JAM: Aug/Sept 2007 Hear and There

Having had the pleasure of hearing him at Jardine's (his regular “First Friday” gig) recently, I've learned that there are lots of places and times coming up to catch the work of pianist Mark Lowrey. I also heard him at McCormick and Schmick's on the Plaza, where his trio plays al fresco (if no rain, of course) for cocktail-supper time every Thursday. At that late set at Jardine's, he occasionally swerves into Latin or Third Wave-ish excursions such as Piazzola tangos. He's also with the Lonnie McFadden group when they're at Jardine's and elsewhere and he's solo, frequently, at Bar Natasha. Further (would you believe?), he's been signed as keyboardist for the upcoming season with the KC Chiefs (yes, football Chiefs!) Pack Band. And he's nominated as “Best Jazz Artist” for this year's Pitch Music Awards. For your well-informed vote on the Pitch ballot, first check out Mark's playing at one or more of the venues just mentioned, just like I did.

The Boulevard Big Band are now celebrated keepers of the Basie flame. That was proven again all evening long on the evening of July 9 th at Jardine's. Their leader-honcho-guardian-shepherd-pit boss Mike McGraw rolled out an evening full of powerful and beautiful music. Featured were some A-team arrangements by the likes of Sam Nestico and Billy Byers, as well as chunks of Benny Carter's classic Kansas City Suite, which was penned more than a generation ago for the Basie Band of that day. Among the Boulevardiers are many seasoned pros – first-chair people, music educators, and renowned-not-just-locally big-band alumni. Drummer Brandon Draper was especially on target this entire evening. The Boulevard Big Band in 2007 comes up on nearly two decades of memorable performances and recordings.

- Charlton Price

Speaking of drummer Brandon Draper, he was also on board for the debut of a new Gary Sivils band at Jardine's. Completing the group were Gerald Spaits and Roger Wilder , plus vocalist Kathleen Holeman. The playlist was way different from recent Sivils groupings. There was some Shorter/Hancock/Williams era Miles Davis material, which the band took a little further “out” than we typically hear, and which also allowed the muted Sivils horn to burn. They also took one from the Westport Art Ensemble playbook, Hank Williams' “I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry”, which also proved to be a great vehicle for Sivils. Holeman's scat chops were “on” during her parts of the set, too.

Loren Pickford's night at Jardine's was another great listen. Bryan Hicks was on board on bass and his “vocalese”. As much as I love Loren's alto sax, when he picks up the flute it's always special. I think that Loren knows I'm going to request the flute when he sees me approach him between sets.

Fortunately, we had several opportunities to hear Craig Akin before he left for New York City . We'll miss Craig, we'll miss his still-new band Topshelf Toons, which featured music by Kansas City composers and also gave tenor saxophonist Rich Wheeler an opportunity to shine (and he did). We also heard Craig (on bass, of course) in the Kansas City Bass Quartet at Jardine's, along with Bob Bowman (on bass), Gerald Spaits (on bass), and Tim Albright (on bass). This is an infrequent gathering, and a unique, satisfying group. How many bass quartets have you heard?

Jardine's mostly has regional musicians, but in early July pianist Ben Markley, a former Frank Mantooth student who is now in New York City, brought in a searing quintet for an evening. Gerald Spaits and Zack Albetta were also in the rhythm section, and Clint Ashlock was on trumpet. Markley's writing and playing are wonderful, and this band definitely had a “ New York ” hard bop mainstream sound that I'll take any day.

I keep running into Everette DeVan, and never complain about it. First, we stopped in for his night at the Phoenix (featuring Eboni Fondren and Matt Hopper, plus Kevin Frazee on drums). Then there was the late night at Jardine's, with Mike Shank t akin g over drum duties. Next, we heard the quartet at the Drum Room, which added Matt Carrillo's tenor sax to the mix. Christy Meinhardt was the vocalist this evening, and sounded just fine (and Matt's tenor fills sure sounded good behind her, too). Rob W hitsitt was the guitarist for the B-3 magician this evening. And now he has returned to MelBee's in Mission on Thursday evenings, this time on piano with Ms. Meinhardt, and we were there, too.

That Drum Room evening proved to be very busy. A short trip to the Crossroads and 1924 Main found that they have resumed weekend music at the downstairs bar. Tenor Saxophonist Nolan Lem, a Shawnee Mission East grad who is currently studying at the University of Miami , led a quartet with Oscar Williams on piano. I heard some adventurous takes on Monk, featuring the Williams keyboard, and also enjoyed Nolan stretch out on some Trane. Charles Gatschet had a full house at the Blue Room on this evening, too, with his Denver-based trio, performing material from his new CD.

Oh, the Blue Room had a heck of a week, actually (when don't they?), as in addition to Gatschet they also had the wonderful reedman Charles Perkins leading a quartet with Gerald Spaits, Roger Wilder , and Sam Wisman. Perkins' material really spans the ages: Bird, Waller, George Russell, Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, plus the standards. You can decide which of his horns you prefer; he is a master on alto sax, alto and bass clarinet, and flute. Plus, alto saxophonist Dennis Winslett (with John Brewer, Jeff Harshbarger, and Mike Warren) covered some ground, too. Their set starting out this week at the Blue Monday Jam began with a drum/sax duo that was an immediate attention grabber. This segued into “My Favorite Things” in the same spirit. But then Dennis will move to an R&B groove, with his horn no less intense.

- Roger Atkinson