12/17/2023 0 Comments Review kansas city jazz orchestra![]() As I did, I realized many of the roads led back to Jay McShann (then still living) and the horn players whom he gave his first jobs: Charlie Parker and Alaadeen. I also started paying more attention to Kansas City’s role in jazz history. School prevented me from attending most, but I made it a point to see who had played and check out their music from the library. At most he had four pieces, but he did more with those than any of the rock drummers with mega-kits I had seen.Īfter that show I started paying more attention to jazz shows around town. I can’t remember what he played, but I know he played in a trio and the drummer had the tiniest kit I had ever seen. I convinced a couple of friends to make the trek with me, and we were all blown away. My sister told me a “guy who played with Billie Holliday” was having a concert in a church near Paseo and Linwood. Like the classical music my parents enjoyed, the genre was confined to corpses, their legacies entombed with Beethoven and Armstrong.Īhmad Alaadeen was my entry into jazz as a living art form. ![]() The other jazz fact I knew all too well was that everyone I had heard of was no longer living. Although I didn’t know Mingus from Monk, I did know that this stuff was a heck of a lot better than hearing the same Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Metallica songs for the millionth time on commercial rock stations. If the song didn’t reach me, or the announcers started talking too much I’d hit the button for the other station. I couldn’t tell you who was playing at any given moment. On evening drives I switched between KCUR and KANU, both of which had long blocks of jazz into the night. The car my parents let me drive in high school didn’t have much that worked (including heat or air conditioning, which ensured I wouldn’t venture too far from home). Consequently, I was left to discover everything else on my own. I grew up in a musical household where classical was the genre of choice. (Above: Ahmad Alaadeen plays for Charlie Parker at a 2008 graveside memorial service.) Louis Blues” that found Marsalis showing off his New Orleans roots and reeling off some Satchmo-like trumpet licks on his saxophone.īuck O’Neil: Sweet Times and Sweet Sounds at 18th and Vine Aside from that moment, Hurst drew little attention to himself – a positive attribute for now in these new surroundings. His lengthy solo would have worked better tied to a song than as a stand-alone piece. Hurst also handled himself well, despite sight-reading all of the material. His solo during a later song recalled another drummer of Marsalis’ acquaintance, Art Blakey. On a cover of Thelonious Monk’s “Teo,” Faulkner traded bars with Marsalis with a maturity that outpaced his age of 19 and an energy that underlined it. It wasn’t the ending Marsalis hoped for, but the audience took in stride and responded with a standing ovation.įaulkner had no problem filling the drum stool occupied by Marsalis’ longtime beatman Jeff “Tain” Watts. ![]() Before the song could climax, however, an over-exuberant Faulkner accidentally knocked his ride cymbal to the floor. When the band re-entered, Marsalis gradually built the song’s intensity. ![]() Calderazzo’s mesmerizing solo blurred the lines between jazz and classical music, and showed more than a hint of Brad Mehldau’s plaintive style. The song opened softly with Marsalis on soprano sax, and Faulkner switching between brushes and mallets to build new textures. “The Blossom of Parting,” a track from Marsalis’ 2009 album “Metamorphosen” was the high point of night. ![]() Aside from being the best player onstage, Marsalis’ horn was the catalyst that helped the rest of the sounds to coalesce. If the set had one blemish it was that Marsalis seemed too content to introduce a number with a solo, then step away for the rest of the number to let his trio play. Some of his solos displayed the pop sensibilities that made him the go-to hornsmith for Sting and Bruce Hornsby, yet his playing was always challenging, never resting too lightly on the ears. Alternating between soprano and tenor saxophones, Marsalis guided the band through breakneck changes and lumbering mood pieces. When Marsalis stepped back, Calderazzo and drummer Justin Faulkner flooded the room so completely one wondered if Marsalis would be able to wedge his way back in the song.įortunately, the rest of the two-hour set fared better. Admittedly a work in progress, the arrangement was busy to the point of claustrophobia. That number, tentatively titled “Joey’s Tune” after its composer, pianist Joey Calderazzo, was a bit of an outlier. The show kicked off the 2010-2011 season of Jammin’ at the Gem and featured new bass player Robert Hurst – this was only his second gig with the quartet in as many nights. Saturday’s Branford Marsalis concert at the Gem Theater was a night of new beginnings. (Above: Branford Marsalis solos and shows off his new drummer, Justin Faulkner, at a 2009 concert.) ![]()
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