Kae Tempest

May 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of Glyndbourne’s production of Don Giovanni by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of May

1. Rudy Royston’s Flatbed Buggy- Day

Bumpy ride.

2. Billy Woods and Kenny Segal- Maps

The right direction.

3. Shirley Collins- Archangel Hill

Time out of mind.

4. Joe Lovano, Marilyn Crispell and Carmen Castaldi- Our Daily Bread

Holy communion.

5. Roomful of Teeth- Rough Magic

My review.

6. Atmosphere- So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously

Atmosphere finally made a good record.

7. Kassa Overall- Animals

Pigs on the wing.

8. Béla Fleck- As We Speak

With Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer and Rakesh Chaurasia.

9. Slowspin- Talisman

Hounds of love.

10. Rod Fleeman- Saturday Afternoon Live at Green Lady Lounge, Vol. 2

My review.


Top Ten Songs of May

1. Megan Maroney- “Kansas Anymore”

Getting out of Dodge.

2. Kevin Morby- “Going to Prom”

Time the revelator.

3. That Mexican OT featuring Paul Wall and Drodi- "Johnny Dang"

Ice.

4. Paris Texas- "Bullet Man"

Who shot ya?

5. SleazyWorld Go with Polo G- “Off the Court”

Trust the process.

6. Peso Pluma- "Bye"

I say hello.

7. Speakers Corner Quartet featuring Kae Tempest- "Geronimo Blues"

Stump speech.

8. Sparks- "Gee, That Was Fun"

Au revoir.

9. $uicideboy$- “Realism vs Idealism”

No limit.

10. Lil’ Keke- "Motion"

OG.


Top Ten Performances of May

1. Tim Bernardes at Mississippi Studios

My review.

2. Yujia Shen at Diastole Scholars Center

My review.

3. Off!, Upchuck and Weaponize Chomsky at recordBar

My Instagram clips are here, here and here.

4. Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Michael Hurley at Aladdin Theater

My review.

5. Hot Chip and Cadence Weapon at Wonder Ballroom

My Instagram clips are here and here.

6. Janet Jackson and Ludacris at T-Mobile Center

My Instagram image.

7. Stone & Sue at the Portland Farmers Market

My Instagram clip.

8. Rod Fleeman Trio at Green Lady Lounge

My Instagram clip.

9. Drew Williams Quartet at Westport Coffee House

My review.

10. Luke Tarter at Portland International Airport

Elton John melodies unnerved me amid flight delays.


The previous monthly survey is here.

Wide Open Spaces

Original image captured at the Gorge Amphitheatre on August 13, 2022, by RSB.

*Overwhelmed by holiday commotion, I forgot to use the embedded photo in a previous post.  Behold my favorite music-related image of 2022.  My daughter captured the celebratory moment at a (Dixie) Chicks concert at the magnificent Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington last August.

*I played tracks by Mister Water Wet, Flora, LeVelle, Matt Villinger’s All Night Trio, Rosalía, Kae Tempest, Moor Mother and Anna Butterss and discussed Kansas City’s music scene on a recent episode of the Eight One Sixty radio program.

*Here’s my annual screed about the detrimental effect of the “Kansas City nice” aesthetic.  At the risk of beating a dead gelding, I’ll again advise my well-intentioned friends that not only does unmerited praise of mediocre locally based artists undermine their personal credibility, the prevailing practice risks confining Kansas City to the cultural status of a one-horse town.

*Much to the chagrin of many musicians and their fans, I don’t engage in provincial aggrandizement at the Kansas City jazz blog Plastic Sax.  I call it as I see it in the site’s reviews and editorials.

Feelin’ U: The Top Albums and Songs of 2022

The Top 50 Albums of 2022

1. Moor Mother- Jazz Codes

Review.

2. Mary Halvorson- Belladonna

Review.

3. Natalia Lafourcade- De Todas las Flores

4. Oren Ambarchi- Ghosted

Review.

5. Joyce DiDonato- Eden

6. Rosalía- Motomami

7. Nate Wooley- Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes

Review.

