Album Review: Ben Goldberg- Subatomic Particle Homesick Blues

Every nine months or so, I visit the back room of a restaurant in a suburb of Kansas City to hear musicians play an oddly stifled but nonetheless appealing version of Dixieland and traditional jazz.  I'd attend more often if the technically masterful musicians attempted to fuse Dixieland's wild polyphony with more progressive concepts.

That's precisely what clarinetist Ben Goldberg and cohorts including saxophonist Joshua Redman and trumpeter Ron Miles do on Subatomic Particle Homesick Blues.  I construe the recording as Dixieland filtered through Oliver Nelson, Thelonious Monk and Henry Threadgill.  A hint of klezmer is thrown into the mix for good measure.

Dig how Goldberg and Redman get tangled up in the duet "Study of the Blues".  The full band offers convoluted funk  on "The Because Of".  Alcide Nunez lives.


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Unfold Ordinary Mind, Goldberg's recently released collaboration with a band including Ellery Eskelin and Nels Cline, doesn't excite me as nearly as much as Subatomic Particle Homesick Blues.

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Producer Phil Ramone has died.

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The Ink magazine that hits newsstands tomorrow contains my descriptions of 25 of the acts featured at this week's Middle of the Map festival.

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Marky Ramone and Andrew W.K. are teaming up for a tour.  Road trip to Chicago in October?

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The video for Kleenex Girl Wonder's "Nubs" is hilariously profane.

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XXL's 2013 Freshman class is documented here.

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I'm going to listen to today's new releases from the Black Angels, Bring Me the Horizon, Killswitch Engage, Sevendust, Tyler, the Creator and Gretchen Wilson as soon as I'm finished absorbing Gerald Clayton's Life Forum.

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Kansas City Click: Adrenaline Mob hit the VooDoo Lounge on Tuesday.

Sallie Ford performs at the RecordBar on Wednesday.

The music portion of the Middle of the Map festival runs Thursday through Saturday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Ces Cru- Constant Energy Struggles

I've been tracking Ces Cru's gradual ascendence on Kansas City's hip hop scene at There Stands the Glass for over five years.  I was happy for the duo when they signed to Strange Music.  It's the big break they deserve.  So what does Ces Cru rap about about on the new album Constant Energy Struggles?  They rap about about the big break they deserve.  The dominant subject matter of the album is disappointing.  I have limited tolerance for self-absorbed careerist raps.  The first five songs on Constant Energy Struggles are about Ces Cru's status in the hip hop community.  What a waste.  The superlative production and dazzling flows of Godemis and Ubiquitous are markedly superior to most of the competition.  I don't need Ces Cru to overstate the obvious.  "When Worlds Collide" is representative of the album's best and worst qualities.


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Bobby Rush's outing at the Living Room in Knuckleheads might be my favorite performance of 2013.  Here's my review.

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UMKC created a fine tribute to Aaron Markarian, the Conservatory of Music and Dance student who was recently murdered in his off-campus apartment.

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"If You Say So", a song from the Grisly Hand's forthcoming Country Singles album, is RIYL Lone Justice, X, Gram and Emmylou. 

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A friend insists that Wavves' Afraid of Heights is "the most important album in fifteen years."  Nope.  It sounds like a really good album by the Get Up Kids, Green Day or Weezer.  And that's good enough for me.

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Fred Eaglesmith chides Johnny (Cash)-come-latelys. 

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"So you guys are into jazz?"  Wolf continues Tyler, the Creator's ongoing troll.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

The Case for Smooth Jazz

I'm genuinely looking forward to hearing Joe Sample perform at White Recital Hall tonight.  As a member of the Crusaders and as a solo artist, Sample played a pivotal role in putting the "smooth" into jazz.  Sample has a lot to answer for. 

And what of it?  Sample may have perfected the smooth jazz template, but he shouldn't be held responsible for the sins of his musical descendants.  Even his funk-pop hits like the Crusaders' "Street Life" were indelibly smooove. 

Besides, context is everything.  Anyone who's experienced the functional music in the proper situations understands the ongoing appeal of smooth jazz.  Sample may have created a monster, but it's a beast I contentedly embrace. 



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I reviewed Jimmy Webb's performance at Knucklheads on Friday.

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The schedule for the Middle of the Map festival has been finalized.

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I just downloaded Baktun Baby, a new four-song EP by Spirit is the Spirit.

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Here's an EPK for Gene Clark's Here Tonight: The White Light Demos.  The album was released today.

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An old friend is affiliated with the Sin City Soul & Blues Revival.  It's not exactly my thing, but the idea of hearing James Harman, Lil' Ed, John Cleary and over two dozen additional like-minded bands in Las Vegas is intriguing.

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Andre Royo, aka Bubbles from The Wire, tells the world "What's In My Bag".

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I'll audition the latest releases from Wavves, Lil Wayne, Chvrches and Kvelertak as soon as I finish listening to Shirley Caesar's new album.

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Kansas City Click: Pop Evil performs Tuesday at Aftershock.

Masta Killa appears at the Riot Room on Wednesday.

Tear Out the Heart hit the Riot Room on Thursday.

