Shocked by the wretchedness of the latest release by the world’s most important rapper, I’ve returned to Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morales & the Big Steppers every few weeks since its release in May. It gets worse with each listen. Uninspired, self-pitying and vainglorious, Lamar all but acknowledges the album is a compulsory product rather than a meaningful artistic statement. Watching the corresponding concert video verified my impression. I long for a return to the brilliance Lamar displayed in the previous decade.
November 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency
Screenshot of the trailer of Dutch National Opera’s production of Steef de Jong’s “Operetta Land” by There Stands the Glass.
Top Ten Albums of November
1. Hermon Mehari- Asmara
2. Sault- (God)
Universal gospel.
3. Tyshawn Sorey- The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism
With Greg Osby, Aaron Diehl and Russell Hall.
4. Sault- 11
Exalted soul.
5. SleazyWorld Go- Where the Shooters Be
The new king of Kansas City.
6. Charles Lloyd- Trios: Trios: Sacred Thread
With Julian Lage and Zakir Hussain.
7. Sault- Earth
Global grooving.
8. Sault- Today & Tomorrow
Holistic psych-rock.
9. Julie Campiche Quartet- You Matter
The Swiss harpist’s post-Logan Richardson improvisations.
10. Nicholas Payton- The Couch Sessions
With Buster Williams and Lenny White.
Top Ten Songs of November
1. Drake and 21 Savage- “Major Distribution”
Middlemen.
2. SpotemGottem- "Block Got Hot"
Tunechi 2.0.
3. Tiwa Savage and Asake- "Loaded"
Rich.
4. E-40- "In the Air Where It's Fair"
Flying high.
5. Brockhampton- “Big P—y”
The unseemly implosion of the boy band is disheartening.
6. Okay Kaya- “Jazzercise”
Workout.
7. Randy Houser- “Out and Down”
Neon tears.
8. Gorillaz- "Baby Queen"
Aging princess.
9. Young Dolph- "Get Away"
“Hell right here on earth.”
10. Nas- "Once a Man, Twice a Child"
The wisdom of elders.
Top Ten Performances of November
1. Mspaint at Nightjar
2. Keefe Jackson, Jakob Heinemann and Adam Shead at Black Dolphin
3. Crystal Gayle at Ameristar Casino
4. Rod Fleeman at Green Lady Lounge
The guitarist is Plastic Sax's 2021 Person of the Year.
5. Damien Snead’s “Our Song, Our Story: The New Generation of Black Voices” at the Folly Theater
6. UMKC Conservatory’s production of Jules Massenet’s Chérubin at White Recital Hall
7. Harmony Zhu at the Folly Theater
8. Ulysses Quartet at Keystone United Methodist Church
9. Aryana Nemati at the Blue Room
10. Jazz Disciples at the Blue Room
Last month’s survey is here.
Book Review: Victory Is Assured, Stanley Crouch
Original image by There Stands the Glass.
When I spent 90 minutes in the presence of Stanley Crouch in 2014, I thought of him mostly as the most prominent advocate of Wynton Marsalis’ usurpation of the jazz establishment and as the author of the recently published Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker. Knowing what I know now, I would almost certainly have embarrassed myself groveling before the imposing intellectual that day.
Encountering Crouch’s extended meditation on an unlikely performance by the Duke Ellington Orchestra at Disneyland in Victory Is Assured: Uncollected Writings of Stanley Crouch allowed me to belatedly recognize his brilliance. The new posthumous collection of unpublished and uncollected essays, notes and reviews is an engaging survey of Crouch’s imposing range.
In addition to pieces addressing the familiar Crouch subjects Ellington, Marsalis and Charlie Parker, the survey includes surprising topics including a brief appreciation of the Italian actress Anna Magnani, a scathing takedown of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained and a spirited defense of two critically disparaged late-career Marvin Gaye albums.
Although I relished every page of Victory Is Assured, I still don’t buy into a few core Crouch doctrines. Yet the collection allows me to better understand his loathing of rap, disdain for plugged-in crossover jazz and unequivocal endorsement of Marsalis. I only wish I’d come to this more complete understanding during his lifetime.
Concert Review: Damien Sneed at the Folly Theater
Original image by There Stands the Glass.
Knowing they’d be amused by my response, two cousins asked me what I’d been listening to when we chatted during a family gathering on Sunday, November 20. I told them that in addition to watching a new production of Richard Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier” (gorgeous!), I’d spent the first part of the day taking in new music by GloRilla (wild!) and Run the Jewels (vital!).
The cousins laughed at the idea of their graying relative enjoying hip-hop and opera on a frigid Sunday. I don’t find it odd. A concert presented by the Harriman-Jewell Series at the Folly Theater that evening displayed similar stylistic breadth. An audience of about 200 heard a splendid mix of Black gospel, opera, European art songs and contemporary classical music.
