October 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Garsington Opera’s production of Gioachino Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of October

1. Bad Bunny- Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana

Carpe diem.

2. Sylvie Courvoisier- Chimaera

Spectral.

3. Gucci Mane- Breath of Fresh Air

Rap redemption.

4. John Scofield- Uncle John’s Band

How does the song go?

5. Fuerza Regida- Pa las Baby’s y Belikeada

Party central.

6. Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra- 

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 2, 3, 12 & 13

The ponderous soul of Russia.

7. Ava Mendoza- Echolocation

My review.

8. Allison Miller- Rivers in Our Veins

Freewheeling jazz.

9. Nathan Davis- Neutral Buoyant

Psaltery.

10. Daniel Villarreal- Lados B

Raw grooves with Jeff Parker and Anna Butterss.

Top Ten Songs of October

1. Kali Uchis- "Te Mata"

Wayback machine #1.

2. Esperanza Spalding- "Não Ao Marco Temporal"

Wayback machine #2.

3. Holly Macve and Lana Del Rey- “Suburban House”

Cul-de-sac.

4. The Streets- “Gonna Hurt When This Is Over”

Such sublime sadness.

5. Danny Brown- "Tantor"

Chaos agent.

6. Ken Carson- "Jennifer's Body"

Tomorrow’s sounds today.

7. Tainy with J Balvin, Young Miko and Jowell & Randy- "Colmillo"

Everything at once.

8. Yebba- "Waterfall (I Adore You)"

Chasing.

9. Flatland Cavalry- "Spinnin'"

Heartsick honky tonk.

10. Drake- “IDGAF”

An extended ECM Records sample!

Top Ten Performances of October

1. Hilary Hahn at the Folly Theater

My review.

2. Thomas Rosenkranz at White Recital Hall

My review.

3. Samara Joy at the Folly Theater

My review.

4. Brent Cobb and Meg McRee and Knuckleheads

My review.

5. Alien Nosejob, Citric Dummies and CKrit at Howdy

My review.

6. Chamber Music Masterclass with Michael Stern at Helzberg Hall

My Instagram photo.

7. Stan Kessler, Brant Jester, Bob Bowman and Zach Morrow at the Blue Room

My Instagram clip.

8. Vintage Crop, Jackoffs and Konrad Hell and the Highwaters at Farewell

My review.

9. Carl Butler, Dennis LaFoon and Terry Hancock- Gospel Lounge at the Gospel Lounge

My Instagram clip.

10. Musica Sacra- Arrupe Hall at Rockhurst

My Instagram photo.

The previous monthly survey is here.

Album Review: Laufey- Bewitched

Every generation needs a torch singer to call its own. I’m happy for the teens who’ve latched on to Laufey. I’ve attended multiple performances by the all-time greats Tony Bennett and Marilyn Maye, but the premiere chanteuse of my generation is k.d. lang. I’ll always love Ingénue. In merging the elegant chilliness of Julie London with the delicious sadness of Lana Del Rey, Laufey is an unlikely star among people born in this millennium. Bewitched is an entirely convincing genre exercise. Nice job, kids!

October 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of The Fugitive Kind by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in October)

1. Fire-Toolz- Eternal Home

A noise supreme.

2. Lana Del Rey- Blue Banisters

Now That’s What I Call Adult Contemporary!

3. Craig Taborn- Shadow Plays

Standing on the shoulders of Keith Jarrett.

4. Daniil Trifonov- Bach: The Art of Life

Living large.

5. Maxo Kream- Weight of the World

“Record deal off a pill!”

6. Charlotte Greve- Sediments We Move

My review.

7. Artifacts Trio- ...And Then There's This

Chicago’s finest.

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

The pianist and guitarist clear the room.

9. Jpegmafia- LP!

A firehose of mutinous ideas.

10. Steddy P- SOS: Toxic

KC’s rapper’s convincing comeback.

Top Ten Songs (released in October)

1. Céu- “Chega Mais”

Come closer.

2. Tainy, Bad Bunny and Julieta Venegas- "Lo Siento"

Dream collaboration.

3. Orquesta Akokán- “Guajira Del Mar”

Havana.

4. Badbadnotgood- "City of Mirrors"

Deep reflections.

5. Adele- "Easy On Me"

Drowning.

6. Harriet Krijgh and Magda Amara- “Les chemins de l'amour”

The paths of love.

7. Emily D’Angelo- "A Thousand Tongues"

“Nine and ninety-nine lie.”

8. Angel Du$t with Tim Armstrong- "Dancing on the Radio"

“Like there’s no tomorrow.”

9. Conway the Machine- "Piano Love"

Tuned.

10. Remi Wolf- "wyd"

Preposterous pop.

Top Ten Concerts of October

1. Pat Metheny, James Francies and Joe Dyson- Orchestra Hall (Detroit)

My review.

2. St. Vincent- Grinders KC

My review.

3. Erykah Badu- Midland theater

My review.