Fat Fish Blues hosts Nick Moss and the Flip Tops on Friday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Bebo Valdés, 1918-2013

Bebo Valdés died yesterday in his adopted home of Stockholm.  The native Cuban had quite a life.  I've enjoyed Bebo Rides Again since its release in 1995.  The crystalline sound quality continues to astound me.  Yet I've come to prefer his scratchy pre-revolution recordings from the 1950s.  Hearing the life-affirming stuff causes me to wonder why I bother listening to anything else.


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I reviewed Jimmy Webb's outing at Knuckleheads last night.

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Jeneé Osterheldt wrote an excellent column about Ces Cru.

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Tim Finn tracked Radkey's activities at SXSW.

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The members of the Architects are soliciting funds for a forthcoming project.

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KJHK documented a performance by CS Luxem.

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Does anyone else remember spending hour after hour listening to bootlegs of Prince outtakes in the 1990s?  I'd forgotten about that frustrating exercise until I spent time with Inc.'s No World.

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Philip Glass shreds.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Yes at the Midland

If my 18-year-old self knew that I would willingly buy a $40 ticket to a concert by Yes in 2013, I may have spitefully cut off my callow ears.  I bought into the idea that the overblown music of Yes represented everything that was "wrong."  At this late date, however, such dated musical turf battles seem silly.

Two recent events compelled me to join the audience of about 2,000 at the Midland on Monday.  Peter Banks, a founder of Yes, died March 7.  He was 65.  Secondly, Animal Collective postponed a round of dates that included a show this week at the Midland.  The art-rock band's fans may object to the assertion, but Animal Collective's aesthetic makes it an indirect descendent of Yes.  It seemed like a case of now-or-never if I was ever going to experience a concert by the historically vindicated band.

I'm glad I pulled the trigger even though Yes' horrid lyrics have grown more annoying over the years.  And the current spot-on singer reminded me that I never cared for Jon Anderson's voice.  But the entirely unobtrusive (!) keyboardist Geoff Downes kept his back to the audience.  Drummer Alan White also stayed in the background.

The show was all about bassist Chris Squire and guitarist Steve Howe.  Both were spectacular.  Squire played with a surprisingly bluesy touch while Howe revealed that his playing is inspired by the same things that made John Renbourn, Bert Jansch and Richard Thompson such compelling guitarists.  And the sound in the Midland was almost perfect for the complete recreation of Close To the Edge, The Yes Album and Going For the One. 

Not my cuppa, but I was so impressed that I tried to initiate a chant of "One. More. Album." before the encore.  The old guys played "Roundabout" instead.  It's hard to complain- the five veterans with a cumulative age of about 300 played two-and-a-half-hours not including a 25-minute intermission.


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I reviewed Randy Brecker's appearance with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra.

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I reviewed the Elder's concert at the Uptown Theater on Saturday.

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Jack Greene has died.

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Jason Molina has died.

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Radkey, an official SXSW showcase band, was the subject of a brief profile in the New York Times.

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The forthcoming season of the Harriman-Jewell Series is remarkable.

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Olassa made a video for "Where Will I Live".

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I like the 2013 lineup of the Mayhem Festival.

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Help, I'm hypnotized ! Completely mesmerized!

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Robert Randolph Presents: The Slide Brothers is charming.  RIYL: Robert Randolph, Derek & the Dominoes, Gary Clark Jr.

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Kendrick Lamar disses Trinidad James on a new remix of "B*tch Don't Kill My Vibe."

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"Get off your phone!  Put it down!"  That's Action Bronson's message to an audience at SXSW.

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Kansas City Click: Lydia Loveless in on Tuesday's bill at the RecordBar.

Tower of Power plays Knuckleheads on Wednesday.

Gypsyhawk is Thursday's headliner at the Riot Room.

Jimmy Webb returns to Knuckleheads on Friday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: The Kansas City Chorale at Asbury United Methodist Church

My worst concert-going experience in recent memory transpired Tuesday at Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kansas.   It wasn't the un-amplified performance of the Kansas City Chorale that caused me grief.  The ensemble was wonderful.  At least, I assume it was.  

The problem was the boorish behavior of an alarming portion of the attendees.  Apparently compelled to hear the Chorale in the wake of the blitz of positive publicity that followed the receipt of another Grammy Award last month, the capacity audience included a few dozen people who made it clear that they really didn't want to be there.  The atmosphere was akin to dining at a trendy new restaurant while surrounded by an anxious clientele that suddenly remembered that they didn't care for that particular type of cuisine. 

I overheard one codger hectoring his wife about the price of tickets.  Even with their senior citizen discount, he complained, tickets were $20 each.  I paid $30 for the privilege of listening to the old guy complain throughout the first portion of the concert.  Several of his peers regularly emitted exasperated sighs.  Based on the steady barrage of noise he made, I can only assume that the old man seated directly behind me was focused on an intricate origami project.  While slightly more discrete, the women seated on either side of me transformed their programs into noisemakers when they weren't fussing with candy wrappers.

Conductor Charles Bruffy must have sensed the discontent.  He pleaded with the audience to limit applause so that the program could progress more quickly.  I trust that the next time I see Bruffy at work he won't feel obliged to rush. 


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I walked out on a locally-based band last weekend when it launched into "Kansas City."  It's one thing to play the tired song for tourists at a downtown bar.  But the gig in question was almost certainly attended exclusively by locals.  I'd rather hear "Mustang Sally."  Cut it out.

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Here's episode #10 of the KC Cypher series.  My favorite participants are Rondoe and Godemis of Ces Cru. 

