Nduduzo Makhathini

The Top Fifty Performances of 2022

Original image of Blackstarkids by There Stands the Glass.

I’ve gone out to hear live music 123 times in 2022. I’m not done yet- I plan to hit a couple gigs this evening. Even without attending a single festival, I’ve taken in more than 225 performances this year. And yes, wise guys, I’ve been the oldest person in the room at a third of the shows listed below. You can’t blame a person for trying to make up for lost time. Unless indicated otherwise, the events took place in the Kansas City area.

1. Nduduzo Makhathini at the Blue Room

Review.

2. Joyce DiDonato at the Folly Theater

Review.

3. Little Joe y La Famalia at the Guadalupe Center

Review.

4. Logan Richardson + Blues People at the Ship

Review.

5. Blackstarkids at recordBar

Review.

6. Angela Winbush, Men at Large and Levelle at Juneteenth KC

Review.

7. Godspeed You! Black Emperor at the Roseland Theater (Portland)

Review.

8. Samantha Ege at the Folly Theater

Review.

9. Sparks at the Crystal Ballroom (Portland)

Review.

10. Flatland Cavalry at the Truman

Review.


11. Daniil Trifonov at the Folly Theater

Review.

12. Lucibela at Old Church Concert Hall (Portland)

Review.

13. Show Me the Body, Soul Glo, Wifi Gawd, Ebony Tusks and Piss Kinks at recordBar

Review.

14. FKJ and Ohma at the Midland theater

Review.

15. Livia Nestrovski and Henrique Eisenmann at the 1900 Building

Review.

16. Salvation Choir at Theis Park

Review.

17. Algara, P.S.Y.W.A.R. and New Obsessions at Farewell

Review.

18. Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Isata Kanneh-Mason at the Folly Theater

Instagram photo.

19. Animal Collective and Spirit of the Beehive at the Truman

Review.

20. Adam Larson, Clark Sommers and Dana Hall at Westport Coffee House

Review.

21. Porridge Radio and Blondshell at Doug Fir Lounge (Portland)

Instagram clip.

22. Black Crack Revue at Westport Coffee House

Review.

23. High Pulp at recordBar

Review.

24. Escuela Grind at Farewell

Review.

25. Phillip Greenlief, Midwestern and the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society at Bushranger Records

Review.

26. Steve Cardenas, Forest Stewart and Brian Steever at recordBar

Review.

27. Terence Blanchard with Turtle Island Quartet at Atkins Auditorium

Review.

28. Arnold Young and the RoughTet at the Ship

Instagram clip.

29. Marin Alsop and Orchestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo at Helzberg Hall

Review.

30. John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett at the Uptown Theater

Review.


31. Bob Bowman and Peter Schlamb at Second Presbyterian Church

Review.

32. Mspaint at Nightjar

Instagram clip.

33. Babehoven at Farewell KC

Instagram clip.

34. UMKC’s Conservatory’s “Cosi Fan Tutte” at White Recital Hall

Instagram photo.

35. Live Skull and Still Ill at recordBar

Review.

36. Crystal Gayle at Ameristar Casino

Review.

37. Evan Verploegh and Ben Baker at World Culture

Review.

38. Keefe Jackson, Jakob Heinemann and Adam Shead at Black Dolphin

Instagram photo.

39. Cuong Vu and Ted Poor at Jack London Revue (Portland)

Review.

40. Ozomatli at KC Live

Instagram clip.


41. Gorillaz and EarthGang at the Moda Center (Portland)

Review.

42. Escher String Quartet at Polsky Theatre

Review.

43. Damien Sneed at the Folly Theater

Review.

44. John Waite at Ranch Mart Shopping Center

Instagram clip.

45. William Baker Singers at Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral

Review.

46. Raven Chacon at Agnes Arts

Review.

47. Rod Fleeman at Green Lady Lounge

48. Ducks Ltd. at the Green House

Instagram clip.

49. Billy Cobham at Dolores Winningstad Theatre (Portland)

Review.

50. Roger Waters at the T-Mobile Center

Review.

June 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Craig Colclough in the trailer of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2022 production of Rigoletto by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (Released in June)

1. Carolin Widmann- L’Aurore

A new day for old music.