A 78% discount on two seats in the third row convinced me to attend the recital billed as “Our Song, Our Story: The New Generation of Black Voices.” What a bargain! I’ll remember the concert overseen by Damien Sneed for years. The perplexingly unpolished presentation belied the emotional impact of the staggering talent displayed by seven musicians.
Rather than expounding on Raven McMillon’s heartrending treatment of “Balm in Gilead,” Sneed’s reading of Hale Smith’s startling “Evocation” or the Griot String Quartet’s interpretation of Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s “Calvary” or assessing the success of the concert’s premise, I’ll simply note that sitting twenty feet from the category-defying Raehann Bryce-Davis was a privilege.
Concert Review: Harmony Zhu at the Folly Theater
Original image by There Stands the Glass.
Sixteen-year-old Harmony Zhu displayed disarming poise and unlimited potential at the Folly Theater on Sunday, November 13. The same couldn’t be said for dozens of members of the audience of more than 500 at the Harriman-Jewell Series' free Discovery Concert.
Cacophonous clatter occasionally overwhelmed the pianist’s recital. Babies babbled. Toddlers yammered. Children rolled metal drink canisters on the floor, tossed programs and played with the springs in creaky theater seats. Minors weren’t the only offenders. A few older people hacked and wheezed as if they were in their death throes.
Zhu rose above the tumult as she played four Frédéric Chopin compositions as well as selections by Claude Debussy, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Nikolai Kapustin. Her affinity for Chopin’s deliciously morbid laments is unexpected in a bright young talent who has probably never misbehaved in a concert hall.
Concert Review: Crystal Gayle at Ameristar Casino
Original image by There Stands the Glass.
Crystal Gayle’s hair is one of the seven wonders of country music. An audience of about 1,000 marveled at its splendor at Ameristar Casino on Saturday, November 12. The vocalist joked that a precondition of becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry was an obligation to sweep the stage with her ankle-length mane after shows.
Backed by a sextet of Nashville cats and her sister Peggy Sue Wells, Gayle’s 75-minute performance featured such a paltry portion of her countrypolitan hits from the 1970s and 1980s that the setlist made my brown eyes blue. She favored showcasing her crack band, covering standards and indulging in cornpone humor.
The regrettable format allowed Peggy Sue to steal the show. In addition to singing “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),” the classic song she co-wrote with big sister Loretta Lynn, Peggy Sue told the evening’s bawdiest jokes. Unlike the demure Crystal, the salty Peggy Sue loves the spotlight.
The passing of time has given me a new appreciation of Gayle. Forty years ago I derided her for being more closely aligned with Karen Carpenter than with her revered big sister. But I still prefer Gayle’s collaboration with Tom Waits to her hits. Yet the gentle sway of songs including “Ready for the Times to Get Better” melted my cold, cold heart at a Kansas City casino last night.
Album Review: Sarah Davachi- Two Sisters
The barbershop I patronize seems to have gone out of business. For want of a better idea in the brainpan underneath my unkempt mop yesterday, I went to a nearby outlet of a tacky chain operation promising customers a masculine atmosphere and friendly women armed with razors and scissors.
The hands of the gal I drew were shaking. Perhaps because of her impairment, she worked exceedingly slowly. During pauses in our discussion about music- we’re both fond of Fleetwood Mac- and life’s challenges- we traded tips on keeping our cool- I eavesdropped on other conversations.
A man told another barber that he patronizes the shop every two weeks. He was as bald as Charlie Brown. A tottering geezer who walked in with a buzzcut repeatedly told his barber that she didn't know what she was doing.
A terrestrial radio station blared all the while. Between advertisements for window replacement outfits, mortgage companies and weight loss schemes, we heard shopworn oldies by the likes of Duran Duran and current hits by pop stars including Harry Styles.
The sun had gone down by the time I got home. In an effort to recuperate from the sonic assault and quasi-creepy neck massage, I returned to Two Sisters. The Sarah Davachi work I characterized as “ecumenical drones” in naming it my favorite album of September connected me to a power even higher than Stevie Nicks.
Book Review: Rap Capital: An Atlanta Story, by Joe Coscarelli
Original image by There Stands the Glass.
My bookmark was placed between pages 246 and 247 of Rap Capital: An Atlanta Story when I received word of Takeoff’s murder this week. Unlike the thousands of people who expressed shock at the death of the Migos rapper, I wasn’t surprised. Joe Coscarelli’s ominous depiction of the constant threat of death faced by the Atlantans he examines in his essential 415-page study prepared me for the horrific news.
I read Rap Capital to learn more about the Quality Control empire. I didn’t expect to become absorbed in the personal lives of rappers. Coscarelli excels in portraying the life-and-death struggle of young Black men in Atlanta and demonstrates how the success of the city’s music is embedded in the unique societal constructs in Georgia.
Even though I’ve never been a fan of Lil Baby’s music, Coscarelli’s meticulous portrait made me care about the well being of the superstar and his family. Coscarelli’s portrayal of less successful rappers including Lil Reek are no less compelling.
