The regular meeting of the Kirkwood Board of Trustees will take place January 14, 2021.  Time, place, and meeting agenda can be found at this link.

Bob Stewart Hollis Monroe Ron Adkins Bob DeForest Saul Lubaroff

Bob Stewart: Monday-Friday 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. 1) Christopher’s Very Happy Band  – While We Wait (Chris Merz) Always a fan of the work of Chris Merz, the new disc from his Very Happy Band did not disappoint. With his regular bandmates Mike Conrad, Drew Morton and Dave Tiede, the disc was chock full of memorable originals and the amazing sax work we’ve come to expect from Mr. Merz. 2) Karrin Allyson Sextet – Shoulder to Shoulder: Centennial Tribute to Women’s Suffrage (eOne) 3) John Beasley Monk’estra – Monk’estra Play John Beasley (Mack Avenue) 4) Big Band of Brothers – A Jazz Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band (New West) 5) Orrin Evans & the Captain Black Big Band – The Intangible Between (Smoke Sessions) 6) Bill Frisell – Valentine (Blue Note) 7) Marshall Gilkes Trio – Waiting to Continue (Alternate Side) 8) Steve Grismore Trio – Better Days are A’Comin’: Steve Grismore Trio Plays Ornette Coleman (Steve Grismore) 9) Gregory Tardy – If Time Could Stand Still (WJ3) 10) Matt Wilson Quartet Hug! (Palmetto)

Hollis Monroe: Monday-Friday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. 1) Maceo Parker- Soul Food: Cooking with Maceo (Mascot) 2) Jimmy Cobb – Remembering U (Jimmy Cobb World) 3) James Dreier & Ritmocano – Iowa Friends: Cuban Music (James Dreier) 4) Dena DeRose – Ode to the Road (High Note) 5) Christian McBride Big Band – For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver (Mack Avenue) 6) The Flying Horse Big Band – Florida Rays (Flying Horse) 7) Sinne Eeg – We’ve Just Begun (BFM) 8) Joe Farnsworth – Time to Swing (Smoke Sessions) 9) Harold Mabern – Maybern Plays Maybern (Smoke Sessions) 10) Airmen of Note – Air Power (U.S.)

Ron Adkins: Sunday 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. (Gentle Jazz) 1) Karrin Allyson Sextet – Shoulder to Shoulder (eOne) This release really resonated with me. Karrin Allyson (one of my favorite vocalists) took a great big swing at the glass ceiling with this centennial tribute to women’s right to vote. She and some of the best female jazz artists took songs from the Suffrage Movement and gave them a new audience. Resurrecting period music can be tricky. If the band stays true to the original, it can come off sounding dated. But Allyson and her Sextet offered up beautiful, fresh arrangements that make the original lyrics sound all the more poignant and relevant to modern listeners still working for equality. The Shoulder to Shoulder project accomplishes what great music does best – it entertains and empowers at the same time. 2) Artemis – Artemis (Blue Note) 3) Al Di Meola – Culcha Vulcha (Across the Universe) 4) Flying Horse Big Band – Florida Rays (Flying Horse) 5) John Coltrane – Blue World (Impulse!) 6) Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers – Just Coolin’ (Blue Note) 7) Harold Mabern – Mabern Plays Mabern (Smoke Sessions) 8) Audrey Ochoa – Frankenhorn (Chronograph) 9) Michael Wolff – Bounce (Sunnyside) 10) Alexa Tarantino – Clarity (Posi-Tone)

Bob DeForest: Saturday 6 – 10 p.m. (Da Blues) 1) Kevin Burt – Stone Love (Golf Coast) 2) Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite – 100 Years of Blues (Alligator) 3) Joe Bonnamassa – Royal Tea (J & R Adventures) 4) Coco Montoya – Coming In Hot (Alligator) 5) Dennis Jones – Soft Hard & Loud (Blue Rock) 6) Fillmore Slim – Son of Seven Sisters (Greaseland) 7) Albert Castiglia – Wild and Free (Golf Coast) 8) Jimmy Johnson – Every Day of Your Life (Delmark) 9) Kim Wilson – Take Me Back (M.C.) 10) Ghalia – Mississippi Blend (Ruf)

Saul Lubaroff: Sunday 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. 1) Chick Corea – Trilogy 2 (Concord) I love all three of the musicians on this album so much. Chick Corea on piano, Christian McBride on double bass and Brian Blade on drums. Their incredible command of their instruments is always inspiring 2) Audrey Ochoa – Frankenhorn (Chronograph) 3) Christian McBride Big Band – For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver (Mack Avenue) 4) Derrick Gardner – Still I Rise (Inpact Jazz) 5) Champian Fulton/Cory Weeds – Dream a Little (Cellar Live) 6) Baritone Madness – Baritone Madness (Bee Hive) 7) Randy Brecker/Ada Rovatti – Becker Plays Rovatti: Sacred Bond (Piloo Records) 8) Christopher’s Very Happy Band – While We Wait (SkyDeck Music) 9) Michael Dease – Never More Here (Posi-Tone Records) 10) James Dreier and Ritmocano Iowa Friends: Cuban Music (James Dreier) 11) John Fedchock and the NY Sextet Into the Shadows (Summit Records)