(Above: “Get Here” brought down the house at Oleta Adams’ recent homecoming concert in Kansas City, Mo.) By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star Oleta Adams took the stage of Gem Theater on Saturday night with a smile and an apology. “I’m sorry I’m dressed this way,” she said, wearing a stunning, strapless, turquoise dress. [...]
Posts Tagged ‘jazz’
Review: Oleta Adams
Posted in Concert review, Kansas City music scene, Kansas City Star, tagged American Jazz Museum, Back To Rockville, Billy Joel, Everett Freeman Jr, Get Here, Jammin at the Gem, jazz, Jeanne Arland Peterson, Oleta Adams on April 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
A Gennett Records photo gallery
Posted in Music history, tagged Charlie Patton, Duke Ellington, Gennett Records, Gennett Walk of Fame, Henry Gennett, Hoagy Carmichel, jazz, jazz history, Jelly Roll Morton, Music history, photo gallery, Richmond Indiana, Starr Piano Company on March 3, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
By Joel Francis The Daily Record I visited the historic Gennett Records recording studio and the Gennett Walk of Fame in Richmond, Ind. on March 2, 2010. Here are my photos from the trip. (Don’t miss The Daily Record feature “Remembering Gennett Records.”) Detail work of the marker celebrating Jelly Roll Morton on the Gennett [...]
Remembering Gennett Records
Posted in Music history, tagged Big Bill Broonzy, Bix Beiderbecke, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Bradley Kincaid, Charlie Patton, cradle of recorded jazz, Decca, Duke Ellington, Edna Hicks, Fiddlin' Doc Roberts, Gene Autry, Gennett Records, Henry Gennett, Hoagy Carmichael, jazz, jazz 78s, jazz history, Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, rare records, Richmond, Starr Piano Company, Vernon Dalhart on March 3, 2010 | 2 Comments »
(Above: A rare Gennett Records 78 featuring Edna Hicks singing “Satisfied Blues.”) By Joel Francis The Daily Record From the highway, Richmond, Ind. looks like any other blip on the highway between Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio. It’s not quite blink-and-you’ll-miss it – the town does have five exits from I-70 – but there’s nothing enticing [...]
Key King Artists
Posted in Music history, tagged Al Green, All Around the World, Bill Doggett, bluegrass, Charlie Feathers, Curtis Mayfield, Elvis Presley, Fever, gospel, Hank Ballard, James Brown, jazz, Junior Kimbrough, Kill Bill, King Records, Little Willie John, O Brother Where Art Thou, Quentin Tarantino, Ralph Stanley, rockabilly, Sam Cooke, Solomon Womack, Stanley Brothers, Swan Silvertones, Syd Nathan, Working on a Building on February 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: The groundbreaking “Working on a Building,” which the Swan Silvertones cut for King Records.) By Joel Francis The Daily Record James Brown is certainly the best-known artist to record for Syd Nathan’s Cincinnati-based label, but King Records had forged a reputation long before Brown emerged. For a quarter century, from 1943 to 1968, King [...]
Review: “The Oxford American: Book of Great Music Writing”
Posted in book review, tagged bluegrass, Bob Dorough, country, Grand Ol Opry, Ike Turner, Janis Joplin, jazz, Jimmy Martin, Junior Kimbrough, Miles Davis, music writing, Oxford American, R.E.M., R.L. Burnside, Ricky Gervais, RZA, School House Rocks, Sex Pistols, Southern culture, Southern music, Sugar Ray Robinson, Tom Piazza, Wu-Tang Clan on January 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ are one of many artists to get some love in a recent Oxford American music writing anthology.) By Joel Francis The Daily Record The Oxford American “Southern Music Issue” is an annual treat, loaded with great writing that unearths wonderful stories on longtime favorites and introduces several new discoveries. Coupled with [...]
Open wide for Mouth
Posted in band feature, Kansas City music scene, tagged Adrian Belew, Bootsy Collins, David Rizer, Everette DeVan, Heat Index, hip hop, Jaco Pastorius, James Jamerson, jazz, Jeremy Anderson, King Crimson, local music scene, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Mouth, Phantom, progressive rock, Reach, Return to Forever, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, Steely Dan, Stephen Gunn, Wakarusa Music Festival, Zach Rizer on January 15, 2010 | 7 Comments »
(Above: Mouth gets “Gnarly” at the Jackpot Saloon.) By Joel Francis The Daily Record Fans wanting to pigeonhole Mouth’s music, do so at their own risk. The three-piece Kansas City band combines elements of funk, jazz, pop, hip hop, electronica and progressive rock in their unique, dance-friendly instrumental songs. “People have tried to make us [...]
Review: Kind of Blue turns 50
Posted in Concert review, tagged American Jazz Museum, Cannonball Adderly, Freddie Freeloader, Jammin at the Gem, jazz, Jimmy Cobb, John Coltrane, Kind of Blue, Kind of Blue 50, Miles Davis, So What, So What band on October 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: Jimmy Cobb’s So What Band delivers “The Theme” – and a drum solo.) By Joel Francis Jimmy Cobb had been onstage at the Gem Theater for over an hour Saturday night before he finally gave the capacity crowd what they came for: a drum solo. As the last living musician from the landmark Miles [...]
Review: Roy Ayers, the Impressions
Posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star, tagged 40 Acres and a Mule, Back To Rockville, Choice of Colors, Curtis Mayfield, Everybody Loves the Sunshine, Fela Kuti, Fred Cash, Gypsy Woman, jazz, Juneteenth, Move on Up, Roy Ayers, Sam Gooden, soul music, Superfly, the Impressions, The Roots, We're A Winner on June 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: Roy Ayers dedicates “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” to Miles Davis.) By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star Before James Brown was black and proud and Marvin Gaye asked what’s going on, the Impressions were a winner who got people ready for the train a-comin’. The Impressions message of racial harmony and black empowerment laid [...]
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Releasing Jazz from Aspic
Posted in Industry commentary, Kansas City music scene, tagged Beach Boys, Bill Haley, Branford Marsalis, British Invasion, Buddy Holly, can jazz be saved?, Chuck Berry, Common, Danny and the Juniors, dixieland, Elvis Presley, fusion, future of music, Head Hunters, Herbie Hancock, jazz, John Coltrane, Martin and Wood, Medeski, Miles Davis, Mos Def, Ornette Coleman, Q-Tip, Rocket 88, Ron Carter, Roy Hargrove, Terry Teachout, The Roots, Wynton Marsalis on September 4, 2009 | 2 Comments »
(Above: Ornette Coleman jams with the Roots. Improbably, people respond positively to the non-traditional collaboration.) By Joel Francis In 1958, Danny and the Juniors sang “Rock and Roll is Here to Stay.” Although the genre was only seven years removed from the its birth on the “Rocket 88” single and three years from its explosion [...]
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