(Above: Return to Forever rock Stanley Clarke’s “School Days” to close their performance at the Midland Theater in Kansas City, Mo.) By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star Stanley Clarke announced to an excited Midland Theater crowd that this latest version of Return to Forever wasn’t like all those other reunion bands who declare that [...]
Posts Tagged ‘jazz’
Review: Return to Forever
Posted in review, tagged Chick Corea, Dweezil Zappa, Frank Gamble, Frank Zappa, fusion, jazz, jazz fusion, Jean-Luc Ponty, Lenny White, Return to Forever, Romantic Warrior, RTF, Stanley Clarke, Zappa Plays Zappa on October 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Review: Branford Marsalis
Posted in Concert review, tagged American Jazz Museum, Art Blakey, Brad Mehldau, Branford Marsalis, Gem Theater, Jammin at the Gem, jazz, Joey Calderazzo, Justin Faulkner, Kansas City jazz, Robert Hurst, Wynton Marsalis on November 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: Branford Marsalis solos and shows off his new drummer, Justin Faulkner, at a 2009 concert.) By Joel Francis The Daily Record Saturday’s Branford Marsalis concert at the Gem Theater was a night of new beginnings. The show kicked off the 2010-2011 season of Jammin’ at the Gem and featured new bass player Robert Hurst [...]
Remembering Alaadeen
Posted in Kansas City music scene, tagged Ahmad Alaadeen, Alaadeen, American Jazz Museum, Beethoven, Charlie Parker, Clark Terry, Duke Ellington, Gem Theater, Jammin at the Gem, Jay McShann, jazz, Kansas City jazz, KANU, KCUR, music hisstory, personal remembrance on August 16, 2010 | 2 Comments »
(Above: Ahmad Alaadeen plays for Charlie Parker at a 2008 graveside memorial service.) By Joel Francis The Daily Record I grew up in a musical household where classical was the genre of choice. Consequently, I was left to discover everything else on my own. NPR was my gateway to jazz. The car my parents let [...]
On the Streets of Philladelphia
Posted in Music history, tagged Billie Holiday, David Bowie, Durell Bottoms, Gamble/Huff, jazz, John Coltrane, Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Phildadelphia, Phildadelphia soul, soul music, Teddy Pendergrass, the sound of Phildadelphia, Young Americans on July 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: Billy Paul’s 1972 smash “Me and Mrs. Jones” is a quintessential slice of Philly soul.) All Photos by Joel Francis The Daily Record There’s no shortage of history to be discovered and embraced in the City of Brotherly Love. Sadly, the many of Philadelphia’s musical landmarks have not been preserved as well as those [...]
Review: Gil Scott-Heron
Posted in Concert review, tagged Blues Alley, Brian Jackson, Carl Cornwell, Common, Gil Scott-Heron, jazz, Kanye West, PM Dawn, poetry, Public Enemy, roots of hip hop, soul music, The Bottle, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised on June 25, 2010 | 2 Comments »
(Above: The video for “Me and the Devil,” a track from his 2010 album “I’m New Here.”) By Joel Francis The Daily Record WASHINGTON, DC – The “more info” tab on the Blues Alley Website informs the curious that Gil Scott-Heron attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania because it was the alma mater of his hero [...]
Review: “Pops” by Terry Teachout
Posted in book review, tagged Bing Crosby, Dizzy Gillespie, Hot Fives and Hot Sevens, jazz, Joe Glaser, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Satchmo, Terry Teachout on May 26, 2010 | 2 Comments »
(Above: Satchmo and his septet rip through the “Tiger Rag.”) By Joel Francis The Daily Record The beauty of Louis Armstrong’s music was that it could be enjoyed and appreciated by everyone from children to adults and seasoned jazz fans to hardened critics. Pity then that “Pops,” the new Armstrong biography by Wall Street Journal [...]
Remembering Rusty
Posted in band feature, Kansas City music scene, Music history, tagged Alaadeen, Jay McShann, jazz, Kansas City jazz, Rusty Tucker, Scamps, Tim Whitmer on May 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Rusty Tucker was a fixture of the Kansas City jazz scene for more than 50 years. He could be found playing his trumpet with others or sitting behind a drum kit for the Scamps. Tucker died almost four years ago, but I was priviledged to speak with him in his Independence, Mo. home in 2002 when I [...]
A tour of KC’s Women in Jazz
Posted in band feature, Kansas City music scene, Music history, tagged American Jazz Museum, Angela Hagenbach, Carol Comer, Deborah Brown, Janet Kuemmerlien, jazz, Johnny Carson, Julie Turner, Kansas City jazz, Karrin Allyson, Lisa Henry, Marilyn Maye, Oleta Adams, Pearl Thurston Brown, Queen Bey, Wild Women of Kansas City, Women in jazz on May 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
By Joel Francis The Daily Record Janet Kuemmerlein has been interested in jazz even longer than she has been making art. Growing up in Detroit, she had to take two buses to reach her arts-focused high school downtown. While there, members of the Modern Jazz Quartet might stop by and ask to borrow instruments from [...]
Clark Terry’s Last Stand
Posted in Concert review, Kansas City music scene, tagged 18th and Vine District, Alaadeen, American Jazz Museum, Berrie Hall, Charlie Parker, Clark Terry, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, jazz, Johnny Carson, Kansas City jazz, Mumbles, Oscar Peterson, Squeeze Me, Stan Musial, Ted Williams on May 3, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: A somewhat recent performance of Clark Terry’s signature song, “Mumbles.”) By Joel Francis The Daily Record Perhaps only baseball reveres its heroes of the past as much as jazz. Each year, Stan Musial, Ted Williams or another bygone star is paraded around the field before the All-Star Game. Likewise, the songbooks passed down from [...]
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