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I have no reason to believe that the rapturous reviews aren't justified, but I just can't bring myself to listen to David Bowie's new album.

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After taking in the streaming version of last night's SXSW showcase by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, I gave the band's new Push the Sky Away album another chance.  Listening to it under the stars changed everything.  It rocketed to #8 on my ranking of the Best Albums of 2013.

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Nerds!

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image of the audience's version of a vuvuzela by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Kairy Koshoeva and the Owen/Cox Dance Group- Polsky Theatre

I used to think about love, mortality and God as I listened to the Goldberg Variations.  Not anymore.  A concert at Polsky Theatre on Monday may have forever altered the associations I'll make when I hear Bach's famous work.  A performance by the Owen/Cox Dance Group accompanied Kairy Koshoeva as she played the variations in its entirety.  Jennifer Owen's creative choreography managed to make the composition seem like a natural modern dance soundtrack.  The sole flaw occurred at the conclusion of a few segments as Koshoeva's otherwise stellar playing was sullied by the necessity of monitoring the readiness of the dancers.  The free performance served as a preview of a June 8 concert at White Recital Hall.


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I did not expect much of Scotty McCreery at the Uptown Theater on Saturday.  The kid impressed me.  Here's my review.

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Strange Music continues to crank out videos.  Here are the moving pictures for Ces Cru's "When Worlds Collide".

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I've long suggested that Mac Lethal could be a successful television or radio personality.  Here's proof.

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Eccentric Soul: The Dynamic Label is the latest reissue from the Numero Group.

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Coming to the Stiefel Theatre in Salina, Kansas: the Beach Boys, Cheap Trick, Joan Baez, Ian Anderson and Boz Scaggs.

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Here's the latest dispatch from Earl Sweatshirt.

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Kansas City Click: Freedy Johnston plays the Czar Bar on Tuesday.  I'm not sure if he's willing to play "Trying To Tell You I Don't Know" anymore.

DJ Abilities appears at the Czar Bar on Wednesday.  (R.I.P. Eyedea.)

Sam Baker performs at a house concert on Thursday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Ashley Monroe- Like a Rose

Oh, hell yes!  Ashley Monroe's new Like a Rose offers evidence that the Nashville establishment remains capable of producing proper traditional country albums.  Like a Rose is precisely the kind of honky tonk album that I'd been hoping Miranda Lambert, Monroe's bandmate in the Pistol Annies, would record.

Dozens of alt-country albums are issued every year.  I enjoy a lot of them.  Yet there's something about a slick major label production that adds a satisfying luster to the old-school sound that labels like Bloodshot just can't duplicate.  Like a Rose successfully filters the drinkin' and cheatin' songs of Gary Stewart through Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.  The title of "You Ain't Dolly (And You Ain't Porter)," the album-ending duet with Blake Shelton, reveals the era that inspired the project's rough-hewn sensibility.

Monroe's heroines keep it real.  One is "a dollar short and two weeks late."  Another has painful morning-after regrets.  A third begs her man to spice up their sex life.  "She's Driving Me Out of Your Mind" is an old-fashioned weeper.  "Used", the most conventional track, possesses the low-key angst associated with Alison Krauss.  The title track is one of the few positive songs.

Fans of Gary Allan, Shelby Lynne, the Mavericks, Dwight Yoakam and Randy Travis are encouraged to board this train. 



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I'd forgotten how much I loved Paid In Full until I heard Rakim perform much of the seminal album Wednesday.  Here's my review.

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Jazz organist Melvin Rhyne has died.

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I've spent much of my adult life embarrassing myself by confusing Alvin Lee with Albert Lee.  Alvin Lee died this week.

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Tiny Horse has a video for its acclaimed song "Ride".

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Ces Cru is on fire.

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Olassa performed on a local television program.

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Is it nostalgia, brain damage or good taste that causes me to adore the new self-titled album by Dallas' Mothership?  RIYL: Black Sabbath, Goblin Cock, Judas Priest.

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The video for DJ Muggs' "Soundclash Business" is amusing.  My glowing review of his album is here.

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The video for bentcousin's "bent paperboy" is appropriately charming.  My review of the British duo's debut album is here.

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"For Those Who Love the Lizz"!  Gypsyhawk is my new favorite thing.

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Between Krokus' Dirty Dynamite and a live album by Rhino Bucket, 2013 is already a banner year for aficionados of AC/DC knockoffs.  (I'm one of them.)

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I listened to the entirety of Rhye's Woman.  It's smooove.  RIYL: Sade, Seal, George Michael.

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Antonio Sanchez's New Life sounds like the best jazz album of 1994.  It came out this week.  Hey, I loved 1994.  RIYL: Michael Brecker, Steps Ahead, Tony Williams.

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The trailer for a documentary titled The Power of Soul contains a couple tantalizing moments.

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I love all readers of There Stands the Glass.  (Not really, but it's a nice thought.)  Even so, BGO's recent comment is one of the best in the history of this blog: I'd go see J.P. Harris if I had a designated driver and I didn't have to get up early the next day. Listening to him is a real throwback and the sincerity seems authentic. Who shows up for the likes of him anyways? Hipsters? Bumpkins? Old men like me? Dime-a-dance dames in fancy dresses?  Thanks, as always, BGO.

