On “Easyjet,” a brief skit placed in the middle of 700 Bliss’s 2022 album Nothing to Declare, DJ Haram and Moor Mother mock the spoken word artist’s vitriolic persona: “who wants to hear that sh*t?… Moor Mother’s all like ‘blah blah blah blah blah blah’… is this even music?”

The bit is hilarious in part because Moor Mother is susceptible to accusations of being noisy for the sake of noise. And her rage has occasionally lacked focus. Yet she’s completely on point on the melodic new album Jazz Codes. In reclaiming the notion of jazz as a revolutionary sound of freedom, Moor Mother crafted a vital work of art. Rejecting polite supper club sounds and the associated cultural appropriation of the form, she insists jazz belongs on riot-torn streets.

Two of the best tracks celebrate the religious faith of Mary Lou Williams and memorialize the ill-fated trumpeter Woody Shaw. Yet Jazz Codes isn’t nostalgic. Homages to the likes of John Coltrane, Billie Holiday and Amina Claudine Myers are peppered with references to D’Angelo, Tupac Shakur and Kanye West. Jazz Codes affirms that Moor Mother has grown into an invaluable component of that musical continuum.

Jazz scholar Thomas Stanley makes a statement of purpose on the last selection: “ultimately, perhaps it is good that the people abandoned jazz- replaced it with musical products better suited for capitalism’s designs. Now jazz jumps up like Lazarus if we allow it, to rediscover itself as a living music.” Jazz Codes is capable of accelerating this welcome resurrection.

My enthusiasm comes with a caveat. I made a 300-mile round trip to see Moor Mother perform with Irreversible Entanglements in the midst of the pandemic. The band’s Open the Gates was my second-favorite album of 2021. And I featured Moor Mother’s Black Encyclopedia of the Air in the seventh episode of my In My Headache podcast. Jazz Codes is my presumptive top album of 2022, but less adventurous listeners might wonder if it’s “even music.”

William Brownlee

December 20, 2021

The Top Fifty Performances of 2021

William Brownlee

December 20, 2021

Original image of J.D. Allen, Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits at the Blue Room by There Stands the Glass.

The pandemic nixed my annual resolution to attend 365 gigs per year. I began making up for lost time after receiving my second vaccination shot on April 27. I’m extremely pleased to have once again caught up with road warriors like Pat Metheny and Richard Thompson and to have finally made it to shows by notable artists including Marc Anthony and Renée Fleming. Aside from a delusional period of post-vaccination euphoria in May and June, I wore a mask throughout every performance.

1. J.D. Allen, Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits- Blue Room

My review.

2. Mary Lattimore- Lied Center

My review.

3. Pat Metheny- Orchestra Hall (Detroit)

My review.

4. Anthony Roth Constanzo- Folly Theater

My review.

5. St. Vincent- Grinder’s KC

My review.

6. Erykah Badu- Midland theater

My review.

7. Irreversible Entanglements- Stephens Lake Park Amphitheatre (Columbia, Missouri)

My review.

8. Marc Anthony- T-Mobile Arena

My review.

9. Bird Fleming and Bill Summers’ “Voyage of the Drum”- Dunbar Park

My review.

10. Rod Fleeman Trio- Green Lady Lounge (multiple shows)

Fleeman is Plastic Sax's 2021 Person of the Year.

11. José James at Old Church Concert Hall (Portland)

My review.

12. Oleta Adams with Isaac Cates & Ordained- Old Mission United Methodist Church

My review.

13. Te Deum- St. Mary's Episcopal Church

14. Asleep at the Wheel- Muriel Kauffman Theatre

My review.

15. Eddie Moore, Ryan J. Lee and Zach Morrow- Charlotte Street Foundation

My review.

16. The Kansas City Symphony’s Mobile Music Box- The Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City

My review.

17. Thollem McDonas- 9th and State

My review.

18. UMKC Opera’s George Frideric Handel’s “Acis and Galatea”- White Recital Hall

My review.

19. Johnny Rawls- Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest

My review.

20. Jeff Kaiser, Kevin Cheli and Seth Davis- Charlotte Street Foundation

My review.

21. Mike Dillon and Nikki Glaspie- 1900 Building

My review.

