaghetti and Valient Thorr.

---
Kansas City Click: The Czar Bar hosts Steady Breather on Monday.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band plays Crossroads KC on Tuesday.

Duke Robillard appears at Knuckleheads on Wednesday.

Gloriana entertain in the Power & Light district on Thursday.

Matt Otto returns to the Blue Room on Friday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)