Original image of honky tonk troubadour Marty Bush performing at Mike Kelly’s Westsider on July 1 by There Stands the Glass.
I attended a rock show in a nightclub last night. My experience was entirely forgettable, if not downright desultory. Taking my own advice, I bought a front-and-center ticket for the classical concert tonight that opens the ten chronological August concert recommendations I created for KCUR. Each of my selections promises a memorable experience.
I refuse to renounce my abiding admiration for the music of Kanye West. He’s been canceled ten times over, but his personal missteps don’t invalidate the artistic quality of his discography.
West is undeniably the most important musician of the first two decades of the millennium. I relished the era in which each of his triumphant releases altered the direction of popular music.
Travis Scott’s reprehensible new album Utopia makes me miss West’s dominance all the more. Almost every passage on the 73-minute release references West’s art.
Drawing inspiration from West is as commendable as it is inescapable for a mainstream rapper, but Utopia registers as shameless theft rather than loving homage.
Screenshot of the trailer for Bayerische Staatsorchester’s production of George Frideric Handel’s Semele by There Stands the Glass.
Top Ten Albums of July (as of July 25)
1. Anohni and the Johnsons- My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
Sacral.
2. Zoh Amba, Chris Corsano and Bill Orcutt- The Flower School
Superlative skronk.
3. Hilary Hahn- Eugène Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas for Solo Violin
Sublime scraping.
4. African Head Charge- A Trip to Bolgatanga
Positive vibration.
5. Immy Owusu- LO-LIFE!
Goofball Afrobeat.
6. Mahalia- IRL
Back to life, back to reality.
7. Shapednoise- Absurd Matter
Dank discord.
8. Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band- Kings Highway
Scenic.
9. Black Milk- Everybody Good?
It remains to be seen.
10. Charif Megarbane- Marzipan
Lebanese lounge.
Top Ten Songs of July (as of July 25)
1. Joshua Redman with Gabrielle Cavassa- “Chicago Blues”
All things go.
2. Jamila Woods- "Tiny Garden"
Watered and weeded.
3. Robert Glasper featuring SiR and Alex Isley- "Back to Love"
Slow jam.
4. claire rousay- "Sigh In My Ear"
I hear a symphony.
5. Ryan Castro and Peso Pluma- "Quema"
Fiery.
6. Aluna featuring Tchami and Kareen Lomax- "Running Blind"
Rhythm is gonna get you.
7. JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown- "Guess What B*tch, We Back H*e!"
Knock knock.
8. PJ Harvey- "Seem an I"
Might a you.
9. Colter Wall- "Honky Tonk Nighthawk"
Swinging doors.
10. That Mexican OT featuring Lefty sm- "Barrio"
Still tippin’.
Top Performances of July (as of July 25)
1. The Smile and Robert Stillman at the Midland Theater
2. The Salvation Choir at Theis Park
3. Henrique Eisenmann and Eugene Friesen at the 1900 Building
4. Rob Magill with Marshall Trammell, Alber with Alex Mallett, and Krista Kopper, Aaron Osborne and Evan Verplough at Farewell
5. Final Gasp, Persona and New Obsessions at Howdy
My Instagram clips are here, here and here.
6. Eli Wallace with Ben Baker, Seth Andrew Davis, Aaron Osborne and Evan Verploegh at Stray Cat Film Center
7. The American Legion Band of Greater Kansas City at American Legion Post 370
8. Mike Horan and Scott Tichenor at the Market at Meadowbrook
9. Natalie Prauser and Marty Bush at Mike Kelly’s Westsider
10. Lee Walter Redding at Volker Park
The previous monthly survey is here.
Original image by There Stands the Glass.
A solo performance by Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator in a church basement changed my life in 1978. Until that evening, I didn’t fully comprehend that difficult art-rock might be a deliberate artistic choice.
Closer in spirit to the nascent punk revolution than the era’s dominant rock rendered by the likes of Genesis, Kansas and Yes, Hammill’s appearance stood as the best prog-rock concert I’d attended. Until this week.
