JAM: DECEMBER 2007/JANUARY 2008 Issue: For the Record

Earlie Braggs Quartet
It's About Time

Personnel: Earlie Braggs: trombone, vocals; Wayne Hawkins: piano; Craig Akin: bass; Tim Cambron: drums.

Tracks: The Days of Wine and Roses (Mancini/Mercer), Triste (Jobim), Kidney Stew (Blackman/Vinson), Georgia (Carmichael), Up Jumped Spring (Hubbard), Bye Bye Blackbird (Henderson/Dixon), Don't Get Around Much Anymore (Ellington), God Bless the Child (Holiday/Herzog), Stolen Moments (Nelson), Time After Time (Stanley/Cahn), Polka Dots and Moonbeams (Van Heusen/Burke), My Secret Love (Parrish/Sherwood).

Executive Producers: Earlie Braggs, Keith Cox. Producers: Earlie Braggs, Kerry Strayer. Recorded at Soundtrek Studios, Kansas City , Missouri . Engineers: Ron Ubel, Jeff Schiller, Grant Schainost. Mastering: Ron Ubel, Jeff Schiller. Released: 2007.

Unless I am mistaken, this appears to be the first recording led by long-time KC trombonist and vocalist Earlie Braggs, who you might have heard performing in Kerry Strayer's group, among others, in the past. Braggs' dynamic, melodic playing has already led the way for a promising breed of KC jazz trombonists, such as Tim Perryman. So now Braggs' legacy also continues on disc.

On this CD of classic jazz standards, Braggs seems to shine the brightest on well-known tunes such as Ellington's “Don't Get Around Much Anymore,” which features Braggs on trombone. Braggs plays the melody as if he is singing it through his horn, and, of course, many have remarked that the trombone in many ways best replicates the cadences and intonations of the human voice. Braggs makes good use of this advantage, and delivers a warm, bright, conversational rendering of this tune. And although it is understated, the trading of fours and eights between bassist Craig Akin and drummer Tim Cambron, which is the only other solo work on this tune, appears fitting and is a strong, balanced complement to Braggs' vivacious, oratorical playing.

Braggs' singing is featured on the first track, “The Days of Wine and Roses” as well as on “Georgia,” “God Bless the Child,” and “Time After Time.” Braggs' singing is full-bodied and deep, a tad reminiscent of the Kevin Mahogany's work, and it is refreshing to hear alongside his consummate trombone playing. As the bandstand saying goes, “Some people only come out for the singer,” and Braggs' versatility and attention to this basic need of some audiences is commendable. Plus, of course, he is talented.

In terms of instrumental tunes, “My Secret Love,” the album's final track, is one of my favorites. Moving at its swift clip, this track showcases Braggs' quick-thinking ability, and his solo on this tune features some of his quick slide work and his gifted melodic ear. The Earlie Braggs Quartet rendition of “Triste” was also one of my favorites, and, in the track two spot, it almost overshadows track one because of its somber, in-the-pocket groove coupled with Earlie Braggs' smooth, engaging rendering of the tune.

Overall, this album highlights the accomplishments of Earlie Braggs, bringing the work he has done for years on the bandstand in Kansas City to a wider audience, I hope. It will make an excellent addition to your collection of bright, established, local stars.

—Kevin Rabas

Kansas City Jazz Orchestra
Live on the Plaza

Tracks: Stompin' at the Savoy, All of Me, Stardust, You Are So Beautiful, Tiger Rag, Purple Gazelle, It Don't Mean a Thing…, A Sunday Kind of Love, My Favorite Things, Shiny Stockings, Dizzyland, Caravan, Kenton Kollage.

Recorded live at Unity Temple on the Country Club Plaza, Kansas City. Produced by Jim Mair. Recording and sound reinforcement by Ian Corbett.

The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra is already five years old, would you believe? This CD culls choice offerings from the previous four years of KCJO concerts. Every concert features top local players, many who are also jazz educators, some with name band credits, plus eminent guest artists. All this provides musical excitement in the KCJO's memorable, authoritative presentations of America 's classical music. The liner notes make clear when each track was performed, the composer(s), the arranger(s), who's soloing, and even the specific personnel of the band for each concert.