8. Pusha T- It’s Almost Dry

9. The Weeknd- Dawn FM

Podcast discussion.

10. Dave Douglas- Songs of Ascent: Book 1- Degrees

11. Sarah Davachi- Two Sisters

Review.

12. Billy Woods- Aethiopes

13. Bad Bunny- Un Verano Sin Ti

14. Tim Bernardes- Mil Coisas Invisíveis

15. Brad Mehldau- Jacob’s Ladder

Review.

16. Bobby Watson- Back Home in Kansas City

Review.

17. Anat Cohen- Quartetinho

18. Caroline Shaw and Attacca Quartet- Evergreen

19. Miranda Lambert- Palomino

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

21. Vince Staples- Ramona Park Broke My Heart

22. Sault- (God)

23. Matthew Shipp Trio- World Construct

24. Mitsuko Uchida- Beethoven: Diabelli Variations

Review.

25. Beyoncé- Renaissance

Review.

26. Hermon Mehari- Asmara

Review.

27. Samantha Ege- Black Renaissance Women

28. Danger Mouse and Black Thought- Cheat Codes

29. Tyshawn Sorey- The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism

30. Nduduzo Makhathini- In The Spirit of Ntu

31. Silvana Estrada- Marchita

32. Carolin Widmann- L’Aurore

33. Robert Levin- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Piano Sonatas

34. Megan Thee Stallion- Traumazine

35. Gerald Clayton- Bells on Sand

Review.

36. iLe- Nacarile

37. Jóhann Jóhannsson- Drone Mass

38. Lucrecia Dalt- ¡Ay!

39. Lise Davidsen and Leif Ove Andsnes- Edvard Grieg

Review.

40. Daniel Villarreal- Panamá 77

41. Wilco- Cruel Country

Review.

42. Sault- 11

43. Tedeschi Trucks Band- I Am the Moon III: The Fall

Review.

44. Cyrille Dubois and Tristan Rais- Fauré: Complete Songs

45. Clarice Jensen- Esthesis

46. Caroline Shaw and I Giardini- The Wheel

47. Tony Malaby’s Sabino- The Cave of Winds

Review.

48. Benny the Butcher- Tana Talk 4

49. Sault- Air

Review.

50. 2 Chainz- Dope Don’t Sell Itself

The Top 50 Songs of 2022 (Spotify playlist)

1. Porridge Radio- “End of Last Year”

2. Kae Tempest featuring Lianne La Havas- “No Prizes”

3. Celeste- "To Love a Man"

4. Anna Butterss- "Doo Wop"

5. Ice Spice- “Munch (Feelin’ U)”

6. Jana Rush featuring DJ Paypal- “Lonely”

7. Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation- "How Good It Is"

