In Lieu of 1000 Words: 2012 PV Jazz Fest, Part 1

Thousands of fans. They crowded the hill at Harmon Park on September 8th to enjoy the music, the food, the beer and the wine – but mostly the music – at the third annual Prairie Village Jazz Festival.

As one of the organizers of this year’s event, I’ll not feign an unbiased assessment. But I will credit one group above all others for the day’s success: The musicians. Every performance was magnificent.

Opening act Diverse, in their new configuration with drummer Brad Williams, mostly played tunes the arriving audience might recognize, but branded by their own contemporary resolve. Rich Wheeler’s quartet spanned their own compositions to the blues. Everyone who heard Mike Metheny understands why I keep telling him he needs to perform locally more often (and he’s starting to do that). And everyone who heard Megan Birdsall heard a vocalist wrap herself around familiar standards and pop classics to make them entirely hers.

Crowd size reached its height for headliner Bobby Watson. With longtime bassist Curtis Lundy from New York, pianist Richard Johnson from Minneapolis and KC drummer Michael Warren, Bobby owned Prairie Village. Then the night’s second headliner, Karrin Allyson, backed by extraordinary saxophone and flute player Bob Sheppard from Los Angeles, guitarist Rod Fleeman, bassist Gerald Spaits, and drummer Todd Strait, left no doubts about why she has been nominated five times for the jazz vocal Grammy.

I took photos. This week, let’s share shots of the local acts. Next week, we’ll take a look at the headliners’ groups. As always, clicking on a photo should open a larger version of it.

Opening act Diverse. Left  to right: Ben Leifer on bass, Hermon Mehari on trumpet, Brad Williams on drums.

As Diverse performs, the audience grows.

The Rich Wheeler Quartet. Left to right: T.J. Martley on Rhodes and piano, Bill McKemy on bass, Rich Wheeler on tenor saxophone, Sam Wisman on drums.

Mike Metheny on flugelhorn

Bassist Gerald Spaits

Drummer Todd Strait

T.J. Martley on piano

Mike invited Hermon Mehari and Rich Wheeler to join him on his set. Here, Hermon and Mike enjoy Rich's solo.

Megan Birdsall

Bassist Bob Bowman

Drummer Matt Leifer

Singer Megan Birdsall with pianist Wayne Hawkins

Megan and Wayne. As the sun starts to set, the audience fills the hill.

Next week: Bobby Watson and Karrin Allyson.

In Lieu of 1000 Words: Rich Wheeler Quartet at Take Five

This is one of Kansas City jazz’s best kept secrets.

Not among musicians. Musicians in town know all about Rich Wheeler. He’s in Alaturka, in the People’s Liberation Big Band, in Mark Southerland’s groups, in Brandon Draper’s groups. Musicians know Rich is one KC’s best on tenor sax.

But because he’s mostly played as a sideman, the public is less aware of his name. Many in an audience just ask, so who was that fantastic tenor player in the group tonight?

That’s why when Rich Wheeler fronts his own group – especially when it’s in Take Five Coffee + Bar, one of this area’s most delightful jazz spaces – I’ll be there. And when backing Rich up in that group is T.J. Martley on piano, Bill McKemy on bass, and Brain Steever on drums, I know I’m hearing a quartet culled from Kansas City’s top jazz musicians.

Last Saturday night, May 12th, at Take Five, they did not disappoint. Rich fronts this group with natural ease and remarkable talent. His full tenor sound filled the room with solos as exciting as they are imaginative. T.J., Bill and Brian played perfect support or spread-your-wings solos which consistently ended to wild applause. It’s been especially wonderful to hear Brian develop over the last couple of years into a drummer who leaves audience members whispering to each other about what they just heard (Saturday, I saw that more than once).

Let’s also recognize Take Five, which is bringing jazz to the suburbs several nights each week, in one of the most comfortable, most welcoming, and most acoustically solid spaces to hear the music, city or fringe.

If you missed it, here’s how the night looked. As always, clicking on a photo should open a larger version.

Rich Wheeler Quartet. Left to right: T.J. Martley on keyboard, Brian Steever on drums, Rich Wheeler on tenor sax, Bill McKemy on bass

Rich Wheeler

Enjoying the quartet in Take Five

Pianist T.J. Martley

Rich, Brian and Bill

Bassist Bill McKemy

The Rich Wheeler Quartet performing

Rich and drummer Brian Steever

Framed by Billie on one side and Louis on the other, the Rich Wheeler Quartet in Take Five Coffee + Bar

In Lieu of 1000 Words: Alaturka at R Bar

Turkish jazz in the stockyards? I dare you to find that outside of Kansas City.

You could certainly find it here earlier this month when Alaturka, a quartet blending Turkish music with jazz, played R Bar in the city’s West Bottoms, less than a block from where cattle once roamed.

There’s much to explain in that sentence.

For a year I declined to head out to Alaturka’s monthly Sunday night shows at Jardine’s. Turkish music and jazz? What could be more odd a combination than that? Surely I wouldn’t like it.

I could not have been more wrong.

I finally attended an Alaturka performance a few months back. The room was packed, and I grabbed a seat up front.

Wow.

Seeing Sait Arat’s hands glazing the darbuka faster than the eye can focus – you’ll see what I mean in a photo below – while hearing musical perfection was a revelation. Previously, I’d only heard Rich Wheeler on short sax solos in a contemporary big band. But here, extended tenor of magnificent tone and soulful feel filled the room, intimately. This night, Beau Bledsoe’s guitar and oud and Bill McKemy, sitting in on bass, took occasional expert solos but mostly underlaid solid support.

The experience was extraordinary.

On their recently released CD, Tamam Abi, regular Jeff Harshbarger commands the bass seat. Here, without seeing Sait play, Beau’s oud and guitar assume a more prominent role. It’s still a jazz – no, really, a music – experience like none other you’ll find (the CD is available for sale here, or for download on iTunes here).

Now let’s mention R Bar, a still new restaurant and bar in Kansas City’s West Bottoms area. Thirty years ago, the stockyards dominated this area; where cattle pens once stood is seen right though their front door. But today, in R Bar (web site here), a wonderful atmosphere mixes excellent food and drink with jazz and other styles of acoustic music.

On November 4th, Alaturka, with Sait Arat on darbuka, Rich Wheeler on tenor sax, Beau Bledsoe on oud and guitar, and Jeff Harshbarger on bass, took the R Bar stage for a marvelous night of music. Which is how we get to Turkish jazz in the stockyards. How did it look? That answer is in the photos below. As always, clicking on one should open a larger version of it.

Alaturka. Left to right: Jeff Harshbarger on bass, Rich Wheeler on tenor sax, Beau Bledsoe on oud, Sait Arat on darbuka

Jeff Harshbarger and Beau Bledsoe

Sait Arat. This photo was shot at a speed of 1/15th second. This, amazingly, is how his hands move in one-fifteenth of a second, while playing every note perfectly.

Alaturka in R Bar. The lights you see through the front door today are in a parking garage. Thirty years ago, cattle pens stood there as part of the Kansas City stockyards.

Rich Wheeler on tenor sax with Jeff Harshbarger and Beau Bledsoe behind him

Bassist Jeff Harshbarger

Alaturka

Beau Bledsoe and Sait Arat

Jeff Harshbarger, Rich Wheeler, Beau Bledsoe

Alaturka in R Bar