I suffered night terrors as a child. The room would begin to spin as I lay in bed. Wobbly noise filled my head as the rotation accelerated. Disoriented with fear, I sensed that I’d been transported to an unworldly realm of evil. My night terrors were supplanted by matter-of-fact horrors as I grew older. The most off-kilter segments of The Body’s new noise album The Crying Out of Things simulate what I heard with uncanny accuracy. I don’t enjoy the sounds; pleasure is hardly the point. Instead, The Crying Out of Things is a necessary replication of madness.
The Ugly American
Street scene in San José, Costa Rica.
A modest restaurant attached to a budget motel near the airport in San José, Costa Rica, serves improbably excellent food. The graciousness of the servers compensates for the dreary decor. Cooks and waitstaff sang along to rock en español playing on a boombox during my first meal at the establishment.
I was spellbound as I heard them simulate raspy voices when the arresting "Un último vals" played. The new single by Joaquín Sabina served as my introduction to the veteran Spanish musician who seems to an amalgamation of Leonard Cohen, Neil Diamond or Tom Waits. A waiter told me Sabina is on a farewell tour that will soon take him to San José.
My newfound infatuation led to an awkward incident. Rather than songs by Sabina, a playlist of English-language rock hits typified by Loverboy’s execrable “Working for the Weekend” played when I returned to the establishment.
I objected. The manager told me she and her colleagues had been listening to Sabina all day and considered the likes of Loverboy and REO Speedwagon a welcome change of pace. I ended up getting my way, but I’ve felt awful about my sense of entitlement ever since.
October 2024 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency
Screenshot of the trailer of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Osvaldo Golijo’s Ainadamar by There Stands the Glass.
Top Ten Albums of October
1. Caroline Shaw- Leonardo da Vinci: Original Score
The ideal contemporary classical primer.
2. JD Allen- The Dark, the Light, the Grey and the Colorful
Merciless spiritual jazz.
3. The Necks- Bleed
Minimalist slow-core.
4. Anja Lechner- Bach Abel Hume
Solo cello.
5. Blackstarkids- Heaven on Urf
The conclusion of an ambitious concept album.
6. Anna Butterss- Mighty Vertebrate
Slinky post-jazz.
7. Drug Church- Prude
Mouthy hardcore.
8. Tord Gustavsen Trio- Seeing
My review.
9. Samara Joy- Portrait
Enchanted swing.
10. Marie Krüttli Trio- Scoria
My review.
Top Ten Songs of October
1. Tyler, The Creator- "Noid"
Distrust.
2. 070 Shake- "Winter Baby/New Jersey Blues"
Remembering the Ronettes.
3. Mike- "Pieces of a Dream"
Foggy.
4. Danny Brown- "Cheaters"
No rules.
5. Leikeli47- "450"
Mask off.
6. Shredders- “Shred Dogs 4 Lyfe”
Doomtree.
7. Maren Morris- “People Still Show Up”
Knock knock.
8. Sofía Valdés- "Already Yours"
Possessed.
9. Major Lazer and Vybz Kartel- "Nobody Move"
Frozen.
10. Geordie Greep- "Blues"
Art-rock absurdity.
Top Ten Performances of October
1. Dwight Frizzell’s Heliophonie at Charlotte Street Foundation
My review.
2. Drug Church at recordBar
My Instagram clip.
3. Rick Bartlett at Ricky B’s (Louisville)
My Instagram clip.
4. The Psychedelic Furs, The Jesus and Mary Chain and Frankie Rose at the Uptown Theater
My Instagram snapshot.
5. Chelsea Guo, Joseph Parrish and Francesco Barfoed at the Folly Theater
My Instagram snapshot.
6. Wayne Graham at Zanzabar (Louisville)
My Instagram clip.
7. Gil Shaham with the Kansas City Symphony at Helzberg Hall
My Instagram snapshot.
8. Jackie Myers, Rich Wheeler and Jeff Harshbarger at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram snaphot.
9. Nola Richardson’s masterclass at Atonement Lutheran Church.
My Instagram snapshot.
10. Gerald Trimble & Jambaroque, Bayati Ensemble and Soundz of Africa at Unity on the Plaza
My Instagram clip.
The previous monthly recap is here.