8. Lee Fields- "Forever"

9. Rod Wave- "Cold December"

10. More Eaze featuring Claire Rousay- "floor Pr. 2"

11. DJ Snake- “Disco Maghreb”

12. Anitta featuring Chencho Corleone- "Gata"

13. Horace Andy- "Watch Over Them"

14. Kaitlin Butts- “She’s Using”

15. Soul Glo- “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmya–)”

16. Drake- "Down Hill"

17. Leikeli47- “LL Cool J”

18. Babehoven- “Fugazi”

19. Sunny Sweeney featuring Vince Gill- “Married Alone”

20. Cécile McLorin Salvant- “Ghost Song”

21. Steve Lacy- "Bad Habit"

22. Aldous Harding- “Fever”

23. Ibibio Sound Machine- “17 18 19”

24. Blackstarkids- “Sex Appeal”

25. Camilo and Nicki Nicole- "Naturaleza"

26. Hailey Whitters- “Everything She Ain’t”

27. Plains- “Hurricane”

28. Big Joanie- “In My Arms”

29. Horse Lords- “Rundling”

30. SleazyWorld Go featuring Offset- “Step 1”

31. Rauw Alejandro featuring Baby Rasta- “Punto 40”

32. Cole Swindell- “She Had Me at Heads Carolina”

33. Willie Nelson- “I’ll Love You Till the Day I Die”

34. Tank and The Bangas featuring Lalah Hathaway and Jacob Collier- “Where Do We All Go”

35. Drake and 21 Savage- “Major Distribution”

36. SZA- “Kill Bill”

37. Big K.R.I.T.- “So Cool”

38. Emily Nenni- “On the Ranch”

39. Ohma- “Seeing Beyond What Is Here”

40. Thotcrime- “You’re Like a Black Hole, The Way You Expect My Life to Revolve Around You”

41. The Smile- “Opposite”

42. Jon Pardi- “Mr. Saturday Night”

43. Lyle Lovett- “12th of June”

44. Animal Collective- “Cherokee”

45. Hiatus Kaiyote- "Get Sun (Georgia Anne Muldrow remix)"

46. Coi Leray- "Players"

47. Leland Whitty- "Awake"

48. Regina Spektor- “Becoming All Alone”

49. Craig Finn- “Messing With the Settings”

50. Peter Lehndorff- “Nothing Can Change”

The Top 25 EPs of 2022

1. Earl Sweatshirt- Sick!

Review.

2. Tom Skinner- Voices of Bishara

3. Drug Church- Hygiene

4. DJ Premier- Hip Hop 50, Vol. 1

5. The Adam Larson Trio- With Love, From Kansas City

Review.

6. Sault- Aiir

7. Iceboy Violet- The Vanity Project 

Review.

8. Shabaka- Afrikan Culture

9. Your Old Droog- Yod Stewart

10. Christian Nodal- EP #1 Forajido

11. Christina Aguilera- La Fuerza

12. Flee Lord- Pray for the Evil 3 

13. Duckwrth- Chrome Bull

14. Ryley Walker- So Certain

15. Your Old Droog and Tha God Fahim- The Wolf On Wall St. 2

16. WiFiGawd- Chain of Command

17. Chubby and the Gang- Labour of Love

18. Brain Tourniquet- Brain Tourniquet II

19. Lil Uzi Vert- Red & White

20. Khruangbin and Leon Bridges- Texas Moon

21. Otoboke Beaver- Super Champon

22. Portico Quartet- Next Stop

23. Elvis Costello- The Resurrection of Rust

24. Flatland Cavalry- Songs to Keep You Warm

25. Lil Ugly Mane- I Believe the World Would Be a Better Place Without You

The Top 25 Reissues, Compilations and Reimaginings of 2022

1. Charles Stepney- Step on Step

2. Saturno 2000: La Rebajada de Los Sonideros 1962-1983

Review.

3. Miles Davis- That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7

Review.

4. Brian Harnetty- Words and Silences

Review.

5. Prince and the Revolution- Live

6. Son House- Forever On My Mind

Review.

7. The Beatles- Revolver: Super Deluxe

8. Ray Charles- Live in Stockholm 1972

9. Pastor Champion- I Just Want to be a Good Man

10. Bert Jansch- Bert at the BBC

11. The Pyramids- Aomawa: The 1970s Recordings

Review.

12. Quattro Modigliani- Schubert: The String Quartets

13. Elton John- Madman Across the Water: Deluxe Edition

14. África Negra- Antologia Vol.1

15. Andrew Cyrille, Elliott Sharp and Richard Teitelbaum- Evocation

16. Pavement- Terror Twilight: Farewell Horizontal

Review.

17. Biluka y Los Canibales- Leaf-Playing in Quito, 1960-1965

18. Geri Allen, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian- Live at the Village Vanguard: Unissued Tracks

19. Cecil Taylor- The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert at the Town Hall N.Y.C. November 4, 1973

20. Charles Mingus- The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s

21. Norah Jones- Come Away With Me: Super Deluxe Edition

22. Nancy Mounir- Nozhet El Nofous

Review.

23. Marius Constant- Xenakis: Syrmos, Polytope de Montréal, Medea, Kraanerg & Oresteia

24. Staples Jr. Singers- When Do We Get Paid

25. Pauline Oliveros and James Ilgenfritz- Altamirage

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.