Album Review: Kevin Cheli and Seth Andrew Davis- Pinball

Pinball is an apropos title for the new recording by St. Louis percussionist Kevin Cheli and the Kansas City guitarist Seth Andrew Davis. The three improvised tracks are flush with ricochets, tilts and caroms. Even so, the abrasive give-and-take might as easily been named Curb Stomp, Avalanche or Glitch. Only the most inured listeners will appreciate the album. Yet dedicated aficionados of mayhem will recognize the constant churn of Pinball as a monumental achievement.

(Need of more noise? Davis and his collaborators in the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society are regularly featured at the Kansas City jazz blog Plastic Sax.)

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.

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.

Concert Review: Bob Bowman and Peter Schlamb at Second Presbyterian Church

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

An unassuming recital on the patio of a church acted as a gratifying consolation prize on Wednesday, August 24.  I wasn’t provided a pass to area appearances by Alicia Keys and $uicideboy$ that night.  My budget didn’t allow me to spring for a ticket to either amphitheater concert.

I would have relished being in the presence of one of the most likable pop stars of the new millennium at Keys’ appearance.  And being surrounded by $uicideboy$ fans would have helped keep tabs on recent developments in pop culture.

Yet nothing at either show would have been as sublime as the flash-free duo of bassist Bob Bowman and vibraphonist Peter Schlamb at Second Presbyterian Church.  Having dedicated thousands of words to both Kansas City musicians at Plastic Sax during the past 15 years, I concur with the praise they heaped upon one another.

Schlamb asserted Bowman is “truly a legend.”  Bowman called Schlamb “one of the greatest musicians on the planet.”  Their 50-minute set attended by about 30 people corroborated the assessments.  The elite improvisations rewarded aspects of my soul that the music of Keys and $uicideboy$ could never reach.