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Kansas City Click: My top picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Joe Budden- No Love Lost

I'd characterize my viewing of the television series Love and Hip Hop as a guilty pleasure, but I don't really enjoy watching the reality show.  Yet I can't tear myself away from the shrill drama perpetuated by misguided rappers and their farcical love interests. 

The supposed real life of Joe Budden looks miserable.  I've always liked the guy and I'm a big fan of his supergroup Slaughterhouse.  Unfortunately, nothing on Budden's new hit album No Love Lost is remotely as good as the all-star collective's recent "Throw It Away.

The project contains "She Don't Put It Down", my least favorite current radio song.  It's frustrating because Budden can't be written off.  A few of No Love Lost's tracks are effective.   The guilty conscious he exposes on the confessional "Skeletons" is a hip hop rarity.  "Castles" is a solid put-down of his hangers-on.

Budden recites the Serenity Prayer on the opening track.  I'm so grateful that I don't have his problems.


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I ponder Alaturka's new album Yalniz at Plastic Sax.

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Here's footage of Tony Tixier and Diverse performing at a house concert last weekend.  (I'm hiding in a back corner of the elegant room.)

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Readers can also spot me in the video of the Beautiful Bodies' "Invincible".

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Schorre's Son, the latest release by Dutch Newman, includes features by Ron Ron, Stik Figa, B Double E, the Phantom and Joey Cool.

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The lineup for the 2013 edition of Rockfest is solid. There are even a couple bands- including Heaven's Basement- that I haven't already seen.

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I encourage anyone who's Austin-bound for SXSW to check out the Midcoast Takeover.

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Hey, Paul Weller digs Os Mutantes, Gilberto Gil and Ethiopian jazz!

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Free Lil' Poopy!

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Kansas City Click: Patrick Krief performs at the RecordBar on Tuesday.

J.P. Harris appears at Knuckleheads on Wednesday.

The Blue Room hosts Amina Figarova and her band on Thursday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: New Ear- Strangely Familiar at All Souls Unitarian Church and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

"We're in a spaceship here," composer Paul Rudy said as he pointed to the futuristic protuberance on the ceiling of the foyer of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.  "It's just masquerading as a museum." 

An audience of about 125 heard the world premiere of Rudy's "Martian Chronicles" on Friday, March 1.  Mark Southerland's saxophones and horn sculptures took the lead during the spacey piece as the members of New Ear provided accompaniment.  After I realized that the rudderless composition didn't have a determined destination I was able to enjoy the ride.  Only the repeated use of an irritating and incongruous vibraslap-style percussion effect interfered with the celestial journey.  (KCUR produced an excellent piece about "Martian Chronicles.")

The first half of New Ear's "Strangely Familiar" program across the street at All Souls Unitarian Church was even better.  Lawrence Figg's cello playing over the spectral prerecorded sounds on "fits + starts" clearly blew the minds of the stoned college-age kids seated near me.  Robert Pherigo's work on treated piano during " Still Sorrowing" blew my mind in turn.  Jan Faidley and Thomas Aber evoked the work of the World Saxophone Quartet on the Tim Berne-inspired "We Speak Etruscan."  Only a composition by Chong Kee Yong failed to delight me.  It sounded a riot in a yoga studio. 

The Kansas City Star published a proper review of Friday's concert.


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I reviewed a concert by 3 Doors Down, Daughtry and Aranda.

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I introduced selections by six locally-based artists on Friday's edition of KCUR's Up to Date. 

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"We had that Bannister Mall crackin'!"  Here's the video for Kutt Cahoun's "I Been Dope" from his new Black Gold album.

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Here's a four-minute promo video for Kanrocksas. 

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Van Cliburn has died.

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The openng segment of a new documentary about the Flaming Lips' The Soft Bulletin is amazing.

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Gionvanni Guidi's City of Broken Dreams seems promising.

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I listened to the new ambient album Selected Studies, Vol. 1 by Lloyd Cole (yes, that Lloyd Cole) and Hans-Joachim Roedelius as I read last night.  Thumbs up.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

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: Soweto Kinch- The Legend of Mike Smith

Every so often an album is released that seems to have been made exactly to my idiosyncratic specifications.  Ornette Coleman's harmolodics?  Check.  Intellectually ambitious hip hop?  Check.  Sprawling narrative?  Check. 

I'm compelled to believe that Soweto Kinch crafted his new The Legend of Mike Smith with me in mind.  Can there really be anyone else in the universe who loves The Streets' A Grand Don't Come for Free, Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, Ornette Coleman's In All Languages, Steve Coleman's Sine Die and the first Run the Road grime compilation?

The Legend of Mike Smith is the story of a day in the life of an aspiring rapper in which the seven deadly sins lay a series of traps.  Kinch employs instrumental jazz and uncommonly eloquent hip hop to track Smith's saga over the course of 140 minutes.  While kept separate, the album explicates the natural symbiosis between the two forms.  Even so, I wonder if the absence of a single representative track will cause the album to get overlooked.  It's my understanding that the recording is a spinoff of a theatrical production.  And it's possible that those elements- despite my immediate enthusiasm- will ultimately prevent the project from standing up to repeated listening.

For now, at least, I'm over the moon for The Legend of Mike Smith.  The album inspires me to make grandiose comparisons.  It's the British answer to Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City!  It's the Sandinista! of the new millennium!  Or how about this- it's There Stands the Glass' 2013 album of the year.