Album Review- Marie Krüttli Trio- Scoria
Annoyed by the relative softness of a band opening for Drug Church at recordBar last week, I hiked several blocks to catch a bit of Kansas City’s premier Bill Evans acolyte at Voo Lounge. The swing associated with pianist Michael Pagán is the pinnacle of American elegance. The Berlin based Swiss pianist Marie Krüttli is also capable of playing pretty. Joined by bassist Lukas Traxel and drummer Gautier Garrigue, Krüttli balances beauty with coarseness on the new album Scoria. Not beholden to American jazz tradition, Krüttli’s trio possesses a rhythmic and sonic freedom capable of shocking listeners in North America. Not free but altogether liberated, Scoria’s thorniest improvisations are no less ferocious than the repertoire of Drug Church.
The Top 25 Kansas City Albums of the Past 25 Years (excluding jazz)
Geographically isolated and persistently ostracized by coastal tastemakers, Kansas City’s various music communities have developed unhealthy underdog postures since 2000. The wrong artists, consequently, are often embraced for erroneous reasons. The following ranking of one observer’s favorite albums by Kansas City artists released in the first 25 years of the new millennium is intended as a benevolent corrective. It’s also a celebration of excellence. Artists are limited to single selections. A corresponding list of jazz albums is here.
1. Fat Tone- Only in Killa City (2002)
2. Tech N9ne- Everready (2006)
3. Joyce DiDonato- Diva, Divo (2011)
4. Blackstarkids- Surf (2020)
5. Making Movies- A La Deriva (2014)
6. Mac Lethal- 11:11 (2007)
7. Ron Ron- Mr. No It All (2007)
8. Janelle Monaé- The ArchAndroid (2010)
9. Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys- The Spectacular Sadness of… (2000)
10. SleazyWorld Go- Where the Shooters Be (2022)
11. Huerco S.- Plonk (2022)
12. The Grisly Hand- Country Singles (2013)
13. Little Hatch- Rock With Me Baby (2003)
14. Rich the Factor- Rose Out the Concrete (2016)
15. Kelly Hunt- Even the Sparrow (2019)
16. Sandbox Percussion- Seven Pillars (2021)
17. Stik Figa- The City Under the City (2013)
18. Samantha Fish- Chills & Fever (2017)
19. Coalesce- Ox (2009)
20. Waxahatchee- Tigers Blood (2024)
21. Ces Cru- Capture Enemy Soldiers (2004)
22. The Get Up Kids- There Are Rules (2011)
23. Ebony Tusks- Heal Thyself (2020)
24. Krystle Warren- Circles (2009)
25. Reggie and the Full Effect- Songs Not to Get Married To (2005)
Album Review: Tord Gustavsen Trio- Seeing
Rarely do I place much importance on the physical appearance of musicians. Tord Gustavsen is an exception. I was completely unnerved by the Norwegian pianist’s resemblance to Dracula when I attended his concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2012.
That’s why I’m surprised by the overt Christian elements on his album Seeing. Gustavsen, bassist Steinar Raknes on bass and drummer Jarle Vespestad continue to stretch the piano trio concept on the hymn “Nearer My God, to Thee”, Johann Sebastian Bach’s "Auf meinen lieben Gott" and originals with titles like “Beneath Your Wisdom”.
Between the trademark ECM production, cosmopolitan Euro-swing and contemplative theme, Seeing is squarely in my wheelhouse. Seeing may be my favorite piano trio album of 2024. Even so, I don’t want to be alone in the same room with Gustavsen after dark.
Album Review: Andrew Cyrille, Kit Downes and Bill Frisell- Breaking the Shell
The church services I regularly attend conclude with informal five-minute pipe organ recitals. I relish the post-worship sounds as less music-conscious congregants head for the exits. When they’re feeling inspired, the organists occasionally push the limits of their instruments.
Kit Downes takes the pipe organ at St. Luke in the Fields’ to even further extremes on Breaking the Shell. Much of the 2022 recording sounds as if the ghost of Johanne Sebastian Bach is informed by the most forward-thinking jazz and classical music of the new millennium.
Guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Andrew Cyrille respond to Downes’ unconventional organ tones with their usual finesse. An album trailer provides valuable insights. The sole downside of Breaking the Shell is the realization that the post-service organ recitals I relish will now be slightly less enthralling.
September 2024 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency
Screenshot of a preview of San Francisco Opera’s production of Giuseppe Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera by There Stands the Glass.
Top Ten Albums of September (as of 9/23)
1. Sarah Davachi- The Head as Form’d in the Crier’s Choir
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth.
2. Nala Sinephro- Endlessness
Limitless.
3. Masayoshi Fujita- Migratory
Flight paths.
4. Colin Stetson- The Love It Took to Leave You
My review.
5. Blackstarkids- Saturn Dayz
Interplanetary pop.
