Pat Metheny’s transcendently beautiful album Dream Box will be among my most-played releases of 2023. But when I’m in need of visceral catharsis, I go all in on improvised cacophony. Children of the Forest, a new collection of previously unreleased 1976 sessions, is 54 minutes of raw power. Drummer Milford Graves is joined by multi-instrumentalists Arthur Doyle and Hugh Glover in the scathing barrage. Milford’s praise of Doyle in the accompanying notes reflects the intent of the sessions: “something happened there that was beyond the immediate intellectual control of the people who was doing it.” The transcendently harsh Children of the Forest is essential noise.

William Brownlee

December 27, 2022

Joyce DiDonato: There Stands the Glass’ Artist of the Year

William Brownlee

December 27, 2022

Original image of promotional bookmark picturing Kelli O’Hara, Joyc DiDonato and Renée Fleming by There Stands the Glass.

Friends and family remain mystified by my embrace of opera. The widespread assumption that the form is the exclusive domain of wealthy elitists is pervasive- and deservedly so. Yet until approximately 100 years ago, opera was a ubiquitous form of popular music. The music didn’t change. Instead, the ways in which the music was presented became cost-prohibitive and classist. Joyce DiDonato is aware of opera’s image problem. The celebrity soprano dedicated a significant portion of her energy in 2022 to audience outreach. Without compromising her artistry, DiDonato’s concerts in support of the glorious album Eden and her other projects rendered opera relevant and accessible. Harmonious with my own attitude, DiDonato’s initiatives make her There Stands the Glass’ Artist of the Year.

Honorable mention: Mary Halvorson, Moor Mother and Sault. The previous winners of the Artist of the Year designation are Pat Metheny (2021) and Bad Bunny (2020).

William Brownlee

March 9, 2022

Album Review: Seth Andrew Davis- Highways Jammed with Broken Heroes

William Brownlee

March 9, 2022

A combination of errant airline logistics, inclement weather and a tight budget forced me to spend several hours on the floor of Denver International Airport last week. I collapsed at a makeshift camp between walls and benches outside of an airport employee lounge from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

A disruptive array of sounds rather than the dirty floor and frigid temperature prevented sleep. The constant clicking of debris stuck in a nearby escalator, the drone of HVAC systems, the faint buzz of innumerable video monitors, the inescapable soundtrack of “soothing” pop music and mandatory security announcements kept me awake.

The experimental Kansas City musician Seth Andrew Davis likely would have shared my aberrant fascination with the noise. Much of his new release Highways Jammed with Broken Heroes is uncannily evocative of the ambient sound of Denver’s airport at four in the morning.

Billed as “a series of pieces for prepared guitar and live electronics,” the digital and cassette release is inspired by innovative artists like Glenn Branca who Davis suggests are “changing the timbral capabilities of acoustic and electronic instruments.” The sincere affection Davis displays for Bruce Springsteen in his choice of album and song titles is deceptive.

Antecedents for the confrontational Highways Jammed with Broken Heroes in (semi)popular culture include Pat Metheny’s Zero Tolerance for Silence and Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music. Davis’s artistic audacity is admirable. Even so, anyone who’s never slept rough might think twice before allowing Davis to guard their "dreams and visions".

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

My review.

2. Mary Lattimore- Lied Center

My review.

3. Pat Metheny- Orchestra Hall (Detroit)

My review.

4. Anthony Roth Constanzo- Folly Theater

My review.

5. St. Vincent- Grinder’s KC

My review.

6. Erykah Badu- Midland theater

My review.

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

My review.

8. Marc Anthony- T-Mobile Arena

My review.

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

My review.

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)

My review.

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

My review.

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

14. Asleep at the Wheel- Muriel Kauffman Theatre

My review.

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

My review.

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

My review.

17. Thollem McDonas- 9th and State

My review.

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

My review.

19. Johnny Rawls- Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest

My review.

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

My review.

