Review: A Celebration of the Poetry of Langston Hughes at White Recital Hall

I've written more than my fair share of tepid reviews.  I'm therefore unable to object to the lukewarm response a critic for The Washington Post gave to a Vinson Cole recital two months ago. 

Yet the famed vocalist's performance for an audience of about fifty at White Recital Hall on Sunday was as dazzling as anything I've heard in recent months.  Cole's affecting renditions of John Musto's "Litany" and Margaret Bond's "Minstrel Man" during a free concert titled A Celebration of the Poetry of Langston Hughes stirred my soul.

The majority of the concert was dedicated to the work of William Averitt.  The composer was in attendance.  The notes he wrote for the program refer to the blues, gospel and jazz inflections in his compositions.  I didn't hear much of that.  In fact, his settings were antithetical to this treatment of Hughes' work. 

I was struck by the way in which Averitt's treatments successfully placed the poetry of Hughes in contemporary classical settings.  The performances by the 24-member Conservatory Singers under the direction of Robert Bode and the accompaniment by pianists Lee D. Thompson and Melissa Loehnig were splendid.


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I reviewed the audio version of Pat Metheny's The Orchestrion Project at Plastic Sax.

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Steve Paul wrote an extensive profile of Prairie Village native Joyce DiDonato.

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Erik Voeks' new album Sandbox is RIYL Tommy Keene, Marshall Crenshaw, Young Fresh Fellows. (Initial tip from There Stands the Glass reader Gary.)

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Kutt Calhoun's Black Gold was released today.  "Self Preservation" is a representative track.

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Kenny Clutch, the Kansas City-affiliated rapper who was killed in the highly-publicized shooting on the Las Vegas strip, was clearly influenced by Rich the Factor. (Tip about the local connection via Tony's Kansas City.)

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Electric Word, the new album by the Relatives, is RIYL if you like the Holmes Brothers, church, the Black Keys.

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I'm slated to appear on KCUR's Up to Date program at 11 a.m. CST on Friday. 

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Kansas City Click: Sleepy LaBeef is slated to perform Tuesday at Knuckleheads.

The Blue Room hosts a tribute to J Dilla on Wednesday.

Todd Clouser performs at the Brick on Thursday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Phil Neal & the Wornalls- Lonely Tonight

Every eighteen months or so I find myself digging through my music vault in search of albums by the Records, Bram Tchaikovsky and Brinsley Schwartz.  There's a certain nostalgic itch that can only be scratched by the power pop and pub rock of another era.  Given everything that's transpired in the past three decades, it's impossible for today's musicians to match that gloriously naive sound.

Or is it?  Lonely Tonight, the latest release by Kansas City's Phil Neal & the Wornalls, is a pitch-perfect throwback to that era.  Its eight songs are untouched by time. 

Neal comes by the sound honestly.  He led the power pop movement in Kansas City thirty years ago.  The videos for his minor hit "Standard Question" and "2 Time Loser" are essential artifacts of Kansas City music history.    

While dealing with more mature themes, Neal remains true to those roots.  Sure, Lonely Tonight has a few pitch problems, but that's precisely why it works.   The complete lack of affectation and a steadfast commitment to old-school production values are charming.  Lonely Tonight doesn't contain an ounce of pretension.

The next time I get a hankering to binge on power pop and pub rock I may just reach for the delightfully anachronistic Lonely Tonight.  Better still, I may head to a live performance.  The band plays an unplugged show at Nica's 320 on February 16. 


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My previews for ten of the acts at the Middle of the Map festival are published here.

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The advance word on Richard Thompson's new album was that he was taking a different musical approach.  Lies!  Electric sounds exactly like at least a half dozen other Thompson albums.  And that's great news for his cult dedicated fans.  I'm not really feeling this sound right now, but "Another Small Thing In Her Favor" hits me where it hurts.

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Mod revival, anyone?  Check out Paradise's "Humans and Stars".

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Lightning Swords of Death!

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May the jazz gods strike me down- Danilo Perez's contributions are my favorite component of Wayne Shorter's fine new Without a Net album.

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I'm a little late to the Sinkane party.  RIYL: Diplo, Ali Farka Toure, the future.

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I'm not feeling the lead electric guitarist on this otherwise exquisite video of Fatoumata Diawara's performance at Globalfest. 

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Cult of Luna's Vertikal is my favorite metal album of 2013 so far.  Here's the representative "Mute Departure".

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I honestly don't know if I'm man enough to book passage on the Kid Rock Cruise.

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Prediction #1- The new album The Electric Word will make 2013 a breakout year for the Relatives. RIYL: the Holmes Brothers, Lee Fields, Jesus.

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Meaningless prediction #2- The dude behind Night Beds is going to be a star.  RIYL: Fleet Foxes, wimp-folk, beauty.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)