In Lieu of 1000 Words: Parallax at Take Five

Granted, the place isn’t huge. But I arrived 45 minutes before the show was to start and already every seat was filled. Stan carried folding chairs out of the kitchen. I was lucky to nab one of those.

By the start of the show, the audience packed every nook and every cranny available. And they paid a cover charge – first time ever here – to do that. When it was announced a weekend cover was something new, the crowd applauded.

This must be Bizarro Jazz Club.

But it’s not. It’s Take Five Coffee + Bar, packing ’em in for perhaps the hottest new jazz group in Kansas City, Stan Kessler’s Parallax. With Stan on trumpet, Roger Wilder on keyboards, Bill McKemy on bass, and Ryan Lee and Brian Steever on sometimes complimentary, sometimes dueling drum sets, this audience came for the night’s best jazz.

Think about it, and this night is mostly unbelievable. We’re in a coffee-shop-slash-bar on 151st Street in Leawood, Kansas – this is as suburban as the world gets, folks – and people applaud paying to be packed in sardine-like to hear jazz. Not only that, but when the band starts playing, the audience stops talking to listen to the music. To listen to jazz.

If it’s difficult to praise highly enough the venue Lori and Doug Chandler have grown, likewise it’s hard to say too much about this band. Playing mostly original compositions (though I also loved their take on Monk), Parallax pairs a trio of some of KC jazz’s most experienced and talented musicians with a pair of young drummers driving the band and driving each other to their musical best. The crowd didn’t applaud and cheer because most were standing and could probably only see someone else’s back. We applauded and cheered because this jazz earned it.

You can find out for yourself this Thursday, January 10, when Parallax plays again, at the Westport Coffee House.

Until then, here’s what it looked like on the last Friday of last year at Take Five. As always, clicking on a photo should open a larger version of it.

Parallax. Left to right: Roger Wilder on keyboards, Brian Steever on drums, Bill McKemy on bass, Stan Kessler on trumpet, Ryan Lee on drums.

Trumpeter Stan Kessler. Behind him, drummer Ryan Lee.

Roger Wilder on keyboards. Behind him, drummer Brian Steever.

Bill McKemy, who ususually looks happier than this, on electric bass.

Drummer Ryan Lee

Drummer Brian Steever

Parallax, with Bill McKemy on sousaphone

Leader Stan Kessler

Parallax, when the two drummers square off, at Take Five Coffee + Bar

In Lieu of 1000 Words: Ernie Andrews and Bobby Watson at The Blue Room

I heard some spectacular jazz that you didn’t. I can say that to all but about 80 people in the world.

Because about 80 people is all who turned out to hear Ernie Andrews and Bobby Watson at The Blue Room on July 9th. But, in fairness to jazz fans, that wasn’t entirely the fans’ fault. The Blue Room had the show on their online calendar as happening a week earlier. The Kansas City Star even printed some copies with the wrong date – because that’s when The Blue Room said it was happening – before correcting it. The club eventually changed the online schedule.

So I blame the venue for the small crowd. And I credit the venue for booking a fantastic show.

83-year old singer Ernie Andrews is still swinging the blues hard. He bathed The Blue Room with KC style and sass. Ernie’s on record with the likes of Cannonball Adderley, Benny Carter and Jay McShann. He’s absorbed all the rough edges and sings them out with energy, class and rousing joy like you just don’t hear anymore.

Now add internationally-renowned super-saxophonist Bobby Watson, blowin’ his best. Then back the superstars with a selection of Kansas City’s finest: Jason Goudeau on trombone, Roger Wilder on piano, Jeff Harshbarger on bass and Michael Warren on drums. The result? A night that could raise the ghosts on 18th and Vine.

Too bad you probably didn’t know when to show up for it.

Here’s a little help. I can show you what you missed. Clicking on a photo below should open a larger version of it.

Ernie Andrews

 Bobby Watson

Left to Right: Roger Wilder on piano, Jeff Harshbarger on bass, Ernie Andrews, vocals, Michael Warren on drums, Bobby Watson on alto saxophone, Jason Goudeau on trombone

Jason Goudeau on trombone

Ernie Andrews sings

Roger Wilder on piano

Michael Warren on drums

Bobby Watson and Jason Goudeau

Ernie Andrews belts out the blues

Jeff Harshbarger on bass

Roger Wilder, Jeff Harshbarger, Ernie Andrews, Bobby Watson

Bobby Watson on alto

Ernie Andrews at The Blue Room

In Lieu of 1000 Words: Sons of Brazil 20th Anniversary

I think we take them for granted, because they’ve always been here.

After all, just how many jazz groups stay together for 20 years? And how many jazz bands in Kansas City can claim to have performed Brazilian jazz every week since their inception two decades ago? How many hold a twice monthly gig at a premiere jazz club? How many celebrated their anniversary June 6th at that jazz club?

Just one: Sons of Brazil.

I saw founder Stan Kessler introduced once, jokingly, as an elder statesman of KC jazz. Stan laughed (though if looks could kill, Mark Lowrey might not be here today). Yet, there’s something to that. Not an elder statesman, but a mainstay, one of this city’s hardest working jazz musicians since before I grew aware of KC jazz in the 1980s, and today Kansas City’s premiere jazz trumpeter.

Ask anyone who knows KC jazz to make a short list of our best jazz pianists and Sons of Brazil keyboard man Roger Wilder will be on it. Now make a list of best jazz guitarists, and in KC it will include Danny Embrey. Doug Auwarter is noted for educating as well as drumming, while he and percussionist Gary Helm complement each other, often as if they’re one complex instrument. All the while, bassist Greg Whitfield is providing the perfect underlying glue.

I started this blog to celebrate discovering the tremendous young jazz talent in Kansas City today. But too often that’s been at the expense of the tremendous jazz musicians who I may just take for granted because they’ve always been around. But with twenty years of outstanding musicians playing outstanding Brazilian jazz, it’s past time to celebrate Sons of Brazil.

Here’s a look at how they celebrated to a packed house at Jardine’s earlier this month. As always, clicking on a photo should open a larger version of it.

Sons of Brazil. Left to right: Roger Wilder, piano, Stan Kessler, trumpet, Greg Whitfield, bass, Danny Embrey, guitar, Doug Auwarter, drums, and Gary Helm, percussion.

Trumpeter, and Sons of Brazil founder, Stan Kessler

Bassist Greg Whitfield

Stan and Greg

Guitarist Danny Embrey

Drummer Doug Auwarter

Danny and Doug

Pianist Roger Wilder

Percussionist Gary Helm

Greg and Danny