21. Mike Dillon and Nikki Glaspie- 1900 Building

My review.

22. Brentano Quartet- Lincoln Recital Hall (Portland)

My review.

23. Flooding- 7th Heaven

My review.

24. En Vogue- Hy-Vee Arena

My review.

25. Mary Gauthier- Knuckleheads

26. Joshua Bell and Alessio Bax- Helzberg Hall

My review.

27. Pistol Pete- recordBar

28. Second Nature Ensemble- Westport Coffee House

My review.

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

My review.

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

34. Kansas Virtuosi- Yardley Hall

My review.

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

My review.

40. Trinity Jazz Ensemble- Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church

My review.

41. Mike Stover- Campground

42. Richard Thompson- Folly Theater

My review.

43. Ben Tervort Quartet- Westport Coffeehouse

My Instagram clip.

44. Roman Alexander- KC Live

My review.

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

My review.

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

November 1, 2021

October 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

William Brownlee

November 1, 2021

Screenshot of The Fugitive Kind by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in October)

1. Fire-Toolz- Eternal Home

A noise supreme.

2. Lana Del Rey- Blue Banisters

Now That’s What I Call Adult Contemporary!

3. Craig Taborn- Shadow Plays

Standing on the shoulders of Keith Jarrett.

4. Daniil Trifonov- Bach: The Art of Life

Living large.

5. Maxo Kream- Weight of the World

“Record deal off a pill!”

6. Charlotte Greve- Sediments We Move

My review.

7. Artifacts Trio- ...And Then There's This

Chicago’s finest.

8. Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson- Searching for the Disappeared Hour

The pianist and guitarist clear the room.

9. Jpegmafia- LP!

A firehose of mutinous ideas.

10. Steddy P- SOS: Toxic

KC’s rapper’s convincing comeback.

Top Ten Songs (released in October)

1. Céu- “Chega Mais”

Come closer.

2. Tainy, Bad Bunny and Julieta Venegas- "Lo Siento"

Dream collaboration.

3. Orquesta Akokán- “Guajira Del Mar”

Havana.

4. Badbadnotgood- "City of Mirrors"

Deep reflections.

5. Adele- "Easy On Me"

Drowning.

6. Harriet Krijgh and Magda Amara- “Les chemins de l'amour”

The paths of love.

7. Emily D’Angelo- "A Thousand Tongues"

“Nine and ninety-nine lie.”

8. Angel Du$t with Tim Armstrong- "Dancing on the Radio"

“Like there’s no tomorrow.”

9. Conway the Machine- "Piano Love"

Tuned.

10. Remi Wolf- "wyd"

Preposterous pop.

Top Ten Concerts of October

1. Pat Metheny, James Francies and Joe Dyson- Orchestra Hall (Detroit)

My review.

2. St. Vincent- Grinders KC

My review.

3. Erykah Badu- Midland theater

My review.

4. Marc Anthony- T-Mobile Arena

My review.

5. Asleep at the Wheel- Muriel Kauffman Theatre

My review.

6. Joshua Bell and Alessio Bax- Helzberg Hall

My review.

7. Rod Fleeman- Green Lady Lounge

The guitarist’s weekly matinee is among my favorite things in Kansas City.

8. Flooding- Vinyl Underground

My review.

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

My review.

10. Everyday Strangers- Gem Theater

My Instagram clip.

Top Ten Films (viewed for the first time in October)

1. The Fugitive Kind (1960)

My new favorite movie.

2. Höstsonaten/Autumn Sonata (1978)

Excruciating generational trauma.

3. The Emperor Jones (1933)

Paul Robeson in an adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s play.

4. Where East is East (1929)

Lon Chaney, Estelle Taylor and Lupe Vélez don't need sound.

5. Mamma Roma (1962)

The continuation of the decline and fall.

6. Flesh and the Devil (1927)

Greta Garbo as femme fatale.

7. Hollywood Barn Dance (1947)

Walkin’ the floor with Ernest Tubb.