22. Brentano Quartet- Lincoln Recital Hall (Portland)

My review.

23. Flooding- 7th Heaven

My review.

24. En Vogue- Hy-Vee Arena

My review.

25. Mary Gauthier- Knuckleheads

26. Joshua Bell and Alessio Bax- Helzberg Hall

My review.

27. Pistol Pete- recordBar

28. Second Nature Ensemble- Westport Coffee House

My review.

29. Dare- 7th Heaven

My Instagram clip.

30. The Kansas City Symphony’s “Coming to America”- Helzberg Hall

31. Renée Fleming- Helzberg Hall

32. Kyle Hutchins, Aaron Osborne, Seth Davis and Evan Verploegh- Charlotte Street Foundation

My review.

33. Guitar Elation- Green Lady Lounge (several shows)

34. Kansas Virtuosi- Yardley Hall

My review.

35. UMKC Conservatory’s “Jazz at the Playhouse”- University Playhouse

My Instagram clip.

36. Granger Smith- KC Live

37. Sentenced 2 Die- 7th Heaven

My Instagram clip.

38. Jackie Myers, Matt Hopper and Ben Tervort- Market at Meadowbrook

39. Summerfest Chamber Music Festival- Atonement Lutheran Church

My review.

40. Trinity Jazz Ensemble- Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church

My review.

41. Mike Stover- Campground

42. Richard Thompson- Folly Theater

My review.

43. Ben Tervort Quartet- Westport Coffeehouse

My Instagram clip.

44. Roman Alexander- KC Live

My review.

45. Béla Fleck- Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (Portland)

My review.

46. The Kansas City Chorale- Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church

47. Kian Byrne- Second Presbyterian Church

48. Everyday Strangers- Gem Theater

My instagram clip.

49. Lyric Opera of Kansas City- Meadowbrook Park

50. Paris Williams- Lemonade Park

There Stands the Glass also ranked the The Top 50 Songs of 2021 and The Top 50 Albums of 2021. Pat Metheny is this site’s Artist of the Year. Rod Fleeman is Plastic Sax’s Person of the Year. A list of There Stands the Glass’ top performances of 2020 is here.

William Brownlee

December 3, 2021

Take What You Want: The Top Albums, EPs and Reissues of 2021

William Brownlee

December 3, 2021

The Top 50 Albums of 2021

1. Kanye West- Donda

My review.

2. Irreversible Entanglements- Open the Gates

My review.

3. Mathias Eick- When We Leave

My review.

4. Molly Herron- Through Lines

My review.

5. Pino Palladino and Blake Mills- Notes with Attachments

My review.

6. Tyler, The Creator- Call Me If You Get Lost

7. The Metropolitan Opera- Philip Glass’ Akhnaten

8. Nala Sinephro- Space 1.8

My review.

9. Lana Del Rey- Chemtrails Over the Country Club

My podcast analysis.

10. Lise Davidsen- Beethoven Wagner Verdi

My review.

11. Sleaford Mods- Spare Ribs

My review.

12. Sons of Kemet- Black to the Future

13. St. Vincent- Daddy's Home

14. Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion- Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part

15. Evan Parker Quartet- All Knavery & Collusion

16. Turnstile- Glow On

My podcast analysis.

17. Marianne Faithful and Warren Ellis- She Walks in Beauty

18. Fire-Toolz- Eternal Home

My podcast analysis.

19. Benoît Delbecq- The Weight of Light

My review.

20. Summer Walker- Still Over It

21. Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble- Now

22. Brockhampton- Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine

23. Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson- Searching for the Disappeared Hour

24. Behzod Abduraimov- Debussy Chopin Mussorgsky

My review.

25. Artifacts- …And Then There’s This

26. Max Richter- Exiles

27. Chris Thile- Laysongs

28. Danish String Quartet- Prism III

29. Alan Jackson- Where Have You Gone

30. Migos- Culture III

31. Les Filles de Illighadad- At Pioneer Works

32. Angel Bat Dawid- Hush Harbor Mixtape Vol. 1 Doxology

33. Morgan Wallen- Dangerous: The Double Album

34. Borderlands Trio- Wandersphere

My review.

35. Pat Metheny- Road to the Sun

My review.