6. Caroline Davis- Portals, Volume 2: Returning
Passages.
7. Future- Mixtape Pluto
Slime.
8. Alice Zawadzki- Za Górami
Euro folk a la ECM.
9. Jason Stein- Anchors
With Joshua Abrams and Gerald Cleaver.
10. Max Richter- In a Landscape
Stunning vistas.
Top Ten Songs of September (as of 9/23)
1. Midland- “Barely Blue”
Honky tonk masquerade.
2. Dwight Yoakam and Post Malone- “I Don’t Know How to Say Goodbye (Bang Bang Boom Boom)”
Heartaches by the number.
3. Bad Bunny- “Una Velita”
Burning.
4. A$AP Rocky and J. Cole- “Ruby Rosary”
Unholy.
5. SleazyWorld Go- “Olé Olé”
Made it.
6. Dom Salvador with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad- "Os Ancestrais"
Brazilian bounceback.
6. Amaria- “Finer Things”
Luxurious.
8. Jerry Douglas and Aoife O’Donovan- “What Might Have Been”
Possibilities.
9. Regional Justice Center- "Moral Death Sentence"
Here comes the judge.
10. Foxing- “Kentucky McDonald’s”
Art is hard.
Top Ten Performances of September (as of 9/23)
1. Khatia Buniatishvili at Helzberg Hall
My Instagram snapshot.
2. Dwight Frizzell’s “Bridge” at Charlotte Street Foundation
My Instagram clip.
3. Reverie Road at Washington Square Park (Kansas City Irish Fest)
My Instagram clip.
4. Negativland at recordBar (Outer Reaches Festival)
My Instagram clip.
5. The Kansas City Symphony conducted by Matthias Pintscher with cellist Alisa Weilerstein at Helzberg Hall
My review.
6. Damon Smith, Jeff Harshbarger, Krista Kopper and Aaron Osborne at Westport Coffee House
My Instagram snapshot.
7. Jackie Myers, Rich Wheeler and Jeff Harshbarger at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram snapshot.
8. Abraham Olivo at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram clip.
9. The Mighty Mo Jazz Orchestra at Second Presbyterian Church
My Instagram clip.
10. The Sons of Brasil at Harmon Park (Prairie Village Jazz Festival)
My Instagram clip.
The previous monthly recap is here.
Blatherin' Bill
I perused several episodes of Blair Johnson’s Badass Records Podcast after he invited me to appear on the long-running endeavor. Aghast at the prodigious length of many episodes, I resolved to keep my remarks brief. In that regard, the embedded video is a spectacular failure.
Not even my friends and family will want to consume all two hours of my nonsense. I suspect my calculating detractors will be the only people parsing the entire discussion as they compile material to hold against me.
I disregarded Johnson’s mandate to highlight my five favorite albums. Instead, I selected releases representing different phases of my life. These are Stevie Wonder’s Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974), Bruce Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978), Alison Krauss’ Now That I’ve Found You (1995), Kanye West’s The College Dropout (2004) and Moor Mother’s Jazz Codes (2022).
Many people I admire are among the previous Badass Records guests. They include Mark Manning, Jackie Myers, Sid Sowder, Steve Tulipana and Rich Wheeler. If you don’t care to take in my visage on the YouTube video or my Midwestern twang on Apple or Spotify, I encourage you to check out those episodes.
Concert Review: Alisa Weilerstein with the Kansas City Symphony at Helzberg Hall
Original image by There Stands the Glass.
The aspiring conductor seated next to me at Helzberg Hall on Sunday, September 15, assessed Matthias Pintscher’s approach during intermission by suggesting “he lets the orchestra play”. The absence of self-aggrandizing posturing was a refreshing change for The Kansas City Symphony.
I invested $37 to join an attentive audience of about 1,000 in the last of three concerts of Pintscher’s first weekend as the ensemble’s conductor and musical director. Pintscher’s humble demeanor aside, it’s too soon to assess if or how the quality of the Symphony has changed.
I consider the opening selection a promising signal. The mild dissonance of Unsuk Chin’s “subito con forza” is not dissimilar to Pintscher’s exciting original compositions. Here’s hoping for more like this.
There’s no getting around the fact that the featured piece, Antonín Dvořák’s “Concerto in B Minor,” is a drag. Not even the presence of star cellist Alisa Weilerstein could make the composition interesting.
A reading of Igor Stravinsky’s stupendous “The Firebird” more than compensated for the dullness of Dvořák. Like the characters in the corresponding ballet, I was entirely enchanted. As for Pintscher, the verdict is still out.