The Top Kansas City Albums of 2022

The Top 25 Kansas City Albums of 2022

1. Joyce DiDonato- Eden

Concert review.

2. Bobby Watson- Back Home in Kansas City

Review.

3. Hermon Mehari- Asmara

Review.

4. Steve Cardenas- Healing Power: The Music of Carla Bley

Review.

5. SleazyWorld Go- Where the Shooters Be

6. Adam Larson Trio- With Love, From Chicago

Review.

7. Mister Water Wet- Significant Soil

8. Kevin Morby- This Is a Photograph

9. Blackstarkids- Cyberkiss

Concert review.

10. Making Movies- Xopa

11. LeVelle- My Journey Continues

Review.

12. Krista Kopper and Evan Verploegh- For the Trees

Review.

12. Matt McBane and Sandbox Percussion- Bathymetry

13. Daniel Velasco and Ellen Sommer- Flauta Andina - 20th Century Andean Music for Flute and Piano

15. Huerco S.- Plonk

16. Arnold Young and the Roughtet- Fear Is the Mind Killer

Review.

17. Mister Water Wet- Top Natural Drum

18. Rod Fleeman Trio- Saturday Afternoon: Live at Green Lady Lounge

19. Matt Villinger’s All Night Trio- All Faded

Review.

20. Dutch Newman- This Too Shall Pass, Pt. 2

21. Poor Bishop Hooper- Psalm 119

22. Katy Guillen & The Drive- Another One Gained

23. Isaac Cates & Ordained- Amazed

24. The Creepy Jingles- Take Me at My Wordplay

25. The Greeting Committee- Dandelion

The Top 10 Kansas City EPs of 2022

1. Adam Larson Trio- With Love, From Kansas City

Review.

2. Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton- The Stardust Sessions

3. Jackoffs- Prime Specimen

Review.

4. Flora- Emerald City

5. Stik Figa and Conductor Williams- Valley of Dry Bones

6. Eddie Moore- Intuition

Review.

7. Atticus vonHolten- A Highway Tore Through Me

8. Blob Castle and Daniel Lima- Contempoétnico

9. Piss Kinks- A Tisket, A Tasket

10. Jake Wesley Rogers- Love

Links to previous annual surveys begin here.

Book Review: Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records, Jim Ruland

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Greg Ginn and I bonded over our mutual respect for Sonny Rollins the first time we met.  Many fans of Ginn’s seminal punk band Black Flag might be surprised by the anecdote.  Yet Jim Ruland’s revealing new book Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records repeatedly affirms Ginn's predilection for jazz.

Through a circuitous series of developments in the music distribution realm I then inhabited, my initial meeting with Ginn in the late ‘80s indirectly led to the debilitating blow dealt to SST by the bankruptcy of my employer in 2001.  (Mine was among the dozens of jobs that were lost in the post-Napster fallout.)

Ruland mentions the bankruptcy in passing, but his study primarily focuses on the staggeringly eclectic range of music released by SST.  The backstories of classic albums by the likes of Black Flag, ​​Hüsker Dü, the Minutemen and Sonic Youth are related in detail, as is Ginn’s adamant refusal to sign Nirvana.

From a purely artistic perspective, Ginn’s bias was justified.  He’d already signed the superior Soundgarden to SST.  Yet my head spins when I speculate about the additional Sonny Rollins-inspired punk albums that might have been issued had SST been flush with Nirvana money.

The Top Fifty Performances of 2022

Original image of Blackstarkids by There Stands the Glass.

I’ve gone out to hear live music 123 times in 2022. I’m not done yet- I plan to hit a couple gigs this evening. Even without attending a single festival, I’ve taken in more than 225 performances this year. And yes, wise guys, I’ve been the oldest person in the room at a third of the shows listed below. You can’t blame a person for trying to make up for lost time. Unless indicated otherwise, the events took place in the Kansas City area.

1. Nduduzo Makhathini at the Blue Room

Review.

2. Joyce DiDonato at the Folly Theater

Review.

3. Little Joe y La Famalia at the Guadalupe Center

Review.