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Magic Slim has died.  He was one of my favorite touring artists during the last great blues boom.  Howard Reich wrote a fine obituary.

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Kevin Ayers, best known for his work with Soft Machine, has died.

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"Roses" is a track from Red Line Chemistry's forthcoming album.

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The ACBs have a gory video for "Television."

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After shoveling snow for ninety minutes on Thursday, I unthawed to Nicola Benedetti's Silver Violin.  Nodding out to the often syrupy album with the violinist's visage dancing through my head was exceedingly pleasant.  I may make crossover classical albums my new thing.

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I'm digging these new reissues: Leon Thomas' The Creator 1969-1973: The Best Of The Flying Dutchman Masters and Pied Piper Presents - A New Concept In Detroit Soul.

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Inspectah Deck's Czarface gets my seal of approval.

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Chicago Red, the new release by Brad Goode, contains much of the same rhythmic funk and guitar skronk of Christian Scott's exemplary 2012 album Christian aTunde Adjuah.  So good.

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Euphoric Defilement!

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Kevin Eubank's new album The Messenger is a nice surprise.  RIYL: Weather Report, Charlie Byrd, Dave Holland.

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The zeitgeist: Miranda Lambert's "Time To Get a Gun".  ("I could afford one if I did just a little less drinkin'.")

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: The Bronx- IV

I never fell in love with the Foo Fighters.  Sure, the band's back story is amazing and I share the rest of the world's affection for Dave Grohl.  But whenever I hear one of the band's hits I wish it was just a little dirtier and bit less corporate.  The Bronx have made that sound in my head a reality with their new album IV.  It's precisely the sort of big, obvious anthemic rock that will always have a place of honor in my rotation.


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Hey, look!  Here's documentation of a 2006 show by the Bronx at the RecordBar.  And lest you forget, the Bronx's alter ego is pretty amazing.

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I reviewed concerts by Kenny Garrett and Kurt Elling last weekend.

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I reviewed the debut album by Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle at Plastic Sax.

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Coming to terms with the death of Donald Byrd is just too much for me to deal with right now.  I'll simply note that I bought a "Walking In Rhythm" 45 when I was a kid.

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Alice Russell's new song "Twin Peaks" is RIYL Amy Winehouse, Dusty Springfield, Adele.

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Oh, for f***'s sake!  Check out the lineup for Jazz Aspen Snowmass.

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Here's a list of the releases for Record Store Day 2013.  Put me down for Husker Du (7"), Sir Douglas Quintet (7") and Eric Church (LP).

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Michelle Rosewoman's new project looks great, but asking for $23,000 seems like a bit much even if Oliver Lake is in the mix.

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The debut album by the new "supergroup" Pinnick Gales Pridgen is RIYL Robin Trower, "Sunshine of Your Love, the 1970s.  (That said, I genuinely want to see 'em live.)

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I hate to sound like a whiny twit, but the decision to make the new "Bryan Ferry" album sound as if it was recorded in 1928 doesn't work for me.

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SSION just dropped a stunning video for "High".  RIYL: mullets, Arthur Baker, creepy basements.

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Kansas City Click: Max Groove returns to the Green Lady Lounge on Tuesday.

Torn the F*** Apart appears at the Riot Room on Wednesday.

Cantus sings at the Folly Theater on Thursday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

I'll Spot You

My lifelong dream has been fulfilled.  Thanks to a new phone that works almost seamlessly with a streaming music service, I enjoy instant access to a significant portion of the world's recordings from any location.  By paying Spotify $9.99 a month, I can listen to Thelonious Himself at the dentist's office.  Rihanna is there for me on the treadmill.  Rocket To Russia makes standing in line at the post office more bearable.  I can take a midnight stroll with Igor Stravinsky.

It's a far cry from the years I in which I made a weekly trip to one or two record stores to spend all the money I could spare- usually just $10 or $20- on a handful of albums. 

A friend characterizes Spotify as an updated version of Napster.  And to be sure, Spotify's interface isn't appealing.  Unlike my friend's allegiance to the social aspects of the competing streaming service Rdio, using Spotify is a solitary affair.  Yet in spite of glaring holdouts like the majority of the ECM Records catalog, I'm attracted to Spotify's superior selection. 

I'm using Spotify's playlist feature to track my favorite music of 2013.  I've already listened to 39 new albums in their entirety.  My favorites are listed in order here.  A list of my favorite songs of 2013 is here.


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John Medeski overthinks his forthcoming solo piano album.

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The surviving members of Big Boys reflect on their careers and the evolution of American punk.

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Who's in for Rocklahoma?  (It's only 234 miles from KC…)

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Neither his charisma nor Earl can salvage Tyler, the Creator's disappointing new "Domo 23".

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Erik Voeks puts a Lindsay Buckingham-esque spin on Bad Company Blue Oyster Cult's "Burnin' For You".

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 2 Chainz!

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Terri Lyne Carrington- Money Jungle: Provocative In Blue

When you get into popularity then you're talking about money, not music. -Duke Ellington

Money Jungle: Provocative In Blue is the sort of high-concept album that music geeks adore.  In a nutshell: three of today's most accomplished jazz musicians reinterpret a classic jazz album with bold political perspectives and contemporary sounds.  I applaud the audaciousness of the project.

