Kwan Leung Ling

March 2024 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Original image of Kevin Miller and Lawrence Brownlee by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of March

1. Jlin- Akoma
Fancy footwork.

2. Tierra Whack- World Wide Whack
(Frank) Oceans of fun.

3. Véronique Gens- Paysage
French soiree.

3. Moor Mother- The Great Bailout
Overdue.

5. Norah Jones- Visions
A beautiful mirage.

6. Amirtha Kidambi- New Monuments
Prog-jazz.

7. Ethnic Heritage Ensemble- Open Me, A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit
Astral planes.

8. Charles Lloyd- The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow
With Jason Moran, Larry Grenadier and Brian Blade.

9. Future and Metro Boomin- We Don’t Trust You
En garde!

10. That Mexican OT- Texas Technician
My review.


The Top Ten Songs of March

1. Bill MacKay- “Glow Drift”
Unhalfbricking.

2. Adrienne Lenker- “Free Treasure”
Gifts abound.

3. Charlie Parr- "Pale Fire"
Luminous.

4. Waxahatchee- “Burns Out at Midnight”
Return of the grievous angel.

5. DannyLux- "Maldito Alcohol"
Cautionary tale.

6. Mike featuring Earl Sweatshirt and Tony Shhnow- "On God"
Dead friends.

7. Anysia Kim featuring Mike- “In Doubt?”
Uncertain.

8. Matt Champion featuring Dora Jar- "Steel"
Boy band breakout.

9. Chief Keef and Mike Will Made-It featuring 2 Chainz- "Pull Up Ghost Clan"
Chiraq.

10. Lekin- “714”
Both sides now.


The Top Ten Performances of March

1. Lawrence Brownlee at the Lied Center
My review.

2. David Lord at Farewell
My review.

3. Ema Nikolovska at the Folly Theater
My review.

4. The Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s “Roméo et Juliette” at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My review.

5. Sleater-Kinney at the Truman
My Instagram clip.

6. The Kansas City Symphony’s Matthias Pintscher Conducts Symphony Dances: ‘West Side Story’ and Rachmaninoff with Philippe Quint at Helzberg Hall
My review.

7. Danielle Nicole, Brandon Miller and Go-Go Ray at Records with Merritt
My Instagram snapshot.

8. Seth A Davis, Kwan Leung Ling, Aaron Osborne and Evan Verploegh at 7th Heaven
My Instagram clip.

9. Bryan Hicks, Rod Fleeman and Rich Hill at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram snapshot.

10. Nya at the Blue Room
My Instagram snapshot.



The previous monthly recap is here.

April 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot from the trailer of the Metropolitan Opera’s staging of Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” by There Stands the Glass. PBS broadcast the opera on April 1.

Top Ten Albums (Released in April, excluding 4/29 titles)

1. Pusha T- It’s Almost Dry

The trio of Kanye, Pharrell and King Push is an unbeatable dream team.

2. Gerald Clayton- Bells on Sand

My review.

3. Billy Woods- Aethiopes

Highbrow hip-hop.

4. Tord Gustavsen Trio- Opening

My review.

5. Myra Melford- For the Love of Fire and Water

The pianist leads a free jazz supergroup.

6. Joel Ross- The Parable of the Poet

Palpably spiritual jazz.

7. Mitsuko Uchida- Beethoven: Diabelli Variations

My review.

8. Sault- Air

My review.

9. Cole Swindell- Stereotype

My review.

10. Vince Staples- Ramona Park Broke My Heart

Understated excellence.


Top Ten Songs (Released in April)

1. Miranda Lambert- "Actin' Up"

Call the cops.

2. Kaitlin Butts- "She's Using"

Codeine dreams.

3. Christian Nodal- "Aguardiente"

Poison.

4. Bonnie Raitt- "Love So Strong"

Kombucha for the soul.

5. Horace Andy- "Watch Over Them"

Reggae lion in winter.

6. Anitta featuring Chencho Corleone- "Gata"

The cat’s pajamas.

7. Young M.A.- “Tip the Surgeon”

Bloody.

8. Doechii- "Crazy"

Time to get right with God.

9. Lele Pons and Kim Loaiza- "Piketona"

Clubbed.

10. Making Movies- "Sala de los Pecadores"

Den of sin.


Top Ten Performances of April

1. Joyce DiDonato at the Folly Theater

My review.

2. Daniil Trifonov at the Folly Theater

My review.

3. Drew Williams, Ben Tervort and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House

My review.

4. Babehoven at Farewell

My Instagram clip.

5. Kwan Leung Ling, Evan Verploegh and Ben Baker at Charlotte Street Foundation

My Instagram clip.

6. Ducks Ltd. at the Green House

My Instagram clip.

7. Maul at Vivo

My Instagram clip.

8. Tyrone Clark, Charles Gatschet and Taylor Babb- Green Lady Lounge

The venue’s all-originals policy is paying off.

9. Jeff Harshbarger Quartet at the Blue Room

Standards deviations.

10. A Pile of Dead Horses at 7th Heaven

Fargo noise.



Last month’s survey is here.