8. SAS: Red Notice (2021)

Precisely what I want from a big, dumb action flick.

9. The Seventh Victim (1943)

Kim Hunter confronts a satanic cult in Greenwich Village.

10. The 100-Foot Journey (2004)

Amuse-bouche.

September’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.

William Brownlee

October 20, 2021

The Top Kansas City Albums and EPs of 2021

William Brownlee

October 20, 2021

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Kansas City is a small town. Even so, my version of Kansas City is vastly different from the place many of my music-minded peers call home. Rankings of 55 of my favorite recordings released by artists from the Kansas City area during the first 42 weeks of 2021 follow. A handful of highly praised albums didn’t make the cut. The omissions aren't personal. I simply prefer the titles listed below. Additionally, several albums by prominent locally based musicians are slated for release in the final weeks of 2021.

The Top 25 Kansas City Albums of 2021

1. Behzod Abduraimov- Debussy Chopin Mussorgsky

My review.

2. Pat Metheny- Road to the Sun

My review.

3. Steddy P- SOS: Toxic

4. Mac Lethal- Winter Heartbreak II

My review.

5. Pat Metheny- Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)

My review.

6. Blackstarkids- Puppies Forever

7. Flooding- Flooding

My review.

8. Hermon Mehari and Alessandro Lanzoni- Arc Fiction

My review.

9. Verploegh and Baker- Singles

My review.

10. Samantha Fish- Faster

11. The Count Basie Orchestra- Live at Birdland

My review.

12. Liam Kazer- Due North

13. Hxxs- Channeler

14. Steve Million- What I Meant to Say

My review.

15. Tech N9ne- Asin9ne

16. Silicone Prairie- My Life on the Silicone Prairie

17. GI Gizzle and Rich the Factor- Don't Take This Personal 2

18. John Armato- The Drummer Loves Ballads

My review.

19. Melissa Etheridge- One Way Out

20. Riley Downing- Start It Over

21. Cheli Davis Smith Trio- Composite

My review.

22. Florian Arbenz, Hermon Mehari and Nelson Veras- Conversation #1: Condensed

My review.

23. Lucy Wijnands- Sings the David Heckendorn Song Book

24. Sara Morgan- Another Nail

25. Milkdrop- Thirty Eight

The Top 20 Kansas City EPs of 2021

1. Bummer- Dead Horse

2. Blob Castle- Music for Art Show

My review.

3. Big Water- ...And I’m All Out of Sh*t to F**k Up

4. The Greeting Committee- Dandelion

5. Baby and the Brain- BrainBaby

6. Rachel Cion - Wanted!

7. Rich the Factor- Mobbligated

8. Alber- Journey

My review.

9. Stik Figa- East of MacVicar Ave

10. Quiet Takes- San Fidel

11. Alyssa Murray- Half & Half

12. Sarin Reaper- Demo

13. Maal and Tom Richman- Grass

14. Cuee- Gospel

15. Lauren Anderson- Love on the Rocks

16. Connor Leimer- Like My Mind

17. Andy McKee- Symbol

18. Rory Fresco- Born Hero

19. Edison Lights- Shake This

20. Such Lovely People- Great Distinction

The Top Ten Kansas City Reissues, Reimaginings and Compilations of 2021

1. Kevin Morby- A Night at the Little Los Angeles

2. Mike Dillon- Shoot the Moon

My review.

3. Mike Dillon- 1918

My review.

4. Merlin- Electric Children: The Final Cut

5. Rich the Factor- Streets vs. Commercial: 100 Song Collection, Part 1

6. The Wild Women of Kansas City- Live at Pilgrim Chapel

My review.

7. Kansas- Point of Know Return: Live & Beyond

8. Danny Cox- Young and Hot: Live at Cowtown Ballroom

9. Whiskey Boots- #1

10. Vitreous Humor- Posthumous

Last year’s rankings of Kansas City releases are here.