4. Logan Richardson + Blues People at the Ship

Review.

5. Blackstarkids at recordBar

Review.

6. Angela Winbush, Men at Large and Levelle at Juneteenth KC

Review.

7. Godspeed You! Black Emperor at the Roseland Theater (Portland)

Review.

8. Samantha Ege at the Folly Theater

Review.

9. Sparks at the Crystal Ballroom (Portland)

Review.

10. Flatland Cavalry at the Truman

Review.

11. Daniil Trifonov at the Folly Theater

Review.

12. Lucibela at Old Church Concert Hall (Portland)

Review.

13. Show Me the Body, Soul Glo, Wifi Gawd, Ebony Tusks and Piss Kinks at recordBar

Review.

14. FKJ and Ohma at the Midland theater

Review.

15. Livia Nestrovski and Henrique Eisenmann at the 1900 Building

Review.

16. Salvation Choir at Theis Park

Review.

17. Algara, P.S.Y.W.A.R. and New Obsessions at Farewell

Review.

18. Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Isata Kanneh-Mason at the Folly Theater

Instagram photo.

19. Animal Collective and Spirit of the Beehive at the Truman

Review.

20. Adam Larson, Clark Sommers and Dana Hall at Westport Coffee House

Review.

21. Porridge Radio and Blondshell at Doug Fir Lounge (Portland)

Instagram clip.

22. Black Crack Revue at Westport Coffee House

Review.

23. High Pulp at recordBar

Review.

24. Escuela Grind at Farewell

Review.

25. Phillip Greenlief, Midwestern and the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society at Bushranger Records

Review.

26. Steve Cardenas, Forest Stewart and Brian Steever at recordBar

Review.

27. Terence Blanchard with Turtle Island Quartet at Atkins Auditorium

Review.

28. Arnold Young and the RoughTet at the Ship

Instagram clip.

29. Marin Alsop and Orchestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo at Helzberg Hall

Review.

30. John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett at the Uptown Theater

Review.

31. Bob Bowman and Peter Schlamb at Second Presbyterian Church

Review.

32. Mspaint at Nightjar

Instagram clip.

33. Babehoven at Farewell KC

Instagram clip.

34. UMKC’s Conservatory’s “Cosi Fan Tutte” at White Recital Hall

Instagram photo.

35. Live Skull and Still Ill at recordBar

Review.

36. Crystal Gayle at Ameristar Casino

Review.

37. Evan Verploegh and Ben Baker at World Culture

Review.

38. Keefe Jackson, Jakob Heinemann and Adam Shead at Black Dolphin

Instagram photo.

39. Cuong Vu and Ted Poor at Jack London Revue (Portland)

Review.

40. Ozomatli at KC Live

Instagram clip.

41. Gorillaz and EarthGang at the Moda Center (Portland)

Review.

42. Escher String Quartet at Polsky Theatre

Review.

43. Damien Sneed at the Folly Theater

Review.

44. John Waite at Ranch Mart Shopping Center

Instagram clip.

45. William Baker Singers at Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral

Review.

46. Raven Chacon at Agnes Arts

Review.

47. Rod Fleeman at Green Lady Lounge

48. Ducks Ltd. at the Green House

Instagram clip.

49. Billy Cobham at Dolores Winningstad Theatre (Portland)

Review.

50. Roger Waters at the T-Mobile Center

Review.

Count Me Out

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

My review.

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

My Instagram clip.

2. Keefe Jackson, Jakob Heinemann and Adam Shead at Black Dolphin

My Instagram photo.

3. Crystal Gayle at Ameristar Casino

My review.

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

My review.

6. UMKC Conservatory’s production of Jules Massenet’s Chérubin at White Recital Hall

My Instagram photo.

7. Harmony Zhu at the Folly Theater

My review.

8. Ulysses Quartet at Keystone United Methodist Church

My Instagram photo.

9. Aryana Nemati at the Blue Room

My Instagram clip.

10. Jazz Disciples at the Blue Room

My Instagram photo.

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.