4. Marc Anthony- T-Mobile Arena

My review.

5. Asleep at the Wheel- Muriel Kauffman Theatre

My review.

6. Joshua Bell and Alessio Bax- Helzberg Hall

My review.

7. Rod Fleeman- Green Lady Lounge

The guitarist’s weekly matinee is among my favorite things in Kansas City.

8. Flooding- Vinyl Underground

My review.

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

My review.

10. Everyday Strangers- Gem Theater

My Instagram clip.

Top Ten Films (viewed for the first time in October)

1. The Fugitive Kind (1960)

My new favorite movie.

2. Höstsonaten/Autumn Sonata (1978)

Excruciating generational trauma.

3. The Emperor Jones (1933)

Paul Robeson in an adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s play.

4. Where East is East (1929)

Lon Chaney, Estelle Taylor and Lupe Vélez don't need sound.

5. Mamma Roma (1962)

The continuation of the decline and fall.

6. Flesh and the Devil (1927)

Greta Garbo as femme fatale.

7. Hollywood Barn Dance (1947)

Walkin’ the floor with Ernest Tubb.

8. SAS: Red Notice (2021)

Precisely what I want from a big, dumb action flick.

9. The Seventh Victim (1943)

Kim Hunter confronts a satanic cult in Greenwich Village.

10. The 100-Foot Journey (2004)

Amuse-bouche.

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

Album Review: Domenico Lancellotti- Raio

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I’m slogging through Finian’s Rainbow as part of my increasingly irksome pledge to become fully conversant in musicals.  The gorgeous cinematography in the 1968 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola is the most compelling element of the jarringly dated Fred Astaire and Petula Clark vehicle.  Raio, the latest release from the Brazilian artist Domenico Lancellotti, is similarly anachronistic.  Tracks like "Vai a Serpente" sound as if the studio group Toto is further polishing the already refined songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim.  Just as Finian’s Rainbow is salvaged by stunning visuals, Raio is elevated by glittering wall-of-sound production.  Spectacular on headphones, the album has been added to my short list of audio reference recordings.  (Tip via S.A.)

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Aaron Rhodes and I yack about the latest releases from Lana Del Ray and Benny the Butcher and vehemently disagree about the merits of a 1988 album by the Business in the latest episode of our In My Headache podcast.

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Recently at the Kansas City jazz blog Plastic Sax: an audacious proposal for a specialized music streaming service and appreciation for a nice surprise from the Wild Women of Kansas City.

March 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Dirk Bogarde in the trailer of Cast a Dark Shadow by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in March)

1. Pino Palladino and Blake Mills- Notes With Attachments

My review.

2. Nik Bärtsch- Entendre

Erik Satie in the NFT era.

3. Lana Del Rey- Chemtrails Over the Country Club

Flying high.

4. Pat Metheny- Road to the Sun

My review.

5. Charles Lloyd & The Marvels- Tone Poem

Urbane hillbilly jazz.

6. Danish String Quartet- Prism III

Beethoven, Bartók and Bach.

7. Camilo- Mis Manos

The soundtrack of my imaginary spring break.

8. Gretchen Parlato- Flor

My review.

9. Arab Strap- As Days Get Dark

Everything’s getting older.

10. DJ Muggs the Black Goat- Dies Occidendum

How I could just kill a man.

Top Ten Songs (released in March)

1. Jorja Smith- “Addicted”

Rehab.

2. Denzel Curry- “Track 07” (Georgia Anne Muldrow remix featuring Arlo Parks)

Third eye open.

3. Show Me the Body- “Rubberband”

Snapped.

4. The Streets- “Who’s Got the Bag (21st June)”

Please recycle.

5. St. Vincent- “Pay Your Way In Pain”

In arrears.

6. Benny the Butcher featuring Fat Joe- “Talkin’ Back”

Lean back.

7. Loretta Lynn- "I Don't Feel at Home Anymore"

I feel like going home.

8. SZA- "Good Days"

A time to be born, and a time to die.

9. Connor Leimer- "Little Rules"

Made to be broken.

10. J Balvin- “Tu Veneno”

Poison.

Top Ten Movies (viewed for the first time in March, in lieu of live music)

1. Wings of Desire/Der Himmel über Berlin (1987)

And to think Berlin once topped my list of dream destinations.

2. Nomadland (2020)

State of the union.

3. Juliet of the Spirits/Giulietta degli spiriti (1965)

Fellini’s psychedelic depiction of middle-aged angst.

4. Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis/Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt (1927)

Eerie documentation.

5. Paris, Texas (1984)

Ennui never looked so good.

6. Milford Graves: Full Mantis (2018)

Relevant vibrations.

7. Cast a Dark Shadow (1955)

Murder most noir.

8. Sparkle (1976)

Something I can feel.

9. Judas and the Black Messiah (2020)

Big shoulders.

10. The Exterminating Angel/El ángel exterminador (1962)

Death trap.

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