May 2024 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Welsh National Opera’s production of Giacomo Puccini’s “Il trittico” by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of May

1. Brad Mehldau- After Bach II
Variations.

2. Sexyy Red- In Sexyy We Trust
Dazzling party album #1.

3. Grupo Frontera- Jugando a Que No Pasa Nada
Dazzling party album #2.

4. Sisso and Maiko- Singeli Ya Maajabu
My review.

5. Vince Staples- Dark Times
Gloom.

6. Mdou Moctar- Funeral for Justice
My review.

7. Borderlands Trio- Rewilder
Feral improv.

8. André Schuen- Schubert: Winterreise
Harrowing lieders.

9. Jessica Pratt- Here in the Pitch
Far-out freak-folk.

10. Childish Gambino- Atavista
Everybody’s working for The Weeknd.

The Top Ten Songs of May

1. Carly Pearce- "Fault Line"
(Un)happy hour.

2. Amyl and The Sniffers- "U Should Not Be Doing That"
Can’t stop.

3. Yahritza y Su Esencia featuring Michelle Maciel- “Nivel Dios”
Quite possibly the best band in America.

4. Nduduzo Makhathini- "Water Spirits: Izinkonjana"
Dolphin dance.

5. Kendrick Lamar- "euphoria"
King Kendrick is back.

6. Chief Keef featuring Lil Gnar- "Jesus"
Show me the way.

7. Beres Hammond- "Let Me Help You"
Sweet relief.

8. La Luz- "Always in Love"
Forever.

9. Yaya Bey- "iloveyoufrankiebeverly"
Before I let go.

10. Randy Travis- "Where That Came From"
Digging up bones.

The Top Ten Performances of May

1. Kate Kalina at Southminster Presbyterian Church
My Instagram clip.

2. Jeffrey Osborne at Ameristar Casino
My Instagram clip.

3. Alber’s “Born at Sea” at Charlotte Street Foundation
My Instagram snapshot.

4. Steve Cardenas, Forest Stewart and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House
My review.

5. Alon Goldstein’s “Schumann and His World” at White Recital Hall
My Instagram snapshot.

6. Nick Luby and Susan Zhang at Meadowbrook Park
My review.

7. Bachathon XLV at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
My Instagram snapshot.

8. The Kansas City Symphony’s Mobile Music Box at Meadowbrook Park
My Instagram clip.

9. Jackie Myers, Matt Otto and Bob Bowman at Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram snapshot.

10. Heidi Shea at St. John’s United Methodist Church
My Instagram clip.

The previous monthly recap is here.

March 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Original image of the curtain call of UMKC Conservatory’s Così fan tutte by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (Released in March)

1. Rosalía- Motomami

Unparalleled pop.

2. Jóhann Jóhannsson- Drone Mass

Lethal minimalism.

3. Nigo- I Know Nigo!

Elite rappers (and Kid Cudi) collaborate with the polymath.

4. Brad Mehldau- Jacob's Ladder

My review.

5. Benny the Butcher- Tana Talk 4

Buffalo barbarity.

6. Drug Church- Hygiene

Unclean.

7. François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles- Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande

A ravishing rendition of the mesmirizing opera.

8. Sélène Saint-Aimé- Potomitan

Expansive jazz from France.

9. Destroyer- ​​Labyrinthitis

A not entirely embarrassing form of yacht rock.

10. Cécile McLorin Salvant- Ghost Song

Spectral art music.

Top Ten Songs (Released in March)

1. Kae Tempest and Lianne La Havas- "No Prizes"

Gold.

2. Celeste- “To Love a Man”

Torched.

3. Fana Hues- "Bad Bad"

Wicked good.

4. Normani- "Fair"

Un-break my heart.

5. The Supremes- “Witchi-Tai-To”

Wut.

6. Your Old Droog- “Fela Kruti”

“Music for people who check their email in the club.”

7. Ibibio Sound Machine- “17 18 19”

Rock down to electric avenue.

8. Lous and the Yakuza- “Kisé”

Mosh pit? Mosh pit!

9. Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lupa- “Sweetest Pie”

Irresistible empty calories.

10. Ho9909 featuring Bun B- "Slo Bread"

Inspired collaboration.

Top Ten Performances of March

1. Sparks- Crystal Ballroom

My review.

2. Godspeed You! Black Emperor- Roseland Theater

My review.

3. UMKC Conservatory’s Così fan tutte- White Recital Hall

My Instagram snapshot.

4. Ted Poor and Cuong Vu- Jack London Revue

My review.

5. Steve Cardenas- recordBar

My review.

6. Arnold Young and the RoughTet- The Ship

My review.

7. Vanessa Rubin- Lincoln Hall

My review.

8. Timber Rattle- 9th & State

My review.

9. Angela Ward Trio- Blue Room

Herbie Hancock endorsed my Instagram video.

10. Pat Metheny in Kansas City: The Genesis of Genius- Polsky Theatre

My review.

Last month’s survey is here.

Album Review: Brad Mehldau- Jacob’s Ladder

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends.  My pals marveled at the preposterous size of Carl Palmer’s drum rig when we saw Emerson, Lake & Palmer perform at Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium in 1977.  With the punk and reggae insurgencies on my radar, I wasn’t quite as gobsmacked as my peers.  Even so, I willingly submitted to the bombastic spectacle.

As I’ve periodically recalled at this site, progressive rock bands like Rush and jazz fusion ensembles including Return to Forever were the music of choice among boys in my neighborhood in the mid-’70s.  The free-thinking musician Brad Mehldau apparently heard a lot of the same stuff during his formative years.  He gives my guilty pleasures a breathtaking makeover on his latest release.

Like all proper prog-rock recordings, Jacob's Ladder is a concept album with a somewhat muddled theme. I suspect the biblical allegory will become clearer with repeated listening, but for now I’m entranced by Mehldau’s ability to tickle my repressed auditory pleasure centers without making me feel like a cheap date. Jacob’s Ladder is guaranteed to blow your head apart.

O Fortuna

Screenshot of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s 1975 lurid interpretation of Carmina Burana by There Stands the Glass.

I’m mutating before your very eyes.  With the task of making life-and-death decisions such as whether or not the slightly cloying adult pop of Lianne La Havas’ self-titled album really belongs on my year-end album list finalized, I have time to begin exploring the alien sonic terrain I’ve discovered through my ongoing opera binge. Examples:

*What in the wide, wide world of sports is a-goin’ on here?  I may never recover from witnessing a German troupe’s lighthearted depiction of sensual pleasures and eternal damnation set to Carl Orff’s infamous canticle Carmina Burana.

*I stumbled upon the Empty Concertgebouw Sessions series via Brad Mehldau’s breathtaking entry, but the Van Baerle Trio’s stunning interpretation of Beethoven’s “Ghost” floored me.  I’m also pleased to learn of Lilian Farahani.

*Back on the opera beat: 1992 production of Claude Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande”- #264 in my daily binge- shook me.

My tiny world is rapidly expanding. Paraphrasing Aristotle, the more I know, the more I realize I don’t know. Yet it’s still too soon to say farewell to the old me. I recently admired Shawn Mendes’ latest homage to Paul McCartney, the Kansas City rapper Rich The Factor’s eighth release of 2020, Doug Carn’s solid contribution to the excellent Jazz Is Dead series and Kelly Finnigan’s impressive new Christmas album.