February 2026 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Staatsoper Wien’s production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Luisa Miller by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of February 2026
1. Jill Scott- To Whom This May Concern
My review.

2. James Brandon Lewis and the Messthetics- Deface the Currency
Physical graffiti.

3. Bill Frisell- In My Dreams
Where the deer and the antelope play.

4. Charlie XCX- Wuthering Heights
Smoldering art-pop.

5. Tomeka Reid- dance! skip! hop!
With Mary Halvorson, Jason Roebke and Tomas Fujiwara.

6. Mandy, Indiana- Urgh
Yikes.

7. Melissa Aldana- Filin
My review.

8. Pat Metheny- Side-Eye III+
Everything at once.

9. Tigran Hamasyan- Manifeste
My review.

10. J. Cole- The Fall-Off
Farewell.

The Top Three Reissues of February 2026
1. Art Pepper- Everything Happens to Me: 1959, Live at the Cellar
My review.

2. Ranil y su Conjunto Tropical- Galaxia Tropical
Peruvian cumbia from the ‘80s and ‘90s.

3. Alexander Gibson- Opening the Doors
A seven-hour survey of the late Scottish conductor’s work.

The Top Ten Songs of February 2026
1. Jorge Drexler- "Toco madera"
Sparkling MPB #1.

2. Fabiano do Nascimento and Vittor Santos Orchestra-  “O Tempo (Foi O Meu Mestre)”
Sparkling MPB #2.

3. svn4evr- "veil"
Incredulous gospel.

4. Adrian Younge- “Portschute”
My new theme song.

5. LaVelle- "Suga"
Sweet soul music.

6. Ella Mai- "First Day"
Boo’d up.

7. xaviersobased- “Party at My Place”
Don’t bother knocking.

8. Billy Woods featuring Fatboi Sharif- “Funny Games”
Funny, not funny..

9. Willow featuring Kamasi Washington- "Play"
Recess.

10. The Womack Sisters- “You Went Away Too Long”
Family tradition.

The Top Ten Performances of February 2026
1. Joyce DiDonato and Time For Three at the Folly Theater
My review.

2. Isaac Cates & Ordained at Village Presbyterian Church
My Instagram clip.

3. UMKC Conservatory’s “Carmen” at White Theater
My review.

4. Joshua Redman Quartet at the Folly Theater
My review.

5. Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s “Porgy and Bess” at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My Instagram snapshot.

6. KC Winter Jazzfest at Cap Gun Studios
My review.

7. Jericho Brown at Arrupe Auditorium
My Instagram snapshot.

8. Robert Stubbs at Country Club Christian Church
My Instagram clip.

9. Matt Otto, Aaron Sizemore, Ben Tervort and Mike Warren at the Music House
My Instagram clip.

10. The International Center for Music at Asbury Methodist Church
My Instagram clip.

The previous monthly recap is here.

January 2026 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Theater an der Wien’s production of Gioachino Rossini’s L’occasione fa il ladro by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of January 2026
1. Kris Davis and the Lutoslawski Quartet- The Solastalgia Suite
A turbulent third stream.

2. Angelika Niescier- Chicago Tapes
The German saxophonist visits the Windy City.

3. Sault- Chapter 1
Rewriting the book of neo-soul.

4. Craig Taborn- Dream Archives
With Tomeka Reid and Ches Smith.

5. Zach Bryan- With Heaven on Top
Little pink houses.

6. Ari Lennox- Vacancy
Hole in her heart.

7. Haeun Joo- Just Gravity
Inescapable pull.

8. Makoto Ozone- For Someone
My review.

9. Joel Ross- Gospel Music
Persuasive testimony.

10. Hermon Mehari and NO(w) Beauty- (un)Seen
On sight.

The Top Three Reissues and Reimaginings of January 2026
1. Various- Naive Melodies
Real live wires.