Coscarelli links the success of the record label behind Migos, Lil Yachty, Lil Baby and City Girls to the ascent of music streaming services. A hefty chunk of the music industry’s $8.7 billion in revenue in 2017 went into the pockets of the three men in Migos. Coscarelli’s account of the rappers’ conspicuous consumption is shocking. But why not spend the money if you know each day could be your last?
The gleefully idiotic songs of Migos have been an integral component of the party soundtrack at the There Stands the Glass compound. We often reminisce about how Migos stole the show from Drake at a 2018 concert at the Sprint Center. The death of Takeoff and the grim truths revealed by Coscarelli in Rap Capital mean that the music of Migos will never provide the same sort of carefree fun again.
October 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency
Screenshot of the trailer of Opera North’s reworking of Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” by There Stands the Glass.
Top Ten Albums of October
1. Natalia Lafourcade- De Todas las Flores
Rapturous beauty.
2. Bobby Watson- Back Home in Kansas City
3. Brian Harnetty- Words and Silences
4. Dave Douglas- Songs of Ascent: Book 1- Degrees
Advanced harmolodics.
5. Boston Modern Orchestra Project- Anthony Davis: X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
A new rendering of the neglected opera.
6. Anat Cohen- Quartetinho
Exquisite chamber jazz.
7. Evgueni Galperine- Theory of Becoming
A Ukrainian Morricone.
8. Armani Caesar- The Liz 2
The month’s best Griselda album.
9. Babyface- Girl’s Night Out
Sultry collaborations.
10. Caroline Shaw and I Giardini- The Wheel
I prefer this hushed recording to the widely praised The Blue Hour.
Top Ten Songs of October
1. Plains- "Hurricane"
Leveled.
2. Grupo Marca Registrada and Luis R. Conriquez- "Puro Campeón"
A true champion.
3. iLe- "Lo Que Yo Quería"
Celestial pop.
4. Ozuna featuring El Cherry Scom- "Perreo y Dembow"
Dizzying.
5. Quavo and Takeoff- "Two Infinity Links"
I’m 250 pages into Joe Coscarelli’s Rap Capital.
6. Jamila Woods- "Boundaries"
Blurred lines.
7. LF System- "Hungry (For Love)"
Famished on the dance floor.
8. SleazyWorld Go featuring G Herbo- “Glitches”
Shots fired.
9. Nardo Wick featuring Polo G- "G Nikes"
If the shoe fits…
10. Hardy- "Truck Bed"
Hick-hop goes pop-punk.
Top Ten Performances of October
1. Marin Alsop and Orchestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo at Helzberg Hall
2. Ohma and FKJ at the Midland Theater
3. Raven Chacon’s “American Ledger no. 1” at Agnes Arts
4. Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt at the Uptown Theater
5. Terence Blanchard with Turtle Island Quartet at Atkins Auditorium
6. Alter Destiny at Charlotte Street Foundation
7. Karen Hsiao Savage, Hyeyung Sol Yoon and Gregory Beaver at White Recital Hall
8. Stan Kessler, Rod Fleeman and Bob Bowman at a driveway concert
Three of Kansas City’s best on a glorious fall afternoon.
9. Esthesis Quartet at the Blue Room
10. Alex Mallett and Jeff Harshbarger at Market at Meadowbrook
Folklore.
Last month’s survey is here.
I'm Down with O.P.P. (Other Peoples' Pulitzers)
Original image of Raven Chacon and Paul Rudy by There Stands the Glass.
For the second time in the last 24 days I’ve attended a performance of a work by a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music in the presence of the composer. On Wednesday, October 26, Raven Chacon, the winner of the 2022 Pulitzer, heard what he estimated was the tenth reading of his “American Ledger no. 1” at Agnes Arts.
I was torn between laughing in appreciative wonder and crying with profound grief in response to the unconventional composition addressing the gradual dispossession of the continent from Native Americans. An enormous copy of the graphic sheet music allowed the audience of about 150 to follow along with a ten-piece ensemble conducted by Paul Rudy.
With a couple accomplished locally based jazz musicians in the group conducted by Paul Rudy, the composition occasionally contained elements of swing absence from an excellent rendering of “American Ledger no. 1” in Houston. Here’s my brief but representative video clip from Agnes Arts.
Earlier this month I marveled at sitting near 2011 Pulitzer recipient Zhou Long as his “Spirit of Chimes” was performed at a lightly attended concert in Kansas City. There weren’t many more people at a 2018 performance of Julia Wolfe’s Pulitzer-winning “Anthracite Fields” at the Folly Theater. And yes, Wolfe was in the house.
I’ve attended performances by four additional Pulitzer recipients: Ornette Coleman (2007 award), Kendrick Lamar (2018), Wynton Marsalis (1997) and Caroline Shaw (2013). Designations give the often esoteric winners prestige they might otherwise not receive, but no one needed validation from Pulitzer voters to recognize they were in the presence of greatness at Agnes Arts on Wednesday.