A core group of drummer and bandleader Terri Lyne Carrington, bassist Christian McBride and pianist Gerald Clayton employ a few additional likeminded musicians and a slew of provocative spoken word samples about economics.  The original Money Jungle- a 1963 collaboration between Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach- merely implied what Carrington and her cohorts make explicit. 

The risk of a project of this nature is that the wealth of ideas could easily outshine the music.  That's not the case here.  The album is consistently entertaining.  Its sole fault is that two or three of the piano trio tracks more closely resemble the Ray Brown Trio than the legendary original Money Jungle assemblage.  There are worse things, of course, than hearing McBride emulate his Ray Brown.

Clark Terry's slurry scat on "Fleurette Africain” is just as articulate as the sampled monetary quotes from figures including Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Ron Paul and Condoleezza Rice that are sprinkled throughout the album.   The neo-soul of "Backward Country Boy Blues," featuring vocalist Lizz Wright, is superior to most of Esperanza Spalding's disappointing Radio Music Society.  Mainstream jazz fans may object to these updates, but Carrington's versatility is in line with the progressive inclinations of Ellington, Mingus and Roach.

It's difficult not to interpret Money Jungle: Provocative In Blue as a commentary on today's dismal jazz economy.  This is an essential album made by some of the biggest names in jazz.  Yet it only stands an outside chance at breaking into sales of five figures.  Only a handful of critics have yet to even acknowledge the album's existence.  Amazon's current sales ranking of the February 5 release is #1,178. 

The album closes with Herbie Hancock reading the Ellington quote posted above.  Was Ellington right?  Or was he making a self-serving excuse for the diminished role jazz plays in American culture? 


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I reviewed performances by Willy Moon, Shiny Toy Guns, the Beautiful Bodies and IAmDynamite at the Midland last Friday.

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The KC Cypher Series just got real.  The latest episode features Stik Figa, Riv Locc and Young Fate. Ron Ron (at the 7:37 mark) makes the most interesting appearance. 

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Flatlands Country Music Festival anyone?

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Here he goes again- Mac Lethal's "I Gotta Pee But I'm Too Comfortable To Get Up".

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RCA is pawning off 29 Van Cliburn discs for $80.  EMI is selling 11 Boris Christoff discs for $35. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…"

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I don't care what anyone says- I think Frank Ocean's weird Grammy performance was brilliant.

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The very existence of a hopelessly esoteric new release from Arhoolie Records fills me with joy.  The Wall Street Journal offers perspective.

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Last night I dreamed that I was married to the daughter of Irma Thomas.

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Kansas City Click: Ex-Cult are Tuesday's headliners at the RecordBar.

Lonnie McFadden performs at WestChase Grille on Wednesday.

Carrie Rodriguez returns to Knuckleheads 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.)

Cecil Womack, 1947-2013

When I was footloose and fancy free, music played a significant role in facilitating my romantic life.  Their brilliant music wasn't the only reason I spent a lot of time listening to Michael Jackson and Prince.  But even geniuses can get played out.  The appeal of the Gap Band and Rick James diminished away from the dance floor.  And there's only so much Lionel Richie and Luther Vandross a guy can take.  I was on the prowl for new music that could set the mood even as it stimulated my brain.  Enter Womack and Womack.  Love Wars, Radio M.U.S.C. Man and Conscious were my extremely helpful jams.  Cecil Womack died February 1.  An obituary in The Telegraph offers further evidence that truth is stranger than fiction.  (Tip via BGO.)


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Womack and Linda (Cooke) also cowrote one of the best songs of the 20th century. 


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I reviewed Kid Rock's concert at the Sprint Center.

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Reg Presley of the Troggs has died.

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I discovered the Diablos Del Ritmo: Colombian Melting Pot compilation via There Stands the Glass reader Big Steve.  I hadn't even realized that my life had been incomplete until I heard Myrian Makenwa's essential "Amampondo" for the first time this week.

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Lenny Kaye likes Rory Gallagher?  That's just one of the many surprises of his new "What's In My Bag" segment.

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I'm constantly reminded of my limitations.

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Sometimes I just have to let myself go.  I recently listened to every second of Trinidad James' Don't Be S.A.F.E.  And I enjoyed it for what it is.  The new remix of the project's big hit features the brain trust of T.J, T.I., 2 Chainz and Young Jeezy. 

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Deerhoof makes me smile.

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Kasey Anderson, a musician who's received positive attention at There Stands the Glass, is in a heap of trouble.

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Merzbow continues to confuse me.  That's not necessarily a bad thing.  Have you seen Genesis P-Orridge lately?

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Here's a video for Solas' "Lay Your Money Down."  RIYL: Flogging Molly, alcohol, Philadelphia.

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I can't locate an EPK at YoutTube, so you'll have to watch the essential footage of Chick Corea talking about the latest Miles Davis official boot of 1969 recordings at the retail link.  Spotify has also made the album difficult to find.  Here you go.

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Kansas City Click: Cam'ron appears at the Riot Room on Tuesday.

The Steepwater Band play Knuckleheads on Wednesday.

The Brick hosts Mike Dillon on Thursday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: La Busta Gialla- Il Sogno del Marinaio

Like thousands of dudes in my generation, I love Mike Watt.  Not everything he's done since he played a role in forever altering my perception of the possibilities of rock music has been to my taste, but I've always been eager to keep tabs on him.

