Connoisseurs of the Kansas City barbecue scene are certainly familiar with the world renowned Gates Barbecue. Saxophonist Bobby Watson, who leads the jazz studies program at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, is a huge fan. “Kansas City is the Napa Valley of barbecue,” he says. “Gates’ Barbecue stands …
Category: KCCK Blog
Scofield-Mendoza Collaboration, Lloyd’s New Quartet – Bob
The collaboration heard on John Scofield’s new CD — “54” — had its origins back in the ’90s when Vince Mendoza asked the guitarist to play on his first album. Scofield has since been on two more of Mendoza’s records. When Mendoza assumed directorship of the Metropole Orchestra of the Netherlands in 2005, he and …
The Sound of Latin America – Bob
Born in Quivican, Cuba, in 1941, Chucho Valdes is one of Cuba’s most famous pianists, bandleaders, composers and arrangers. Perhaps best known for founding the famous Latin jazz band Irakere in 1972, Chucho’s illustrious career has also garnered him six Grammy wins and 16 nominations over the past three decades. He’s recorded over 80 CDs …
The “Bones” of September – Bob
Few can match Steve Turre’s skill as a trombonist. His technical mastery has seen him win five Down Beat magazine polls. Since his formative experience as a teenager playing alongside Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Turre has gone on to play with artists such as Ray Charles, B.B. King, Woody Shaw, Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie and McCoy …
Esperanza’s Chamber Music & a Marsalis Celebration – Bob
Centuries ago, chamber music was the music for the masses — the music in which people from nearly every segment of society could find meaning and relevance. A decade into the 21st century, Esperanza Spalding — the bassist, vocalist and composer who first appeared on the jazz scene in 2008 — takes a contemporary approach …
Reed Legends Unite – Bob
First meeting in the clubs of Los Angeles’ Central Avenue in the early 1960s, and following separate but superlative careers, tenor legends Hadley Caliman and Pete Christlieb reunited in the fall of 2009 to perform a couple of concerts and record a new studio CD — “Reunion” — taking up where they left off some …
Saxes Are Wild – Bob
Jimmy Amadie was a hot jazz pianist in the 1950s, playing for such notables as Mel Torme and Woody Herman. His career was seemingly on the fast track until 1960, when an extreme form of tendonitis in his hands derailed his playing career for decades. After several surgeries and plenty of physical therapy, the former …
New Music – Bob
A San Francisco prodigy known for fire and fluidity in his deep-groove guitar work, Barry Finnerty was one of the top players on the New York jazz scene from the ’70s through the ’90s. His brilliant playing with the Crusaders, Miles Davis and the Brecker Brothers put him on the international map. In the late-’90s, …