Album Review: Jill Scott- To Whom This May Concern

“I thought you were Black.” That’s how strangers occasionally greeted me during my stint as a music critic for The Kansas City Star. While I am, in fact, white, most of the newspaper’s hip-hop, R&B, blues and jazz assignments went to me.

A dozen years spent reviewing hundreds of concerts by the likes of Tech N9ne, Erykah Badu, Bobby Rush and Herbie Hancock deepened my already considerable devotion to those forms. I believe it really doesn’t get much better than this.

Given the explicit Afro-centric orientation of Jill Scott’s stunning new album To Whom This May Concern, directly addressing race seems appropriate. I may not be part of the ethnic group Scott celebrates on "Beautiful People", but that doesn’t mean I don’t share the sentiment.

To Whom This May Concern is in the indelible tradition of Stevie Wonder’s Hotter Than July, Maze’s Joy and Pain and Maxwell’s BLACKsummers’night. An insistence that the social, economic and political challenges of 2026 can be overcome by faith, love and community helps make Scott’s first album in a decade is an instant classic.

Opera Review: UMKC Conservatory's Carmen at White Recital Hall

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

A trigger warning about depictions of gunfire, suicide, criminality, cruelty to animals and “seductive and violent behavior” is included in the program for UMKC Conservatory’s current production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen.” How I love opera!

While I embrace the plot elements that are part and parcel of grand opera, a personalized advisory would remind me that every time I’m exposed to “Carmen” the melodies involuntarily ricochet in my head for weeks. Bizet is all about the bops.

The talented cast of students did justice to the arias of the 151-year-old opera. I paid $25 to be transported to a Romani community in and around Seville. The other 200 people in the room on opening night vanished along with the rest of the world during the nearly three-hour production.

Much of the success of my pandemic-era opera initiative is rooted in the form’s hallucinatory effect. The slow pace and spectacular voices in the best productions- last night’s opera included- put me in an altered state in which place and time no longer exist. "La la la."

Old and New Dreams: An Appreciation

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

My preparation for Joshua Redman’s return to the Folly Theater on Saturday, February 7, went awry when I realized I’d rather be listening to the saxophonist’s late father. After checking out Dewey Redman’s 1966 debut album Look for the Black Star (wild! fun!) and Redman’s contribution to Keith Jarrett’s maligned 1979 album Eyes of the Heart (messy! awkward!) for the first time, I revisited an old favorite.

Old and New Dreams’ self-titled 1979 debut for ECM Records turned my world inside-out when I first encountered it in the early 1980s. Ornette Coleman- the man to whom the quartet of saxophonist Redman, trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Ed Blackwell paid homage- was little more than a name to me then.

Consequently, Old and New Dreams’ elegiac version of Coleman’s “Lonely Woman” was my introduction to the classic composition. Forty-five years later, it still gives me chills. My taste in improvised music was formed in large part by the landmark recording.

Joshua Redman’s occasional nods to the thornier work of his father were among my favorite moments of Saturday’s concert. (My review at Plastic Sax is forthcoming.) No one should feel obliged to follow the path forged by a parent. Even so, it’s the Old and New Dreams discography rather than the work of the younger Redman I continue to binge.

Album Review: Tigran Hamasyan- Manifeste

My head and heart wage war as Tigran Hamasyan’s new album Manifeste plays. The Armenian’s rococo blend of prog-rock, jazz fusion and progressive metal causes my brain to rebel. Yet the pleasure centers in my soul lay siege to cynicism as they recall my juvenile love of Foxtrot, American Garage and 2112.

Conflict breaks out immediately. The opening selection “Prelude for All Seekers” alludes to Genesis’ “Watcher of the Skies.” Elsewhere, Hamasyan applies the grandiosity of the Pat Metheny Group and the pretentiousness of Rush to tracks including “Dardahan.” The absurdities are enlivened by generous infusions of Armenian folk traditions. 

Loving the sturm und drang of the ludicrously-titled “A Eye- The Digital Leviathan” in spite of myself makes me believe a truce is possible. By managing to convince myself that Manifeste is a tasteful distillation of its ostentatious inspirations, I’m able to enjoy the 72-minute album in a temporary peace.

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: Have Horn, Will Travel: The Life and Music of Herman “Junior” Cook, by Courtney M. Nero (University of North Texas Press, 2025)

Initially skeptical about the need for a biography of a musician I’d dismissed as an unimportant hard bop journeyman, I considered Courtney Nero’s new study of Junior Cook invaluable as I read the final pages of the new book.

Have Horn, Will Travel: The Life and Music of Herman “Junior” Cook reminds readers that the lives and music of jazz’s relatively unknown and forgotten artists can be no less interesting and rewarding than drama and sounds associated with the genre’s stars.

Cook is remembered today, if at all, for his contribution to classic Horace Silver and Freddie Hubbard albums recorded in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Nero convincingly suggests that Cook’s indifference to self-promotion, disinterest in composing original material and unhealthy habits relegated him to obscurity.