I get the impression that not many people still share my enthusiasm.  A cursory search turns up only two reviews of La Busta Gialla, Watt's new album with Il Sogno Del Marinaio.  The trio of Watt and an Italian guitarist and drummer create the sort of jazz-punk-world hybrid that I'm predisposed to like.

One of the two reviews was published at an influential site.  The criticism in Pitchfork's thoughtful analysis is valid.  The album is a bit "rickety" and it does contain "loosely formed grooves."  The site slapped a 5.7 on the project.  I find Il Sogno Del Marinaio's slapdash approach endearing.  That's why There Stands the Glass hails La Busta Gialla as a scientist rock worthy of a rating of 8.3.


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I reviewed Sweet Honey In the Rock's concert at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

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Guitarist Jef Lee Johnson, who performed in Esperanza Spalding's band at Kansas City's Helzberg Hall last October, has died.

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Blues woman Ann Rabson has died.

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Butch Morris has died.

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Joplin rocks.  Check out "Exteriors" by Missouri metal band Remnants.

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You have to check out the 2:03 mark of this fan footage of the Darkness at the Uptown Theater.

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I don't condone a single sentiment contained on Fidlar's self-titled album. But I have to admit that I concur with the critical consensus.  Fidlar is very good.  RIYL: The Ramones, Johnny Thunders, Intervention.

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There's something about Violeta Vil.  The Venezuelan band's Lápidas y Cocoteros streams here.  RIYL: My Bloody Valentine, Oz Mutantes, life.

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Salina's Chad Kassem always kills me. (Don't miss the inane banter by the talking heads at the conclusion of the segment.)

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Maybe the frigid temperatures have addled my mind, but I think the initial Warped Tour band list for 2013 looks great.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Toro Y Moi- Anything In Return

Although I've only published a handful of posts at There Stands the Glass since New Year's Day, I've already offered abundant praise of hip hop, EDM, opera, gospel, R&B, reggae, folk, jazz, blues, punk and indie rock artists.  Is there anything I don't like? 

I have, in fact, encountered a new album that encapsulates many of the things I abhor in popular music.   The fashionable aural wallpaper of Toro Y Moi's Anything In Return serves as a case study of my dislikes.  The frothy album is emotionally vacant and deliberately devoid of grit and soul.  By my standards, Toro Y Moi makes music for people who don't like music.

Incredibly, many of my friends love Anything In Return.  That's fine.  The pleasure they take in the music of Toro Y Moi doesn't bother me.  To each his own.


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James Carter plays a lot of notes.  And I like it.  I reviewed last weekend's concert by the James Carter Organ Trio at the Folly Theater.

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I reviewed Passport's self-titled debut album at Plastic Sax.

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Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonnner of the Ohio Players has died.  He last performed in Kansas City at the 2010 Rhythm & Ribs Jazz and Blues Festival.

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Gour Khyapa has died.  (Tip via BGO.)

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Foxygen's "San Francisco" fills me with joy.  RIYL: Ray Davies, Eric Burdon, fops.

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Miss the White Stripes?  Pony Time has you covered with the excellent "Geordie".

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Whenever I find myself bedridden with an injury or an illness, I attempt to make the best of a bad situation by using my impaired state to explore new forms of music.  Armed with painkillers after I broke my ankle a few years ago, I came to appreciate EDM on a new level.  When the flu knocked me out last week, I discovered the compositions of Henri Dutilleux.  This stuff is sick.

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Chris Morris wrote a great analysis of Amoeba's digital efforts.

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I adore Broadcast's original soundtrack for Berberian Sound Studio.  RIYL: Ennio Morricone, John Zorn, found sound.

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Free Energy's Love Sign is an excellent windows-down summer cruising album. RIYL: The Cars, Cheap Trick, Peter Wolf.

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The demos at the end of some versions of Camper Van Beethoven's new reunion album La Costa Perdida are markedly more interesting than the official tracks.  RIYL: the Grateful Dead, California, patchouli.

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I'm looking forward to digging into Gamak, Rudresh Mahanthappa's skronky new album.

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Vinyl eroticism from Salina, Kansas: "The Doors Infinite Unboxing".

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Kansas City Click: Max Groove plays Jazz on 39th Street on Tuesday.

Stone Sour is Wednesday's headliner at the Midland.

La Guerre performs Thursday at the RecordBar.

Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle hit the Blue Room on Friday.

The Folly Theater hosts Danielle de Niese on Saturday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: José James- No Beginning No End

The members of the sales and marketing departments of Blue Note Records almost certainly celebrated when they first heard No Beginning No End, the new album by José James.  The project is probably the most commercially viable release on the label since Norah Jones' Feels Like Home.  Sales in the hundreds of thousands and multiple Grammy nominations seem inevitable. 

While No Beginning No End contains many of the bourgeois components of hits by Jones, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (not necessarily a liability for an album of make-out music), it's really based on D'Angelo's seminal 2000 album Voodoo.  The loose jazz-funk hybrid- itself inspired by Prince, Roy Ayers, Curtis Mayfield, Bobby Womack, Marvin Gaye, Miles Davis and the O'Jays- is the sound of now. 

A few of the live performances I've watched online aren't particularly impressive.  And yesterday's NPR feature about James is incredibly irritating.  But none of that matters when I hit play.  Unless I burn out on it, No Beginning No End should figure prominently on my year-end album list.