36. Patricia Brennan- Maquishti

37. Yola- Stand For Myself

38. Roscoe Mitchell- Dots: Pieces for Percussion and Woodwinds

39. Karol G- KG01516

My podcast analysis.

40. Craig Taborn- Shadow Plays

41. Moor Mother- Black Encyclopedia of the Air

My podcast analysis.

42. Georgia Anne Muldrow- Vweto III

43. Dopolarians- The Bond

My review.

44. Sara Serpa- Intimate Strangers

45. Abstract Mindstate- Dreams Still Inspire

My review.

46. Chynna- Drug Opera

47. La Arrolladora Banda el Limón- En Contra De Mi Voluntad

48. Lana Del Rey- Blue Banisters

49. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra- Promises

My review.

50. Drake- Certified Lover Boy

The Top 25 EPs of 2021

1. Benny the Butcher- The Plugs I Met 2

My podcast analysis.

2. Caroline Shaw- Narrow Sea

3. Vince Staples- Vince Staples

4. Lyle Mays- Eberhard

5. The Alchemist- This Thing of Ours

6. Aida Cuevas- Antología de la Música Ranchera, Vol. 2

7. F*cked Up- Year of the Horse (four installments)

8. Rachika Nayar- Fragments

9. Wanda Jackson- Encore

10. Burial- Shock Power of Love

11. Los Dos Carnales- Corrido Pa’ la Historia

12. Benny the Butcher- Pyrex Picasso

13. Bummer- Dead Horse

14. Dare- Against All Odds

15. YoungBoy Never Broke Again- Sincerely, Kentrell

16. Benjamin Mørk and Arve Henriksen- The Valleys

17. Rudimentary Peni- Great War

18. Portrayal of Guilt- We Are Always Alone

19. María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir- Kom Vinur

20. Gatecreeper- An Unexpected Reality

21. Melvin Gibbs- 4 +1 Equals 5 for May 25

22. A Place to Bury Strangers- Hologram

23. Ryoji Ikeda- EP

24. Charlie Hunter- Kick, Snare, Baritone Guitar

25. Rosie Lowe and Duval Timothy- Son

The Top 25 Reissues, Reimaginings and Compilations of 2021

1. Hasaan Ibn Ali- Retrospect In Retirement Of Delay: The Solo Recordings

My review.

2. John Coltrane- A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle

3. Sun Ra- Lanquidity (Definitive Edition)

4. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds- B-Sides & Rarities, Part II

5. Bob Dylan- Springtime in New York: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 16, 1980-1985

6. Nubya Garcia- Source ⧺ We Move

7. Toumani Diabaté and the London Symphony Orchestra- Kôrôlén

8. Alice Coltrane- Kirtan: Turiya Sings

9. Various- The Boys From Nairobi: 80s Benga & Rumba

10. The Beatles- Let It Be (Super Deluxe)

11. Wild Up- Julius Eastman, Vol. 1: Femenine

12. Lee Morgan- The Complete Live at the Lighthouse

My review.

13. Julius Hemphill- The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony 1977-2007

14. The Beach Boys- Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions, 1969-1971

15. Johnny Cash- Bear’s Sonic Journals: Live at the Carousel Ballroom, April 24, 1968

16. Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey- Winterwood Revealed: Live Vipers & Studio Doves

17. Hailu Mergia and the Walias Band- Tezeta

18. J Dilla- Welcome 2 Detroit: The 20th Anniversary Edition

19. Prince- Welcome 2 America

20. PJ Harvey- Is This Desire?: Demos

21. Dyke & The Blazers- I Got a Message Hollywood: 1968-1970

My review.

22. Hasaan Ibn Ali- Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Album

23. Neil Young and Crazy Horse- Way Down in the Rust Bucket

24. The Weeknd- The Highlights

25. The Rolling Stones- Tattoo You: 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition

Links to 16 previous annual There Stands the Glass surveys begin here.

William Brownlee

November 27, 2021

November 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

William Brownlee

November 27, 2021

Screenshot of the trailer for Valerie a týden divů by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in November)

1. Irreversible Entanglements- Open the Gates

My review.

2. Summer Walker- Still Over It

Number one with a bitterness.

3. Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O- Umdali

Valiant South African jazz.

4. Brian Wilson- At My Piano

Tragic beauty.