2. Tim Bernardes- Mil Coisas Invisíveis

Brazilian beauty.

3. Elizabeth King- I Got a Love

How I got over.

4. Chris Brown- Breezy

Bad man. Good R&B.

5. Bennie Maupin and Adam Rudolph- Symphonic Tone Poem for Brother Yusef

My review.

6. Matthew Shipp Trio- World Construct

Sturdy foundation.

7. Ensemble Intercontemporain- Reich/Richter

A minimalist marvel.

8. Lisa Moore- Frederic Rzewski: No Place to Go But Around

A loving tribute to the late composer.

9. Drake- Honestly, Nevermind

Gloriously ridiculous.

10. Lívia Nestrovski and Henrique Eisenmann- Nação

My review.


Top Ten Songs (Released in June)

1. Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation- "Let the Sunshine In"

Glowing.

2. Twïns- "Something about Alice Coltrane"

Spiritual eternal.

3. Katalyst, Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammed- "Juneteenth"

Deep groove.

4. Sudan Archives and Neneh Cherry- "Heart"

Analog remix.

5. Jungle- "Good Times"

Aptly titled.

6. DJ Snake- "Disco Maghreb"

The sound of young Hamtramck.

7. Cazzu- "Nena Trampa"

Cheat sheet.

8. Beyoncé- "Break My Soul"

“Release your wiggle!”

9. Pharrell Williams, 21 Savage and Tyler, The Creator- "Cash In Cash Out"

Paid in full.

10. SleazyWorld Go featuring Offset- "Step 1"

Kansas City star.


Top Ten Performances of June

1. Nduduzo Makhathini at the Blue Room

My review.

2. Angela Winbush at the Juneteenth KC festival

My review.

3. Bill Summers and Forward Back at Dunbar Park

My review.

4. John Waite at Ranch Mart Shopping Center

My Instagram clip.

5. Blind Mississippi Morris at the Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest

My Instagram clip.

6. Tre Mutava at Overland Park’s Clock Tower Plaza

My Instagram clip.

7. The Kansas City Symphony’s Mobile Music Box at Meadowbrook Park

My Instagram clip.

8. Jason Vivone and the Billy Bats at Theis Park

My Instagram clip.

9. Brian Scarborough Quintet at Sar-Ko-Par Park

My Instagram clip.

10. Mark Farina at Westwood Park

My Instagram clip.


Last month’s survey is here.

Stellar Regions

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I recently attended a free, outdoor jazz concert at which solos were traded in a conventional post-bop style.  The musicians were superb, and while I enjoyed their low-stakes performance, I’m mystified by the dominance of a format that seems exceedingly stale in 2022.  

The unhealthy and unnecessary status quo is repeatedly denounced in Beyond a Love Supreme: John Coltrane and the Legacy of an Album, a 2013 study by Tony Whyton.  The debate about what jazz is and what it should be rages 58 years after the release of A Love Supreme.  The academic jargon employed by the author makes me want to gouge my eyes out, but his subject and the correspondingly fascinating ideas he explores are magnificent.

What is the true significance of the 1964 recording A Love Supreme?  And what’s to be made of the subsequent albums Ascension, Interstellar Space and The Olatunji Concert?  And why, in spite of the vital innovations documented on these late-career Coltrane works, does the jazz establishment continue to promote tiresome- and yes, boring- forms of the music?

Whyton addresses each of these questions thoroughly.  My unfairly simplistic summation of his answers: most fans and scholars are uncomfortable with the notion(s) of God, black nationalism, experimental sound, complicated narratives and democratic approaches to art.

A pal loaned me his copy of Whyton’s 160-page book knowing I’d be triggered by the contents.  As the tone of this screed suggests, the shameful dismissal of Coltrane’s post-A Love Supreme work makes me livid.  Yet I’m eager to discuss one of the most esoteric of the book’s topics with my friend.

Did, as McCoy Tyner once suggested, God speak to us through Charlie Parker and John Coltrane?  And did a divine power, as my friend insisted that night, reach out to us during a performance by the spiritual jazz practitioner Nduduzo Makhathini at the Blue Room two weeks ago? As Coltrane wrote in his liner notes for A Love Supreme, “all praise to God.”