kcjazzlark: T.J. Martley

Showing posts with label T.J. Martley. Show all posts

Monday, December 17, 2012

KC Jazz for Christmas, 2012

Not a week before Christmas, a friend came to me.
“I need KC jazz! It must be on CD!
It needs to be music released just this year,
Exceptional songs you know I'll want to hear.
I have a new girlfriend who I must impress
With new KC jazz music. So only the best.”

“You will not go wrong,” I said, “with Peregrination.
Chris Hazelton’s trio is a B3 sensation.
With Chris on the organ, Kevin Frazee on drums,
Danny Embrey’s guitar he so perfectly strums.
This trio: It swings, it thrills, it delights.
It’s B3 organ jazz music you’ll love many nights .”

“Or take Keyboard Christmas by Michael Pagán,
With inventive piano, you will not go wrong.
It’s not really music played holiday style
But solo piano to charm and beguile.
It takes unique turns, it captures your ear.
It’s Christmas songs played to hear all of the year.

“Now, Passport will take you a different direction.
World music / jazz masters: A fun intersection.
With Beau Bledsoe on oud, or on the guitar,
And Stan Kessler’s trumpet, this music goes far.
It glides and it soars with wicked delight,
This music will take you on exotic flight.

“Bill McKemy’s Duende is not technically new,
With songs first recorded in two thousand and two.
But a CD rerelease of music long hard to find,
With Bill’s double bass, Jeffrey Ruckman sublime,
Original music Bill composed and arranged.
Count it as new and you’ll not be shortchanged.

“More solo piano marks T.J. Martley’s release
Of Meditations, an intimate feast.
Recording his thoughts and sense at the time,
Improvisational music of feelings sublime,
This young jazz pianist sets you a seat
And invites you to listen, an engaging treat.”

“That’s it! I’ll take all!” My friend did exclaim.
“I’ll arouse my new girlfriend! She’ll revere my name!
Because we know that KC claims some of jazz’s best
Musicians of talent who always impress
These CDs do prove it, unequalled in style,
So listen to all and be thrilled for awhile!”

*****

Don’t let my amazingly bad verse deter you from some amazingly good CDs. Peregrination can be purchased here. Keyboard Christmas can be purchased here. Passport, Duende and Meditations, Vol. 1 can be purchased here.

Monday, November 12, 2012

This 'n That 'n Free Winterlude

The first year, it snowed the day before. I worked the box office at the event, as a volunteer. People called to see if the festival was still on, before venturing out of their home. That was not a good way to build an audience.

Johnson County Community College (JCCC) staged its first Jazz Winterlude in January, 2010. While the schedules have been filled with some of the best local jazz, tickets priced at $25 and up, more than snow, may have kept interested audiences from growing into jazz crowds.

Not next January.

All concerts at Jazz Winterlude 2013, set for January 18 and 19, are free to everyone. And this is a schedule Kansas City jazz fans will find exceptional. Take a look:

Friday, January 18
7:00 − 7:50 p.m.: David Basse Orchestra, in Yardley Hall
8:00 − 9:00 p.m.: Julian Lage Duo, in Yardley Hall
9:15 − 10-15 p.m.: Deborah Brown, in Yardley Hall

Saturday, January 19
1:00 − 1:15 p.m.: Megan Birdsall Quartet, in Polsky Theatre
                              Michael O’Shiver (harp), in Recital Hall
2:00 − 2:50 p.m.: Everett DeVan/Chris Hazelton Group (B3 organs),
                          in Polsky Theatre
                              Alice Jenkins (vocal/piano), in Recital Hall
3:00 − 3:50 p.m.: Diverse Quartet, in Polsky Theatre
                          Candace Evans Trio, in Recital Hall
4:00 − 4:50 p.m.: New Red Onion Jazz Babies, in Polsky Theatre
                              Alaturka, in Recital Hall
7:00 − 7:50 p.m.: Killer Strayhorn, in Yardley Hall
8:00 − 10:00 p.m.: Eldar Djangirov, in Yardley Hall

JCCC’s Yardley Hall is one of this region’s most acoustically magnificent spaces. The opportunity to hear Deborah Brown’s vocals and Eldar’s piano in there is an exciting one. These are dates to set aside now.

Even if it snows.

(Jazz Winterlude’s web site is here.)

*****

Is gliding the word I’m looking for? Maybe soaring? In some songs, it’s both. Tangos Flamenco for example. Stan glides over Beau’s intricate rhythms before taking off and soaring with excitement. Here’s two masters of their instruments playing world music with intricacy and exhilaration. And fun.

I've photographed guitarist Beau Bledsoe with his extraordinary Turkish jazz group Alaturka (here). They play Saturday’s Winterlude date. Trumpeter Stan Kessler performs with more groups than I can count, the best known being Sons of Brazil. I photographed them here. Together, Beau and Stan have formed the group duo Passport, playing music with a world bent. Is it Latin? Cuban? Spanish? South American? I suppose all of the above.

Passport has released its first, self-titled CD.

Beau lays down rhythms on guitar and oud mesmerizing yet complex. Some tunes are familiar, such as Ave Maria, where Stan’s perfect tone overlays feelings of beautiful melancholy. Meanwhile, Que Nadie Sepa Mi Sufrir bounces with playfulness. The interaction between the two musicians on Choro Por Ze draws you in with a broad smile.

Is it jazz? Is it world music? Yes. But mostly – no, entirely – it’s wonderful music.

Passport can be purchased here.

*****

I first heard T.J. Martley in 2009, filling in for Mark Lowrey with Shay Estes’ group. I photographed the evening here. Shay turned to the audience at one point and, pointing at T.J., said, “Isn’t he great?”

Yes. Yes, he is.

And he’s now released an album of jazz meditations titled, not surprisingly, Meditations, Vol. 1.

This CD of piano solos is an album of trains of thought, musical impressions of the moment. Sometimes obtuse like Monk, consistently engaging, a close listen pulls you into the music’s appealing twists and complexity.

Meditations, Vol. 1 can be downloaded from iTunes here or purchased on CD here.

Monday, September 17, 2012

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.