Original image by Plastic Sax. No one in Kansas City should be surprised to learn that Bobby Watson was name-checked during the late show at the Village Vanguard on Tuesday, December 5. Christian McBride told the near-capacity New York City audience of more than 100 that he and pianist Benny Green first worked together under the direction of the Kansas City saxophonist. Propelled by drummer Gregory Hutchinson, the trio honored Ray Brown by interpreting material associated with the late bass legend. McBride did astounding things with his instrument on blues-based material including “Ja-Da” and ..read more

Krizz Kaliko had an implausible 2023. The versatile Kansas City musician flirted with Fox News and appeared at the notorious Gathering of the Juggalos while navigating the fallout from his split with the rap icon Tech N9ne. Kaliko’s year will get even stranger at the Blue Room on Saturday, December 9. He’s slated to perform at the jazz venue with a band led by Preston Portley ..read more

Original image by Plastic Sax. *Logan Richardson accompanies Aja Monet in her Tiny Desk Concert appearance. *Joe Dimino interviewed Scott Emmerman. *Gabe Rosenberg recommends Green Lady Lounge to Taylor Swift ..read more

Original image by Plastic Sax. I’m proud of the audio features I created for Kansas City’s National Public Radio member station KCUR this year. I doubted if I could top profiles of a jazz rebel, a breakout rap star and an Ozarks folkie. But my final effort of 2023- an examination of the saga of the plastic saxophone played by Charlie Parker at Massey Hall in 1953- may be my best piece of the year. The story includes interviews with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver and the American Jazz Museum’s Dr. Dina Bennett and Gerald Dunn about Kansas City’s legendary artifact ..read more

Tatsuya Nakatani returns to the Ship on Thursday, November 30. The percussionist will be joined by Shawn Hansen, Jeff Harshbarger and Mike Stover following a solo set. Plastic Sax reviewed Nakatani’s 2019 performances at The Ship and the 1900 Building. The final four minutes of the embedded video are extremely amusing ..read more

Original image by Plastic Sax. *Pat Metheny won Guitarist of the Year in DownBeat magazine’s 99th Reader’s Poll. Other Kansas City area artists receiving votes: Charlie Parker and Bobby Watson ..read more

Matt Otto’s Umbra, Plastic Sax’s favorite album of 2023, features elegant contributions from guitarist Alex Frank. The Kansas City musician makes a similarly graceful statement on his new album Reclaim. Accompanied by keyboardist Matt Villinger, bassist Jeff Harshbarger and drummer John Kizilarmut, Frank displays uncommon melodic bounce and an optimistic sensibility. Frank often seems on the verge of shredding, but in keeping with his tasteful playing with Otto, restraint is the byword of Reclaim ..read more

Maria Elena Silva’s appearance at the Firehouse Gallery in June was part of one of Plastic Sax’s favorite concerts of 2023. Her current tour in support of the impressive jazz-adjacent album Dulce stops at Farewell on Friday, November 24. The Jorge Arana Trio and representatives of the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society round out the bill ..read more

Original image by Plastic Sax. *Marc Myers of JazzWax analyzed a pop song on KCUR’s Up To Date program ..read more

Top Ten Albums by Kansas City Artists1. Matt Otto- Umbra Plastic Sax review. 2. Mike Dillon and Punkadelick- Inflorescence Plastic Sax review. 3. Adam Larson- With Love, From New York City Plastic Sax review. 4. Enzo Carniel, Hermon Mehari, Stéphane Adsuar and Damien Varaillon- No(w) Beauty Plastic Sax review. 5. Matt Otto- Kansas City Trio Plastic Sax review. 6. Pat Metheny- Dream Box Plastic Sax review. 7. Torches Mauve- Volume Two Plastic Sax review. 8. Narrative Quartet- Narrative Plastic Sax review. 9. Count Basie Orchestra- Swings the Blues Plastic Sax review. 10. Danny Embrey- Orion ..read more