The $69.75 I paid for a general admission ticket allowed me to claim a spot about 20 feet from the center of the stage of the Midland Theater on Wednesday, July 19. I held my ground even though half the people around me chatted throughout Robert Stillman’s opening set of spiritual jazz.
My fury dissipated when The Smile began its 100-minute outing. In the spirit of Hammill 45 years ago, Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner made no concessions to the near-capacity audience of more than 2,500.
With the possible exception of the Sonic Youth-esque "You Will Never Work in Television Again", the Smile’s grooves were obstinately enigmatic. A perfect sound field- easily the best I’ve experienced at the Midland- made processing the challenging music easier.
The absence of instrumental soloing was the most startling aspect of the performance. Is it even prog-rock if there’s not a five-minute drum solo? Yes. In fact, the Smile’s punk approach to prog-rock is the fulfillment of a dream I’ve carried for 45 years.
Original image by There Stands the Glass.
I was initially perplexed upon receiving an unsolicited copy of Cedar: The Life and Music of Cedar Walton in the mail. I wondered if Ben Markley’s book about the pianist was necessary. My skepticism quickly evaporated.
Skimming the discography at the back of the book reminded me that Walton was a member of the most acclaimed version of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. And I’d forgotten that Walton was John Coltrane’s first choice as pianist for the Giant Steps sessions.
Cedar contains commentary from dozens of musicians, promoters, venue operators and family members. The accumulation of adulatory anecdotes is a deserved hagiography. My impression of Walton as an exquisitely elegant but decidedly staid musician changed when I began listening to recordings I’d previously neglected.
Hearing Walton on the title track of Kenny Burrell’s Sunup to Sundown was the turning point. What I previously heard as humdrum swing is actually subtly graceful art. And discovering impeccable Walton recordings including the first Eastern Rebellion album has rekindled my interest in straight-ahead jazz.
Aside from several jarring typos, Markley’s work is a persuasive argument for Walton’s art. The study includes many references to Walton’s low visibility and lack of critical recognition. Prior to reading Cedar, I was among the oblivious jazz fans who discounted Walton. Thanks to Markley, I’ve been redeemed.
Krista Kopper has acted as the responsible adult in the room during the more than dozen times I’ve seen her perform with her peers in the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society. Whenever her Kansas City colleagues flirt with excess, Kopper can be counted on to apply gentle persuasion to redirect their dissipation. The profundity of her new solo double bass album Blessed Are Those Who Mourn, consequently, isn’t surprising. Composed, performed and titled for women who were “assaulted and then killed while running,” the eight selections represent Kopper’s intention “to fight death with music.” Her tragically essential battle is a magnificently dignified triumph.
Original image by There Stands the Glass.
I resumed my work at KCUR several months ago with the primary intention of showcasing worthy artists deserving of wider recognition among the audience of the NPR affiliate. My new audio feature about the rap star SleazyWorld Go is precisely what I had in mind.
I’m proud of the piece, but I get the impression it’s been shunned by many of my associates in Kansas City’s music community. SleazyWorld Go’s success doesn’t fit the narrative embraced by many locally based scenemakers. The reasons are threefold.
First, his music is violent and subversive in a town that prefers comfort and comformity. Secondly, SleazyWorld Go bypassed the local circuit of clubs and promoters on his way to stardom. Ironically, the lack of fealty diminishes his appeal to the established powerbrokers.
And perhaps most significantly, his success proves that undeniable talent applied to a popular genre wins out. SleazyWorld Go’s example directly conflicts with the general consensus that only Kansas City’s geographic isolation prevents the world from discovering a scene that’s a musical Shangri-La.
As I’ve said countless times, just because something originates in Kansas City doesn’t mean it’s good. Of course, plenty of exceptional sounds are made by locally based musicians. Look no further than my recent KCUR features about Willi Carlisle and Mike Dillon. And I continue to document the town’s most important music at Plastic Sax. But until further notice, it’s Sleazy season.
Original image by There Stands the Glass.