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I recall being told to get out of the way by cameramen during Hammerween at the Beaumont Club last October.  Based on this compelling footage of Hammerlord, I'm glad that I opted to comply with their irritating requests.

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The Great Vehicle is a Federation of Horsepower side project.  The People's Cathedral of Wavelengths should appeal to fans of Joe Satriani, Brand X and Steve Morse.  (Tip via There Stands the Glass reader Gary.)

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Destination Out's interaction with Barry Altschul is vital.

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Lawrence's Klyph Scurlock "auditioned" for adorable Oklahoma kiddie punks Skating Polly.

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Red Kross talks trash about REO Speedwagon in their "What's In My Bag" segment. 

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Watching Nardwuar vs. Riff Raff gives me the strength to carry on.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Teena Marie- Beautiful

Two years after her premature passing in 2010, I continue to mourn Teena Marie.  The posthumous album Beautiful was released last week.  Rolling Stone provides the project's backstory. 

Beautiful is about what longtime fans might expect.  Late in her career, Marie wasn't attempting to replicate the upbeat funk of big hits like "Square Biz".  Instead, Beautiful contains mostly ruminative love songs.  Innocuous and unobtrusive but consistently pleasant, Beautiful would provide ideal background music at an upscale salon.

The two best tracks- "Rare Breed" and "Definition of Down"- don't match any of her career highlights, while the limpid "Carte Blanche" and "Wild Horses" should have been left in the can.  An embarrassing production choice spoils "Maria Bonita."

Completists won't regret the need to acquire Beautiful, but casual fans who already own a Marie compilation or a couple of her prime albums aren't missing out.


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Last weekend's performance by Julian Lage and Jorge Roeder at Yardley Hall is my concert to beat in 2013.  Here's my review.

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I reviewed Bloc Party's concert at Liberty Hall on Sunday.

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UMKC's Kerwin Young will be on hand when Public Enemy is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April.

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My new favorite time-suck is the archive of a defunct Midwestern music publication called The Note.  Check out the amateurish  advertisement for the 1988 Monsters of Rock tour.

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I'll stop listening to the "melo-death" of Aether Realm only after you pry the flanged mace from my cold, dead fingers.

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Pantha du Prince's new Elements of Light album is like a groovy Tubular Bells.  Here's a taste.

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Larry Rosen, co-founder GRP Records, explains how the promising concept of smooth jazz became a "sad joke".

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Mixed Blood Majority's new album is released today.  Watch Lazerbeak perform his magic here.

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When (my) worlds collide: Bargain Bin Blasphemy is hilarious.

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Kansas City Click: Gravity A headlines at the RecordBar on Tuesday.

The Kill Devil Club features Steve Lambert on Wednesday.

Inspectah Deck appears at the Riot Room on Thursday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Bentcousin- Everybody's Got One

Everybody's Got One, the new six-song EP by Bentcousin, is a mess.  And I love it.  The bum notes and questionable production values make the British duo's ramshackle project all the more charming.

On the opening track "Bentpaperboy," Amelia Innit gently croons lines like "I never met a Catholic that I didn't like."  The ingratiating acoustic piece recalls the dry wit of Belle and Sebastian.  Amelia's twin brother Pat admires a girl named "Susan" and "my favorite LP" on the chaotic rocker "Slade."  "I Quit You" is a feisty duet in which a modern-day Eliza Doolittle asserts her independence.  "You went out drinking when she had the flu!" Amelia sneers on the delightful "I Think I Like Your Girlfriend More Than You".

The modest Everybody's Got One is precisely the type of hidden gem that replenishes my faith in the giddy power of popular music.  I recommend it to aficionados of Billy Bragg's love songs, the lighthearted side of the Mekons and the enthusiasm of Frank Turner.  Everybody's Got One will be released in February.


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Cowboy Indian Bear's new four-song single is very impressive.

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"I'm Hustin'" is the latest video from Rich the Factor.  (Tip via Tony's Kansas City.)

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B-Sides And Confessions Vol. 2, the new album by former Kansas Citian Jeff Black, was released on January 15.

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Here's a tease from Kanrocksas.

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My friend K.S. turned me on to Wichita's The Travel Guide.  RIYL: Indie kids bashing away in a basement.

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Jimi in Salina.

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Steve Pick's insightful review of Jimbo Mathus' White Buffalo suggests that the album resembles an inferior version of Exile On Main Street.  It reminds me of a Joe Grushecky album.  That's a good thing.

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I first heard the Eddie Fisher Quintet's The Third Cup this week.  RIYL: Wes, Grant and George.  (Via Euclid Records.)

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ASAP Rocky's LoveLiveA$AP is the most immediately sonically rewarding album I've heard in a while.  It's a fun listen but I'm not convinced that I'll still be enamored of it come December.

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I've been riding shotgun on the Emily Armstrong bandwagon for about a year.  Hear what she does with "Gone Away".

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Big Jay McNeely is alive!

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Yes, I'm a hypocrite.  I'm offended by this promotional video for Jazz Fest.  It seems wrong to use a brass band's music to pitch the likes of Billy Joel, Fleetood Mac, DMB and Maroon 5.

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Forget Dirty Projectors- Bahamas is where it's at.  This stunning live performance is RIYL Alan Jackson, Dirty Projectors, Bruce Springsteen.

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Here's the sonic representation of my Facebook news feed.  (Not that I didn't sign up for it…)

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)