William Brownlee

February 3, 2022

Album Review: Jóhann Jóhannsson- Blind Massage and The Shadow Play

William Brownlee

February 3, 2022

I swapped music recommendations with two young men I met at Mary Lattimore’s wondrous recital at the Lied Center seven weeks ago. Their tastes leaned toward abrasive underground electronica. They probably share my appreciation for Iceboy Violet’s stunning new mixtape.

After eagerly adding their suggestions to my queue, I tipped them to Jóhann Jóhannsson, the late Icelandic composer who has provided me with countless hours of inspiration. Jóhannsson’s expansive catalog grew 70 minutes longer last week when a pair of original motion picture soundtracks he created with Jonas Colstrup for Chinese films became available on streaming services.

Jóhannsson’s contribution to the 2014 film Blind Massage (推拿) falls somewhere between the indolent ambience of Harold Budd and the melodic brilliance of Nino Rota on tracks including "If There Is an Afterlife". The ominously abrasive "Midnight Highway" typifies the sound of the very different score for 2018’s The Shadow Play (风中有朵雨做的云).

Given the infrequency of concerts by prominent new music artists in the region, I don’t expect to see my acquaintances until William Basinsky performs in Lawrence in October. My cultish adoration of the composer won’t be diminished even if they’ve opted to dismiss Jóhannsson as a soporific shill.

William Brownlee

December 20, 2021

The Top Fifty Performances of 2021

William Brownlee

December 20, 2021

Original image of J.D. Allen, Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits at the Blue Room by There Stands the Glass.

The pandemic nixed my annual resolution to attend 365 gigs per year. I began making up for lost time after receiving my second vaccination shot on April 27. I’m extremely pleased to have once again caught up with road warriors like Pat Metheny and Richard Thompson and to have finally made it to shows by notable artists including Marc Anthony and Renée Fleming. Aside from a delusional period of post-vaccination euphoria in May and June, I wore a mask throughout every performance.

1. J.D. Allen, Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits- Blue Room

2. Mary Lattimore- Lied Center

3. Pat Metheny- Orchestra Hall (Detroit)

4. Anthony Roth Constanzo- Folly Theater

5. St. Vincent- Grinder’s KC

6. Erykah Badu- Midland theater

7. Irreversible Entanglements- Stephens Lake Park Amphitheatre (Columbia, Missouri)

8. Marc Anthony- T-Mobile Arena

9. Bird Fleming and Bill Summers’ “Voyage of the Drum”- Dunbar Park

10. Rod Fleeman Trio- Green Lady Lounge (multiple shows)

Fleeman is Plastic Sax's 2021 Person of the Year.

11. José James at Old Church Concert Hall (Portland)

12. Oleta Adams with Isaac Cates & Ordained- Old Mission United Methodist Church

13. Te Deum- St. Mary's Episcopal Church

14. Asleep at the Wheel- Muriel Kauffman Theatre

15. Eddie Moore, Ryan J. Lee and Zach Morrow- Charlotte Street Foundation

16. The Kansas City Symphony’s Mobile Music Box- The Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City

17. Thollem McDonas- 9th and State

18. UMKC Opera’s George Frideric Handel’s “Acis and Galatea”- White Recital Hall

19. Johnny Rawls- Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest

20. Jeff Kaiser, Kevin Cheli and Seth Davis- Charlotte Street Foundation

21. Mike Dillon and Nikki Glaspie- 1900 Building

22. Brentano Quartet- Lincoln Recital Hall (Portland)

23. Flooding- 7th Heaven

24. En Vogue- Hy-Vee Arena

25. Mary Gauthier- Knuckleheads

26. Joshua Bell and Alessio Bax- Helzberg Hall

27. Pistol Pete- recordBar

28. Second Nature Ensemble- Westport Coffee House

29. Dare- 7th Heaven

My Instagram clip.

30. The Kansas City Symphony’s “Coming to America”- Helzberg Hall

31. Renée Fleming- Helzberg Hall

32. Kyle Hutchins, Aaron Osborne, Seth Davis and Evan Verploegh- Charlotte Street Foundation

33. Guitar Elation- Green Lady Lounge (several shows)

34. Kansas Virtuosi- Yardley Hall

35. UMKC Conservatory’s “Jazz at the Playhouse”- University Playhouse

My Instagram clip.

36. Granger Smith- KC Live

37. Sentenced 2 Die- 7th Heaven

My Instagram clip.

38. Jackie Myers, Matt Hopper and Ben Tervort- Market at Meadowbrook

39. Summerfest Chamber Music Festival- Atonement Lutheran Church

40. Trinity Jazz Ensemble- Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church

41. Mike Stover- Campground

42. Richard Thompson- Folly Theater

43. Ben Tervort Quartet- Westport Coffeehouse

My Instagram clip.

44. Roman Alexander- KC Live

45. Béla Fleck- Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (Portland)

46. The Kansas City Chorale- Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church

47. Kian Byrne- Second Presbyterian Church

48. Everyday Strangers- Gem Theater

My instagram clip.

49. Lyric Opera of Kansas City- Meadowbrook Park

50. Paris Williams- Lemonade Park

There Stands the Glass also ranked the The Top 50 Songs of 2021 and The Top 50 Albums of 2021. Pat Metheny is this site’s Artist of the Year. Rod Fleeman is Plastic Sax’s Person of the Year. A list of There Stands the Glass’ top performances of 2020 is here.

William Brownlee

December 13, 2021

Concert Review: Mary Lattimore at the Lied Center

William Brownlee

December 13, 2021

Original image of Walt McClements and Mary Lattimore by There Stands the Glass.

LAAND, the organization responsible for Mary Lattimore’s concert at the Lied Center in Lawrence on Saturday, December 12, got it wrong when it promoted the event as “a blissed out evening.” Lattimore wields a harp, but her instrumental music has little to do with insipid New Age contrivances. The sonic landscapes she created for an audience of about 125 conveyed an imperiled sense of beauty, like laments for a utopia destined to succumb to hostile combatants.

Walt McClements joined her on a couple selections. The accordionist’s earlier solo outing sometimes sounded like an inebriated priest riffing on Johann Sebastian Bach on his church’s dusty pipe organ. The rewarding showcase of innovative ambient music began with a pleasing set by Jackson Graham. The vibraphonist resembled an anxious millennial version of Gary Burton.

Lattimore explained one composition was inspired by her concern that an astronaut’s extended space voyage would inevitably be followed by a comparatively tedious earth-bound existence. I felt a similar form of melancholy as I left the stellar exhibition of (un)easy listening. Spending two ethereally edgy hours with the music of Lattimore, McClements and Graham may make other sounds seem mundane.

Original image of Jackson Graham by There Stands the Glass.