Prior to devouring Henry Threadgill’s new autobiography Easily Slip Into Another World: A Life in Music, I considered the innovator to be more of a magician than a musician. The book co-written with Brent Hayes Edwards documents precisely how Threadgill became one of the leading artistic figures of our time.
Threadgill recalls witnessing performances by blues giants including Howlin’ Wolf in Chicago’s Maxwell Street Market, a seventh grade teacher repeatedly exposing him to the compositions of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and attending rehearsals of Sun Ra’s Arkestra as a teen.
Combined with the support of his proud family, how could he have become anything other than a groundbreaking artist? Well, he might have been killed in Vietnam. The capricious reaction of a Catholic archbishop to Threadgill’s army band arrangement of a medley of patriotic songs performed in Kansas City resulted in his redeployment to the war zone.
Threadgill’s literal war stories are jaw-dropping. Perhaps it’s not surprising that the autobiography becomes less riveting as it details the ascension of Threadgill’s career. The increasingly heavy emphasis on music theory is invariably dry. Even so, Easily Slip Into Another World is the best music-oriented book I’ve read in the past year.
Screenshot of the trailer of Deutsche Oper Berlin’s production of Turandot by There Stands the Glass.
Top Ten Albums of June
1. Aja Monet- When the Poems Do What They Do
2. Young Thug- Business is Business
Money.
3. Jonny Greenwood and Dudu Tassa- Jarak Qaribak
Old country.
4. Orrin Evans- The Red Door
Unlocked.
5. Tanya Tucker- Sweet Western Sound
Blood red and goin’ down.
6. Deer Tick- Emotional Contracts
Exile on Mean Street.
7. Ambrose Akinmusire- Beauty is Enough
Perhaps.
8. Pat Metheny- Dream Box
9. Meshell Ndegeocello- The Omnichord Real Book
Post-genre.
10. Killer Mike- Michael
Deadly.
Top Ten Songs of June
1. Joshua Ray Walker- "Cuz I Love You"
What a time to be alive.
2. Big Freedia- "Gin In My System"
Bounce.
3. Don Omar- "Carcelero"
Jailhouse rock.
4. Rufus Wainwright and Chaka Khan- “Cotton Eyed Joe”
Where did you come from?
5. Kelly Clarkson- “rock hudson”
Pillow talk.
6. Militarie Gun- “My Friends Are Having a Hard Time”
Time tough.
7. Joanna Sternberg- "I Will Be with You"
Hi, how are you?
8. Bettye LaVette featuring Anthony Hamilton, Ray Parker Jr. and Rev. Charles Hodges- “Sooner or Later”
The time is now.
9. Peso Pluma- "BZRP #55"
Wise guy.
10. Lil Uzi Vert- "Rehab"
No no no.
Top Ten Performances of June
1. Boulevardia, day one (Cimafunk, Steddy P, the Beths)
2. Nickel Creek and Gaby Moreno at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
3. Devin Gray, Maria Elena Silva and the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society at Firehouse Gallery #8
4. Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
5. Donald Harrison’s “The Jazz of Physics: Quantum Improvisation” at the Folly Theater
6. Boulevardia day two (Big Freedia, the Salvation Choir, Peter Schlamb)
7. Chalis O’Neal at the Blue Room
8. Danielle Nicole Band at Town Center Plaza
9. Frederick Hodges’ “Music Will Win the War” at the National WWI Museum and Memorial
10. Sarah Tannehill Anderson and Elizabeth Suh Lane at Loose Park
The previous monthly survey is here.
Pat Metheny’s transcendently beautiful album Dream Box will be among my most-played releases of 2023. But when I’m in need of visceral catharsis, I go all in on improvised cacophony. Children of the Forest, a new collection of previously unreleased 1976 sessions, is 54 minutes of raw power. Drummer Milford Graves is joined by multi-instrumentalists Arthur Doyle and Hugh Glover in the scathing barrage. Milford’s praise of Doyle in the accompanying notes reflects the intent of the sessions: “something happened there that was beyond the immediate intellectual control of the people who was doing it.” The transcendently harsh Children of the Forest is essential noise.