5. Attacca Quartet- Of All Joys

Partly Pärt.

6. Terrace Martin- Drones

Flying high above Silk Sonic.

7. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss- Raise the Roof

An old-fashioned barn burner.

8. Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian- Welcome Party

Knock knock.

9. Anna Netrebko- Amata dalle tenebre

Aching arias.

10. Anuel AA- Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren

Legends never die.

Top Ten Songs (released in November)

1. Willie Nelson- "Too Sick to Pray"

On bended knee.

2. Del McCoury Band- "Once Again"

That high, lonesome sound.

3. Earl Sweatshirt- "2010"

Don’t call it a comeback.

4. City Girls- "Scared"

“Ain’t no way I’m stopping.”

5. The Bug featuring Jason Williamson- "Treetop"

Out on a limb.

6. Idles- "Stockholm Syndrome"

Brainwashed.

7. Frogpond- "I Really Don't Care"

Meat-and potatoes heartland rock.

8. NRBQ- "I Like Her So Much"

Still ticking.

9. Adele with Erroll Garner- "All Night Parking"

The best song on 30.

10. Cécile McLorin Salvant- "Ghost Song"

Spectral.

Top Ten Concerts of November

1. J.D. Allen, Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits- Blue Room

My review.

2. Oleta Adams with Isaac Cates & Ordained- Old Mission United Methodist Church

My review.

3. Mary Gauthier- Knuckleheads

4. UMKC Opera’s “Acis and Galatea”- White Recital Hall

My review.

5. Dare- 7th Heaven

My Instagram clip.

6. Rod Fleeman Trio- Green Lady Lounge

7. The Kansas City Symphony’s “Coming to America”- Helzberg Hall

8. Renée Fleming- Helzberg Hall

9. Richard Thompson- Folly Theater

My review.

10. Sentenced 2 Die- 7th Heaven

My Instagram clip.

Top Ten Movies (viewed for the first time in November)

1. Popiół i diament/Ashes and Diamonds (1958)

Bloody Polish power grab.

2. La Strada/The Road (1954)

Giulietta Masina and Anthony Quinn convey crippling sadness.

3. Der junge Törless/Young Törless (1966)

Unflinching teen brutality.

4. Sparrows (1926)

Mary Pickford leads escape from foul baby farm.

5. De Slag om de Schelde/The Forgotten Battle (2020)

World War II in Holland is hell.

6. Valerie a týden divů/Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)

Frightfully freaky fairy tale.

7. Taking Tiger Mountain (1983)

A very bad trip.

8. The Harder They Fall (2021)

Wild, wild west(ern).

9. La bestia debe morir/The Beast Must Die (1952)

Argentinian noir.

10. Arsène Lupin (1932)

Sexy criminal caper.

October’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.

William Brownlee

November 18, 2021

Album Review: William Parker and Patricia Nicholson- No Joke!

William Brownlee

November 18, 2021

The pleasures provided by year-end music lists are manifold. I relish the opportunity to display my (obviously superior) taste and disparage the (clearly inferior) selections of others. Yet the most rewarding aspect of combing through entries is encountering undiscovered sounds. Even though I listen to about two dozen new albums in their entirety every week, I only learned of No Joke! when I peeked at a rough draft of a colleague’s best-of 2021 list. Released three weeks ago by the illustrious ESP-Disk record label, the date led by the prolific bassist William Parker and his wife, the poet, choreographer and activist Patricia Nicholson, is a spiritual and musical companion to Irresistible Entanglements’ free jazz tour de force Open the Gates. Indignant and cacophonous, No Joke! is a dead serious call to action.

William Brownlee

November 15, 2021

Album Review: Irreversible Entanglements- Open the Gates

William Brownlee

November 15, 2021

Driving to Columbia, Missouri, to catch Irreversible Entanglements in June was my first meaningful post-quarantine pleasure trip. In spite of the brevity of the avant-garde ensemble’s appearance, the experience was my first brush with normality in more than a year. At 73 minutes, Irreversible Entanglements’ new album Open the Gates is twice the length of the concert at Stephens Lake Park Amphitheatre. Open the Gates solidifies Moor Mother’s status near the top of the jazz poet pantheon and the group’s expression of rage is more cogent than the output of any contemporary punk band. "It's energy time!"