Yet the vitality of the discography compiled by Nero indicates Cook’s artistry merits a revival of interest 34 years after the saxophonist’s death. Cook’s late-career work for a series of small labels swings with unquenchable passion. And perhaps most significantly, the saxophonist’s 1961 album as a leader has aged well. Junior’s Cookin’ now resonates like a stone cold classic.

Nero highlights Cook’s turbulent relationship with his rival and onetime roommate Joe Henderson. Although he lacked Henderson drive and innovative streak, Cook clearly merits Nero’s diligent scholarship. Cook’s discography is considerably less ambitious but no less enjoyable than Henderson’s recorded legacy.

Album Review: Makoto Ozone- For Someone

Makoto Ozone was among the artists who spurred my nascent devotion to jazz in the mid-1980s. I preferred the Japanese pianist’s inviting melodicies to the strident conventionalism of his generational peer Wynton Marsalis amid the infamous jazz scare of that era.

Ozone’s new album For Someone is a recapitulation of everything that makes the Chick Corea acolyte exceptional. For Someone was recorded at Bauer Studios in Germany, a facility frequently employed by ECM Records. Ozone’s affinity for the ECM sound is correspondingly clear.

The immediately appealing “Friends” is precisely the sort of gentle melody that drew me to Ozone forty years ago. Polish vocalist Anna Maria Jopek pushes the proggy fusion of the title track over the top. For Someone closes with a lovely contrafact of Bill Evan’s “Peace Peace.”

The rugged tandem of bassist Shimpei Ogawa and drummer Kunitoshi Kitai consistently steer Ozone away from delicate sentimentality. My appreciation of their decisiveness rewards the intensive jazz studies I initiated forty years ago.

Discovering Japan

Original image of a man admiring Kuroda Seiki’s Chi Kan Jo (Wisdom, Impression, Sentiment) at the Tokyo National Museum by There Stands the Glass.

Crashing out at Tokyo Station was the nadir of my first visit to Japan this month. Navigating the nation in the initial days of my trip occasionally overwhelmed me. Even after learning the ropes of the train, subway and bus systems I was easily unnerved.

For instance, I gradually moved to the front of a crowded bus as my stop in Kyoto neared. With eyes fixed on the street, I became aware of a disarming silence. I turned to discover the bus remained full. The Japanese insistence on noiselessness on public transportation seems unconditional.

Drivers rarely honk horns, pedestrians communicate in whispers and people form orderly queues. The absence of loud voices and municipal pandemonium was extremely refreshing. My mirroring of Japanese stoicism was rewarded when several locals with whom I interacted suggested I must be Canadian.

Such reticence isn’t pervasive. Discount retailers and ubiquitous convenience stores are filled with deafening motion-sensitive video advertisements on their shelves. I also have a new least-favorite song. The ambiance at a couple ramen corridors I frequented was marred by the insidious ditty “Take Me Out to the Ramen-Koji.” 

My experiences at a jazz venue and a jazz kissa will soon be documented at Plastic Sax. Finally, I’d be negligent if I failed to express my gratitude to There Stands the Glass readers who reached out regarding my unexplained absence. Thanks, as always, for reading.

Album Review: Al Foster- Live at Smoke

Catching Al Foster live at Smoke in 2019 was the capstone of one of the best nights of my life. I had so much fun at a gay German sports bar in Harlem earlier in the evening that I wasn’t really bothered when the New England Patriots knocked the Kansas City Chiefs out of the NFL playoffs.

Foster was gracious when I shook his hand during a break at the New York City venue. Saxophonist Chris Potter, one of several luminaries who joined the legendary drummer that evening, is also featured on Live at Smoke, a document of Foster’s stint at the venue in January. The storied drummer died four months later.

Bassist Joe Martin locks in with Foster. Brad Mehldau somehow plays piano with revolutionary zeal while maintaining convention. I’d only listened to Live at Smoke twice when I placed it in my ranking of my fifty favorite albums of 2025. Subsequent plays suggest it’s a perfect mainstream jazz recording.

Album Review: Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here 50

I came for Stéphane Grappelli and stayed for “Brain Damage.” Inexpert in Pink Floyd lore, I hadn’t known the jazz violinist appeared on the title track of the band’s 1975 album Wish You Were Here. A friend told me the eighth track on the massive 50th anniversary edition of Wish You Were Here includes a mix emphasizing Grappelli’s wistful contribution.

Pink Floyd stood in musical and cultural opposition to the things I claimed to embrace as a teen. In the 1970s, a lot of people I knew would get loaded before attending late-night Dark Side of the Moon-themed laser shows at planetariums. How pathetic! 

Even so, I always had a soft spot for Wish You Were Here. I’m particularly fond of the choruses of the title track and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” The new set offers insights into the development of each song. I even liked hearing live versions of Dark Side of the Moon material on the new box.

A forced immersion experience, a Roger Waters concert in 2022 and my pandemic-era opera initiative necessitate a personal reevaluation of Pink Floyd. The last of these experiences allows me to connect the sturm und drang of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” to Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. If this troubling trend reaches its logical conclusion, I’ll be staggering around planetariums in 2030.