Last night I told the leader of a gypsy jazz band that I sometimes wonder why I listen to anything but Django Reinhardt. Twelve hours later, I’m considering dedicating the remainder of my life to the music of Sun Ra. Basking in a new expanded reissue of the soundtrack to the 1974 film about “the other worlds they have not told you of” further enhances my appreciation of the iconoclast. Heavy and hilarious, Space Is the Place is a touchstone for much of my favorite contemporary music made by the likes of Alter Destiny, Moor Mother and Kassa Overall.
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.