2. Zach Bryan- With Heaven On Top (Acoustic)
Lonesome jubilees.

3. Grupo Um- Nineteen Seventy Seven
Return to forever.

The Top Ten Songs of January 2026
1. Callie Day- "Rely On You"
Live at Isaac Cates’ Affirmations service in Leawood, Kansas.

2. Jill Scott- “Beautiful People”
Everybody is a star.

3. Ella Langley- “Dandelion”
Deep in the weeds.

4. Rawayana featuring Manuel Turizo- “Inglés en Miami”
Speaking of Venezuela.

5. A$AP Rocky- “Punk Rocky”
The best track on a disappointing album.

6. By Storm- “Can I Have Your For Myself”
A tough pill to swallow.

7. Pat Metheny- “In On It”
I’m going with him.

8. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis- “Gestations”
Fully formed.

9. Camper featuring Alex Isley and RoseGold- “Sixteen Summers”
Silly love song.

10. Melissa Aldana- “La Sentencia”
Exquisite.

The Top Performances of January 2026
Travel, inclement weather and budget constraints prevented me from attending ten or more shows in a month for the first time since the pandemic.

The previous monthly recap is here.

Book Review: Brad Mehldau's Formation: Building a Personal Canon, Part 1

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

My indifference to the personal lives of musicians shields me from the reprehensible behavior of otherwise brilliant artists. In the cloistered realm of jazz, I’m entirely content to remain oblivious to scandalous scuttlebutt. Even though Brad Mehldau is clearly among the most important musicians of our time, I never wondered about his religious and sexual orientations or his political and ethnic affiliations. 

I neither expected nor wanted private confessions in the distressingly explicit 2023 memoir Formation: Building a Personal Canon, Part 1. Yet since he was compelled to reveal all, it’s only right that I divulge that several of the incidents Mehldau describes are uncannily similar to traumatic experiences that scarred my formative years.

I’m a few years older than the pianist and my background is less affluent and refined. Even so, I grasped Mehldau’s generational reference points and I share similar degrees of contrition for past misdeeds. While I never succumbed to drug addiction, I too acted as a passive witness to the gradual annihilation of self-destructive friends.

What about music? It’s here too, in an entirely relatable form. Like me, Mehldau was raised on pop music before gradually surrendering to an infatuation with jazz. He attended concerts by the Ramones and the Grateful Dead. With much deliberation he planted his flag in the latter camp of the punk versus prog divide. He’s down with Pat Metheny and Rush.

Mehldau cites intellectual and literary luminaries like Harold Bloom, James Joyce and Thomas Mann as consequential guides in the development of his bildung. Here’s an absurd reduction of the culmination of Formation: Mehldau finally hits upon a conceptual means by which to create meaningful art beyond the usual corny homages to the music of the past.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: There Stands the Glass’ Artist of the Year

Original image of the view from Mozart’s second home in Salzburg by There Stands the Glass.

I’m a walking advertisement for music tourism. I’ve wheeled trips to North American cities including Chicago, Knoxville, New York, Portland and Toronto around a variety of concerts and festivals in recent years. I expanded my range in 2024.

As a natural progression of my snowballing obsession with classical music, I traveled to Austria to visit the two cities most associated with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Treks to the genius’ childhood homes in Salzburg left me breathless. Attending worship services in Mozart-affiliated churches in Salzburg and Vienna provided even more meaningful experiences.

More significantly, I felt at home in Vienna, a subdued city filled with cafés, bookshops and classical music. Even though I don’t speak the language, wear fashionable clothes or smoke cigarettes, I’m aligned with the Viennese. I’m sympathetic to their bookish stoicism, cultural elitism and judgemental temperament. 

I discovered my aesthetic home thanks to Mozart. That’s just one of the many reasons Mozart is my artist of the year. Honorable mentions: Zach Bryan, Anna Butterss and Nick Shoulders. Previous recipients of There Stands the Glass’ Artist of the Year designation are Hilary Hahn (2023), Joyce DiDonato (2022), Pat Metheny (2021) and Bad Bunny (2020).

