Album Review: Wayne Shorter- Celebration, Volume 1

An incident transpired on the NPR affiliate KCUR in 2001 that encapsulates the conservative bias of Kansas City’s jazz establishment. The hosts of the weekly Just Jazz radio program aired the title selection of Wayne Shorter’s new live album Footprints only to stop the track after two or three minutes. They apologized to listeners for unintentionally exposing them to the vital improvised music of a living legend.

Even prior to the death of Shorter last year, prominent Kansas City jazz musicians regularly band together to faithfully recreate the original compositions Shorter recorded in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They don’t acknowledge the equally important music Shorter made in the final fifty years of his life.

The new archival release Wayne Shorter- Celebration, Volume 1 documents Shorter’s ongoing power at the Stockholm Jazz Festival in 2014. Inspired by pianist Danilo Pérez, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade, Shorter overflows with fresh ideas just as compelling as work he made decades earlier. 

Shorter’s 1964 recording Speak No Evil is an undeniable classic. Many later Shorter albums- Celebration, Volume 1 now among them-are also tour de forces. Shorter never stopped pushing the music forward. The hosts of the Just Jazz program would have had no use for Celebration, Volume 1. The contrary indicator acts as a powerful endorsement.

May Flowers

I’m proud of my May concert recommendations feature for Kansas City’s NPR affiliate KCUR. Notices about the prominent appearances of stars are balanced by previews of outings by relatively unknown artists. A healthy range of genres and venues is represented. Far from regurgitations of sanctioned talking points, my occasionally deprecatory commentary will never be mistaken for AI-generated claptrap. A Midwestern outlier, I don’t grant favors to friends or attempt to curry favor with artists, publicists or venue owners. But it’s not all about me. While I don’t care for the music made by my tenth and final selection, I acknowledge the significance of his concert for much of the KCUR audience.

I'll Remember April

Screenshot of KCUR feature by There Stands the Glass.

Just three of the 17 performances I enjoyed in March were among my concert recommendations for KCUR last month. I just couldn’t bring myself to spend more than $150 for concerts by Bad Bunny and Drake. Yet I’ve invested that much for an impossibly refined event in another continent in three weeks. That’s why I’ll be in attendance at just a few of my April concert recommendations.

Young Man, Are You Listening to Me?

Original image of the historic YMCA building in Kansas City’s Jazz District by There Stands the Glass.

I’m slated to attend musical performances on each of the first four days of February. While it’d be tempting to keep the streak alive, I’m not well. Health concerns and corresponding insurance headaches are consuming much of my energy. Still, I intend to hit three or four of the February concerts I highlighted for KCUR.

Indoor Fireworks

Original image of the Altons at Lemonade Park by There Stands the Glass.

I take a break from nightlife in the weeks preceding and following New Year’s Day. It’s a dangerous tradition. I’ll eventually decide that I’m no longer committed to spending more than 100 nights a year in bars, concert halls and arenas. I probably won’t give way in 2024. I’ve already purchased tickets to two of my ten January concert recommendations for KCUR.

Wrap It Up

Haters be damned. I look forward to the annual sharing of Spotify’s personalized Wrapped initiative. I already know what I listened to in 2023, but I relish seeing other people’s lists of most-streamed artists.

My enthusiasm is ironic, as the streaming revolution killed my lucrative career 20 years ago. Everyone who protests about the ethical and sonic superiority of physical recordings is welcome  to visit my home.

I spent tens of thousands of dollars building a collection of more than 5,000 LPs and CDs in the 20th century. That era is over. Streaming is a dream come true for passionate music fans with broad tastes.

The brief thank-you videos popular artists provide Spotify aren’t coerced. A thousand artists earn more than a million dollars on Spotify every year. And Spotify pays 8,000 artists more than $100,000.00 every year. Not bad for a level playing field.

Oh, by the way, here are my December concert recommendations for KCUR.

Guess Who I Saw Today

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

As I feared, Samara Joy performed “Guess Who I Saw Today” at the Folly Theater two weeks ago. Yet by turning the threadbare standard inside out, the celebrated star won me over. I was pleased to have put my money where my mouth is. One or two of my November concert recommendations for KCUR should likewise provide satisfactory returns on my out-of-pocket investments.

An August Gathering

Original image of honky tonk troubadour Marty Bush performing at Mike Kelly’s Westsider on July 1 by There Stands the Glass.

I attended a rock show in a nightclub last night. My experience was entirely forgettable, if not downright desultory. Taking my own advice, I bought a front-and-center ticket for the classical concert tonight that opens the ten chronological August concert recommendations I created for KCUR. Each of my selections promises a memorable experience.

Sleazy Season

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I resumed my work at KCUR several months ago with the primary intention of showcasing worthy artists deserving of wider recognition among the audience of the NPR affiliate. My new audio feature about the rap star SleazyWorld Go is precisely what I had in mind.

I’m proud of the piece, but I get the impression it’s been shunned by many of my associates in Kansas City’s music community. SleazyWorld Go’s success doesn’t fit the narrative embraced by many locally based scenemakers. The reasons are threefold.

First, his music is violent and subversive in a town that prefers comfort and comformity. Secondly, SleazyWorld Go bypassed the local circuit of clubs and promoters on his way to stardom. Ironically, the lack of fealty diminishes his appeal to the established powerbrokers.

And perhaps most significantly, his success proves that undeniable talent applied to a popular genre wins out. SleazyWorld Go’s example directly conflicts with the general consensus that only Kansas City’s geographic isolation prevents the world from discovering a scene that’s a musical Shangri-La.

As I’ve said countless times, just because something originates in Kansas City doesn’t mean it’s good. Of course, plenty of exceptional sounds are made by locally based musicians. Look no further than my recent KCUR features about Willi Carlisle and Mike Dillon. And I continue to document the town’s most important music at Plastic Sax. But until further notice, it’s Sleazy season.

Stompin' in KC

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I attended three incredible but woefully attended performances by Kansas City musicians on January 4.  After wishing someone would shine a brighter light on the best music being made in Kansas City, I realized that someone was me.  I elected to return to KCUR.  Here’s my audio feature about Mike Dillon, one of the artists I heard that fateful night five months ago.  And here are my June concert recommendations for KCUR.  While I’m at it, I should mention my wildly unpopular Kansas City jazz blog Plastic Sax.