Musical arrangements for the KCJO's kind of repertoire pose a special challenge. Some would insist that presenting jazz classics should require using the original arrangement of the classic version of each tune. But many of those arrangements are not in the public domain, or even still available –or, let's face it, in some cases musically out-of-date and tawdry. So musical director Jim Mair seeks out affordable and available arrangements that capture, without copying, the essence of the classics. For example, this CD includes a “Kenton Kollage” arranged by Bob Curnow, and Don Menza's “Dizzyland,” which communicates, without trying to recreate, the essence of John Birks Gillespie.

For the 2008-09 season, these KCJO concerts will move to the even more appropriate space and acoustics of the Folly Theatre. Many hope that the orchestra will find a permanent home in the future Performing Arts Center . The elegance of performance and the musicological smarts evident in this CD make such a prospect increasingly believable.

—Charlton Price

Megan Birdsall
Little Jazz Bird

Personnel: Megan Birdsall, vocals; Tim Cambron, drums; Bob Bowman, bass; Paul Smith, piano; Mike Melvoin, piano, tracks 3, 9, 10; Bill Caldwell, sax; Mike Metheny, EVI.

Tracks: Is You Is, Born To Be Blue, Little Girl Blue, Sleepin' Bee, The Moon's a Harsh Mistress, Little Jazz Bird, Save That Time, When Your Lover Has Gone / In the Wee Small Hours, Hey There (You With the Stars in Your Eyes), I Get Along Without You Very Well, My Old Flame.

Recorded at Soundtrek Studios, Kansas City . Recording Engineers: Ron Ubel and Justin Wilson. Mixing Engineer: Justin Wilson.

From the time you hear Bill Caldwell's tenor introduce “Is You Is (or Is You Ain't My Baby)” you will guess that Megan Birdsall's Little Jazz Bird is one swingin' set, and first impressions are always right. Well, usually right. When the tunes on this CD are up, they certainly swing like mad and won't disprove that “first impressions” cliché.

Let's look at these swingers first. Megan joins in on the opener and sure keeps it hot, both in the lyrics and in her scat chorus. She bends notes, alters the melody, and is downright sassy. Well, she does sass when the tune calls for it. Caldwell is around with a solo and obligati on “Sleepin' Bee”, too. Tim Cambron's cymbal drives the car on the title tune, and drives it like a pace car. Things slow down for the beginning of Caldwell 's chorus, but then the race starts up again, and this bird might as well be a Firebird. I am not used to “Hey There” uptempo (I like Fran Warren's ballad treatment), but here Megan turns it into an assured lecture. Listen to Mike Melvoin's responsive accompaniment on this one (and his solo, too). This is a great tune choice, a great tune that no one sings. “My Old Flame” features Cambron's hard bossa nova drums (nothing laid back and breezy in these drums). Not that the tune is that fast, it's the way the rhythm is juxtaposed against the Birdsall vocal that works so well.

On the rest of the recording, Birdsall and the band bring us ballads. Bob Bowman and Megan are in duet to open “Born To Be Blue”. The intro earned Bob his own chorus. Cambron's brushwork is fine throughout. I've heard singers over act on this, but Megan brings just enough to her reading. Birdsall does the chorus to “Little Girl Blue” (thank you), another song I could hear more often (thank you again), and Melvoin is perfect behind and in his solo. Jimmy Webb's “The Moon's a Harsh Mistress” belongs on the great “moon songs” list. Paul Smith helps Megan capture the mood with perfection, and you'll heat a little bit of the Mike Metheny Electronic Valve Instrument here as well. I dare say that this is the one that hushes the crowd, it just demands attention.

“Save That Time” is Megan's tribute to its composer, the late Russ Long. This one has another moving solo from bass master Bowman. Smith and Birdsall do “When Your Lover Has Gone” as a duet, then Bob joins in to complete this Sinatra repertoire medley on “Wee Small Hours”. “I Get Along Without You Very Well” has been a favorite since I first heard Chat Baker's version of this standard of “love lost”. Warning: Megan just might break your heart here.

Mix the swingers and ballads together and you have a balanced and enjoyable CD from Megan Birdsall, the “new” PBT Trio, and guests Melvoin, Metheny, and Caldwell.