The Top Kansas City Albums, EPs and Reissues of 2024

I’m looking forward to returning to Mark Manning’s Wednesday MidDay Medley program on community radio station KKFI on Wednesday, November 27. Preparing to share music on the year-end best-of show compelled me to complete the following annual exercise. The agonizing process invariably means snubbing a few friends and elevating the art of talented antagonists in Kansas City’s various music communities. The songs I’ll feature on Wednesday MidDay Medley were selected partly for concise track lengths, clean edits and in deference to the predilections of my fellow guests.

The Top 25 Kansas City Albums of 2024

1. Blackstarkids- Saturn Dayz /Heaven on Urf
High concept.

2. Betty Bryant- Lotta Livin’
Plastic Sax review.

3. Willi Carlisle- Critterland
Feral folk.

4. SleazyWorld Go- More Than a Shooter
Shots fired.

5. Logan Richardson- The Science of Superstition
Plastic Sax review.

6. Charles McPherson- Reverence
Plastic Sax review.

7. Behzod Abduraimov- Shadows of My Ancestors
Prokofiev, Ravel and Saidaminova.

8. Danielle Nicole- The Love You Bleed
Medic!

9. Ben Allison, Steve Cardenas and Ted Nash- Tell the Birds I Said Hello: The Music of Herbie Nichols
Plastic Sax review.

10. Tech N9ne- COSM
Collabos.

11. Matt Otto, Xose Miguélez and Abe Rábade- The Landscape Listens
Plastic Sax review.

12. Waxahatchee- Tigers Blood
Comfort food.

13. Rod Fleeman- Saturday Afternoon Live at Green Lady Lounge, Volume 3
Plastic Sax review.

14. Pat Metheny- MoonDial
Plastic Sax review.

15. Loidis- One Day
Electro-propulsion.

16. Scott Dean Taylor and Seth Andrew Davis- Infidels
Plastic Sax review.

17. Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Kansas City Symphony and The Lyric Opera of Kansas City Chorus- Moravec: The Shining
Redrum.

18. Sandbox Percussion- Bloom
Banging on cans.

19. Narrative Quartet featuring Adam Larson- Trust Fund Tinder Goblins Howling at the Moon
Plastic Sax review.

20. Karrin Allyson- A Kiss for Brazil
Plastic Sax review.

21. Joey Cool- Roller Coaster
Tech mime.

22. Michael Pagán- Paganova
Plastic Sax review.

23. Zachary Barthelman and Evan Verploegh- Sound/Color
Plastic Sax review.

24. Stan Kessler- Two’s Company
Plastic Sax review.

25. Alber- Born at Sea
Plastic Sax review.

The Top Ten Kansas City EPs of 2024

1. Peter Schlamb- Pliable Consciousness
Plastic Sax review.

2. Krystle Warren & The Academy- Extended Play
There Stands the Glass review.

3. Boldy James and Conductor Williams- Across the Tracks
Crazy train.

4. Midwestern- Reflections
There Stands the Glass review.

5. Conductor Williams- Conductor We Have a Problem, Pt. 3
Off the rails.

6. Burning Bush- Demo 2024
 Flames of fire.

7. Jorge Arana Trio- Merciélago
Dark shadows.

8. Drew Williams- Wobble
Plastic Sax review.

9. Rich the Factor- Souped Up Sofa
KC’s the town.

10. Treanne- 20/20
Focused.

The Top Five Kansas City Reissues of 2024

1. Charlie Parker- Bird in Kansas City
Plastic Sax review.

2. Coalesce- Live at BBC’s Maida Vale Studios
Furious 2009 session.

3. The Get Up Kids- Something to Write Home About: 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
Red letter days.

4. Jennifer Knapp- Kansas 25
A fresh rendering of the 1998 CCM classic.

5. Kevin Mahogany- Gem Theater Live
Plastic Sax review.

Last year’s list is here.