William Brownlee

September 28, 2021

September 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

William Brownlee

September 28, 2021

Screenshot of the trailer of 奇跡 by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in September)

1. Mathias Eick- When We Leave

My review.

2. Borderlands Trio- Wandersphere

My review.

3. Nala Sinephro- Space 1.8

My review.

4. Drake- Certified Lover Boy

Infuriatingly undeniable.

5. Roscoe Mitchell- Dots: Pieces for Percussion and Woodwinds

Solemn incantations from the auspicious octogenarian.

6. Moor Mother- Black Encyclopedia of the Air

Urgent poetry.

7. Pat Metheny- Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)

My review.

8. Lea Desandre- Amazone

Sensual baroque chamber music.

9. RP Boo- Established!

Zany Chicago footwork.

10. The Count Basie Orchestra- Live at Birdland

My review.

Top Ten Songs (released in September)

1. Tokischa and Rosalía- "Linda"

Besos.

2. Priya Ragu- "Lockdown"

Not so solitary.

3. Chlöe- "Have Mercy"

Oh Lord.

4. Lauren Alaina- "On Top of the World"

My album review.

5. Lydia Loveless- "Let's Make Out"

“The maid won’t be here until nine or ten.”

6. Amyl and the Sniffers- “Don’t Need a **** (Like You to Love Me)”

Rock’s not dead.

7. Paul Wall and Rich The Factor- "Countin' Paper"

Stacks.

8. Kirby- "Coconut Oil"

Silky.

9. Lady Blackbird- "Fix It"

Peace piece.

10. Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch- “Im Rhein, im schönen Strome”

I’ve contracted a nasty case of Lisztomania.

Live Music

The books I read outnumbered the shows I attended in September. I intend to venture out a lot more in October. I’ve even timed a trip to Detroit to catch a concert by an artist listed above who has conspicuously bypassed Kansas City for years.

Top Ten Films (viewed for the first time in September)

1. Lawrence of Arabia: Director’s Cut (1962)

T.E. Lawrence as white savior.

2. Body and Soul (1925)

Paul Robeson’s first film.

3. Hoří, má panenko/The Firemen’s Ball (1967)

Shameful Czech corruption.

4. The Golden Ring: The Making of Solti’s Ring (1965)

My notes.

5. Street Girl (1929)

Betty Compson stars in a racy Jazz Age musical.

6. 奇跡/I Wish (2011)

Japan is now at the top of my travel wish list.

7. Cairo (1942)

Loopy wartime musical with Ethel Waters.

8. Take a Giant Step (1959)

Johnny Nash plays a beleaguered teen.

9. The Outhouse: The Film, 1985-1987 (2019)

“My” version of the Kansas venue- Tupelo Chain Sex, Sonic Youth, the Georgia Satellites, etc.- receives short shrift in the documentary.

10. The Courier (2021)

By-the-numbers cold war spy thriller.

August’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.

William Brownlee

March 8, 2021

Album Review: Gretchen Parlato- Flor

William Brownlee

March 8, 2021

On March 7, 2020, I picked my life partner up at Kansas City International Airport and drove to the Folly Theater for a Luciana Souza concert. The Brazilian bandleader’s performance with Chico Pinheiro and Scott Colley was so good my wife didn’t even mention jet lag at the end of her business trip. Aside from a few parking lot buskers, I haven’t heard live music since.

The lingering echoes of Souza’s concert through the subsequent lost months may explain my unlikely affinity for Gretchen Parlato’s new album Flor. I ordinarily don’t fall for sophisticated adult pop that seems tailor made for international jetsetters.

Like Souza, Parlato blends Música Popular Brasileira with the varied styles associated with artists ranging from Sade to Édith Piaf. Much of Flor is undeniably precious, but the calming nature of the refined album is helping me avoid the temptation to inappropriately jump the vaccination line.

---

Pat Metheny plays Arvo Pärt? Sold! I review Metheny’s new album Road to the Sun at Plastic Sax.