William Brownlee

June 28, 2021

June 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

William Brownlee

June 28, 2021

Screenshot of the trailer of Lili by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in June)

1. Migos- Culture III

My post-vaccination party soundtrack, 1/2.

2. Billy F Gibbons- Hardware

My post-vaccination party soundtrack, 2/2.

3. Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion- Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part

I love the elements I love more than I loathe the elements I loathe.

4. Anthony Braxton- 12 Comp (Zim)

My review.

5. Chris Thile- Laysongs

Anxious gospel.

6. Tyler, The Creator- Call Me If You Get Lost

Goblin grows up.

7. Julian Lage- Squint

A different type of power trio.

8. Wild Up- Julius Eastman, Vol. 1: Femenine

A vital conceptualization.

9. Mac Lethal- Winter Heartbreak II

My review.

10. Angel Bat Dawid- Hush Harbor Mixtape Vol. 1 Doxology

Ancient to the (lofi) future.

Top Ten Songs (released in June)

1. Megan Thee Stallion- “Thot Sh*t”

“Lit since brunch.”

2. Little Simz- "Rollin' Stone"

Quenched.

3. Rauw Alejandro and Anitta- "Brazilera"

Carnival.

4. Moor Mother- "Zami"

Traveling the spaceways.

5. Billie Eilish- "Lost Cause"’

Dead flowers.

6. Petra Haden- "Silence"

Song for her father.

7. Becky G and El Alfa- “Fulanito”

Rhythm nation.

8. Jennifer Hudson- "Here I Am"

Aria for Aretha.

9. Bfd Da Packman- “Wendy Williams”

“Back to Walmart.”

10. Brittney Spencer- “Sober & Skinny”

You got a fast car.

Top Ten Concerts (first monthly ranking since March 2020!)

1. Irreversible Entanglements- Stephens Lake Park Amphitheatre (Columbia, Missouri)

My review.

2. Johnny Rawls- Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest

My notes.

3. Bird Fleming and Bill Summers’ “Voyage of the Drum”- Dunbar Park

My review.

4. Second Nature Ensemble- Westport Coffee House

My review.

5. En Vogue- Hy-Vee Arena

My review.

6. Mike Dillon and Nikki Glaspie- 1900 Building

My review.

7. Adam Galblum Quartet- Market KC

Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli revived.

8. Kian Byrne- Second Presbyterian Church

A singer-songwriter sweats it out under the setting sun.

9. Roman Alexander- KC Live

My review.

10. The Kansas City Chorale- Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church

Docked several notches for a clergyman’s abhorrent mask-shaming.

Top Ten Movies (viewed for the first time in June)

1. Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Gesundheit!

2. Lili (1953)

A French twist on The Wizard of Oz.

3. La ciociara/Two Women (1960)

Sophia Loren and Eleonora Brown suffer unspeakable trauma.

4. Polish Wedding (1998)

Love in Hamtramck.

5. Murder, My Sweet (1944)

Psychotropic noir.

6. I Accuse! (1958)

Straightforward depiction of the Dreyfus affair.

7. Lisztomania (1975)

Richard Wagner is Satan in Ken Russell’s gonzo freakout.

8. Terri (2011)

Teen cringe.

9. The Shadow on the Window (1957)

And Jerry Mathers as the murder witness.

10. Small Town Crime (2017)

Negligible noir.

May’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.

William Brownlee

June 19, 2021

The Thrill of the Crowd

William Brownlee

June 19, 2021

Original image of Johnny Rawls in Gladstone, Missouri, by There Stands the Glass.

After attending 11 concerts in the last 16 days, it’s safe to say I’m back at it. And I still feel as if I’ll never catch up. Why am I compelled to venture out several night a week? Sure, I’m a music fiend, but that’s not the only reason I’m willing to drive four hours to catch a 40-minute performance. Even when the environment is less than ideal, being amid a crowd of vivacious music fans brings me joy. Seeing drunken revelers and serious soul-blues fans share an improvised dance floor with sugar-fueled children and their accommodating mothers at the Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest last night greatly enhanced my appreciation of Johnny Rawls’ headlining appearance. In those sublime moments I feel as if everything is right in the world.