July 2024 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for the Royal Opera’s production of Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of July 2024

1. Rakim- G.O.D.’s Network: Reb7rth
Old school freshness.

2. Common and Pete Rock- The Auditorium, Vol. 1
Redemption songs.

3. Sault- Acts of Faith
Expansive gospel.

4. Enrico Rava- Fearless Five
The octogenarian is forever young.

5. Pat Metheny- MoonDial
My review.

6. Jimetta Rose & the Voices of Creation- Things Are Getting Better
Cosmic gospel.

7. Zach Bryan- The Great American Bar Scene
My review.

8. Lava La Rue- Starface
Far out funk.

9. Nathan Bowles Trio- Are Possible
Liege and lief.

10. Childish Gambino- Bando Stone and the New World
Angsty party.

The Top Ten Songs of July 2024

1. Jesse Ware and Romy- “Lift You Up”
Higher.

2. Jorja Smith- "High"
Elevation.

3. Jpegmafia- “Sin Miedo”
Fearless.

4. Caleb Calloway, Cloonee and Alvaro Díaz- "Pe$o"
Undervalued.

5. Charley Crockett- "Visions of Dallas"
Reboot.

6. Miranda Lambert- "Alimony"
Warning shot.

7. Porridge Radio- “Sick of the Blues”
Rebirth.

8. Denzel Curry featuring Armani White- "Wishlist"
Thirsty.

9. Speed- “Caught in a Craze”
Anthrax homage.

10. Wingstop Girl- “I Ate Nothing”
Hangry.

The Top Ten Performances of July 2024

1. Sandbox Percussion, Soowin Kim and Gloria Chien at Lincoln Performance Hall
My review.

2. Jah Wobble at Mississippi Studios
My review.

3. Opus13 at Lincoln Recital Hall
My Instagram snapshot.

4. Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore at the Aladdin Theater
My Instagram clip.

5. Trap Jazz, Divine Essence and Justus West at the Ameri’kana Festival at Concourse Park
My Instagram clip.

6. Sandbox Percussion’s masterclass at Lincoln Recital Hall
My Instagram clip.

7. Soovin Kim, Gloria Chien and Radovan Vlatković at Kaul Auditorium
My Instagram clip.

8. Old-timey jam at Northwest Portland Hostel
My Instagram clip.

9. Kyle Rivera’s composition masterclass at Lincoln Hall
My Instagram snapshot.

10. Miami String Quartet at Yardley Hall
My Instagram snapshot.

The previous monthly recap is here.

The Top Kansas City Albums, EPs and Reissues of 2023

The Top 25 Kansas City Albums of 2023

1. Matt Otto- Umbra*

Plastic Sax review.

2. Mike Dillon and Punkadelick- Inflorescence

Plastic Sax review.

3. Adam Larson- With Love, From New York City*

Plastic Sax review.

4. Ampichino and Rich the Factor- Midwest Tygoons*

Real orcas.

5. Stik Figa and The Expert- Ritual*

“It’s Stik Figa, mayne!”

6. Enzo Carniel, Hermon Mehari, Stéphane Adsuar and Damien Varaillon- No(w) Beauty

Plastic Sax review.

7. Pat Metheny- Dream Box

Plastic Sax review.

8. Janelle Monaé- The Age of Pleasure

Decadent.

9. Torches Mauve- Volume Two*

Plastic Sax review.

10. Flooding- Silhouette Machine

Dark shadows.

11. Mireya Ramos & the Poor Choices- Sin Fronteras

Cantinas and honky tonks.

12. Sweeping Promises- Good Living Is Coming For You

Look out below.

13. Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton- Death Wish Blues

A blaze of glory.

14. The Floozies- Porty Hord

Gort dorn.

15. Kansas Virtuosi- Luis Humberto Salgado

Ecuadorian expedition.

16. Tech N9ne- Bliss*

Bliss-ish.

17. The Whiffs- Scratch n' Sniff

Pub rock.

18. Krista Kopper- Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

There Stands the Glass review.

19. The Count Basie Orchestra- Swings the Blues*

Plastic Sax review.