— Roger Atkinson

Kerry Strayer Quartet
“In A Mellotone”

Quartet: Kerry Strayer (baritone and soprano saxes), Wayne Hawkins (piano), Craig Akin (bass), Tim Cambron (drums)

Trio: Kerry Strayer (baritone sax and clarinet), Rod Fleeman (guitar), Bob Bowman (bass)

This is the best bargain of the year and the year's almost over so run – don't walk – to the nearest venue and purchase Kerry Strayer's latest, In A Mellotone. It's the longest one-disc CD I've experienced - an hour and seventeen-plus minutes – not that this is a BAD thing: it is, in fact, a well-paced parcel of standards you're sure to enjoy, especially if you're a member of the “...they don't write ‘em like they used to” set. Originally intended as a gig-getting demo, it was appropriately suggested that this collection would be a laudable commercial venture. I couldn't agree more.

Anyone who follows Kansas City jazz is familiar with this multi-talented reeds artisan, best known for his smooth baritone sax. Strayer fronts a fabulous big band, a smaller ensemble (featured here), plays in Jim Mair's Kansas City Jazz Orchestra (plus other popular aggregates) and is a terrific arranger as well.

Two instrumental configurations comprise the band(s): bari / soprano, piano, bass and drums; bari/clarinet, guitar and bass. The groupings are perfectly placed and paced, leading off with “Taking a Chance on Love,” a mellow, Mulligan-esque take which also spotlights Wayne Hawkins' pianistic prowess. “If I Had You” follows, a pianoless trio this time featuring Strayer's capricious clarinet. The incomparable Rod Fleeman contributes an all-too-brief interlude when not providing a perfect rhythm guitar alongside Bob Bowman's metabolic bass.

A bossa beat brings in “Tangerine,” with Strayer playing soprano. In my limited experience, soprano saxophones are not famous for their tonic clarity but Kerry's is as clear and pure a sound as one could imagine and his solo is gorgeous. Hawkins renders another tasty chorus and I LOVED the licks trailing the out-chorus fade. Strayer chooses the baritone for “Once in a While” (old woman that I am, I recall this as a Patti Page hit way-back-when).

Just when you think this might be a tad too mellow for the hip to hang onto, the trio lays out a 6/8 “Body and Soul,” followed by the quartet's (mostly) headless “ Cantaloupe Island .” The former features Kerry's bari , Rod's flawless guitar comp, and nimble-fingered Bowman's first solo. The latter, with soprano lead, is 8:20 minutes of fun-filled funk over and about H. Hancock's four-count'em-four changes. Check out the superlative contemporary outchorus(es).

“Jive at Five” is cleverly overdubbed ( bari and soprano) and boasts Craig Akin's beautiful bass, Wayne 's engaging piano and some dandy drum trades featuring Tim Cambron's traps. A crisp meringue (I think) introduces medium-uppish “St. Louis Blues” – loved it - transforming to swing for Cambron's bustling break.

Check out Rod's quotes on “In a Mellow Tone,” guaranteed to produce some smiles, as will Bowman's interlude. Strayer's alternating bari choruses with both are a Master Class in bandstand symbiosis.

“Tenderly” jazz waltzes in – busy but not crowded – with another fine bass solo (Akin) and – here - Kerry's angular neo-bop bari chops. “Bernie's Tune” is a bari-clari combination – how many ways can you phrase “excellent”? – wherein, again, Fleeman's quotes amuse. (Who else would think to integrate “Bippity Boppity Boo” into this chestnut?) Bowman's laid back pizzicato is flawless and the trio turns are full and fresh.

Akin introduces a textbook “Squeeze Me,” later providing a beautifully phrased commentary. Strayer's soprano is again superb, Hawkins is terrific as is Cambron, this time soloing with brushes. A l2/8 feel supports “Harlem Nocturne,” nicely intro'd with the bari . Everybody shines. What can I say?

The final tune, “Poor Butterfly,” would've made B. Goodman proud. A gifted and fluent reedman, Kerry Strayer should also be proud - of himself, this project, and the distinguished sidemen whose collaborative efforts made it so special.

—Carol Comer