Our Anthem

The people who follow my social media feeds know that I never acknowledge politics or social issues.  I believe that even the most thoughtfully rendered statements in those forums inevitably lead to divisiveness.  Simplistic memes and the predictable outrages-of-the-day exacerbate the venomous toxicity of the echo chambers.  The result?  Well, just take a look around.  I cosign Joe Thomas’ powerful mashup of Otis Redding and “The Star-Bangled Banner”: let’s try a little tenderness.


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I reviewed Soul Jazz Fridays, the album by Chris Hazelton’s Boogaloo 7, for KCUR.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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I listed my favorite jazz albums of 2016 at Plastic Sax.

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I wrote an extended concert preview about Mac Miller for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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Colonel Abrams has died.

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Hod O’Brien has died.

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Holly Dunn has died.  (Tip via BGO.)

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Pauline Oliveros has died.

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At 96 minutes, Soweto Kinch’s Nonogram is 30 minutes too long.  Even so, the British artist’s melding of cosmic jazz and hip-hop is often wondrous.  RIYL: Kamasi Washington, promotionally challenged musicians, A Tribe Called Quest.

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Emeli Sandé’s Long Live the Angels is generic pop.  RIYL: tedium, Whitney Houston, watching paint dry.  Here’s ”Hurts”.

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While I don’t understand the point of Rumer’s This Girl’s In Love With You (A Bacharach & David Songbook), I enjoy the elegant easy listening album.  RIYL: Dionne Warwick, redundancy, the Carpenters.  Here’s ”(They Long to Be) Close to You”.