20. LaVelle- Promise to Love

Between the sheets.

21. Danny Embrey- Orion Room

Plastic Sax review.

22. Bach Aria Soloists- Le dolce sirene

Siren songs.

23. Nick Schnebelen- What Key Is Trouble In?

There Stands the Glass review.

24. Heidi Lynne Gluck- Migrate or Die

Rumours.

25. Kelly Hunt- Ozark Symphony

Polished folk.

The Top 10 Kansas City EPs of 2023

1. Midwestern- Cartoon Network

There Stands the Glass review.

2. Missouri Executive Order 44- Seventeen Dead in Caldwell County

Savage.

3. SleazyWorld Baghdad- Debo Baghdad*

Shooter.

4. Weaponize Chomsky- Time Destroys Everything

Dialectical materialism.

5. Conductor Williams- Conductor We Have a Problem

The preferred sound of 2023.

6. Kevin Morby- Music From Montana Story

Big skies.

7. Spine- Raîces

Furia.

8. Alyssa Murray- Scrollin'

Plastic Sax review.

9. The Bitter Lake Association- My Life Inside a Movie Scene

A one-person greeting committee.

10. Eggs on Mars- Warm Breakfast

Tasty.

The Top 5 Kansas City Reissues of 2023

1. SleazyWorld Go- Where the Shooters Be 2

Star light, star bright.

2. Charlie Parker- Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings

Refreshed sound for the storied 1953 date.

3. Fred Davis- Cleveland Blues

Buried treasure.

4. Basie All Stars-  Live at Fabrik Hamburg 1981, Vol. 1

Shiny stockings.

5. The Noise FM- Deleted Scenes: Unreleased Hits 2013-2023

Appropriately titled.

*One or more of the musician’s additional 2023 recordings were excluded from these listings to make room for titles by other artists.

Last year’s rankings are here.

June 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

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

My review.

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

My review.

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)

My review.

2. Nickel Creek and Gaby Moreno at Muriel Kauffman Theatre

My review.

3. Devin Gray, Maria Elena Silva and the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society at Firehouse Gallery #8

My review.

4. Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye at Muriel Kauffman Theatre

My review.

5. Donald Harrison’s “The Jazz of Physics: Quantum Improvisation” at the Folly Theater

My Instagram snapshot.

6. Boulevardia day two (Big Freedia, the Salvation Choir, Peter Schlamb)

My review.

7. Chalis O’Neal at the Blue Room

My Instagram clip.

8. Danielle Nicole Band at Town Center Plaza

My Instagram clip.

9. Frederick Hodges’ “Music Will Win the War” at the National WWI Museum and Memorial

My Instagram clip.

10. Sarah Tannehill Anderson and Elizabeth Suh Lane at Loose Park

My Instagram clip.

The previous monthly survey is here.

Album Review: Milford Graves- Children of the Forest

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.

Joyce DiDonato: There Stands the Glass’ Artist of the Year

Original image of promotional bookmark picturing Kelli O’Hara, Joyc DiDonato and Renée Fleming by There Stands the Glass.

Friends and family remain mystified by my embrace of opera.  The widespread assumption that the form is the exclusive domain of wealthy elitists is pervasive- and deservedly so.  Yet until approximately 100 years ago, opera was a ubiquitous form of popular music.  The music didn’t change.  Instead, the ways in which the music was presented became cost-prohibitive and classist.  Joyce DiDonato is aware of opera’s image problem.  The celebrity soprano dedicated a significant portion of her energy in 2022 to audience outreach.  Without compromising her artistry, DiDonato’s concerts in support of the glorious album Eden and her other projects rendered opera relevant and accessible.  Harmonious with my own attitude, DiDonato’s initiatives make her There Stands the Glass’ Artist of the Year.

Honorable mention: Mary Halvorson, Moor Mother and Sault.  The previous winners of the Artist of the Year designation are Pat Metheny (2021) and Bad Bunny (2020).