Best of 2009

BIRD LIVES!

I never see a reason for putting out lists for the best of.  Time really doesn't work that way.  I like to think of better things to come.  Tonight, however, I was at YJ's, and hanging up on the door in the cafe is a poster from August 2009.  The poster is from the 'Bird Lives' festival at the Mutual Musicians Foundation. A new tradition is taking place there.  About every 10 years, they gather all the musicians for a group photo in front of the foundation.  It was first done on May 4th, 1930.  69 years later, musicians gathered for another group photo...

Source UMKC....

10 years later, this year, at this years festival, the foundation did it again.  I realized this was a special moment in history as it will never happen again.  These artists will never gather together in this spot to have this photo made.  When you realize that, suddenly, every memory, every moment of this year falls away in importance.

video by Rick Ryan, Youtube user Rrwmissouri
 These are my poor attempts at capturing the moments....










































NEW YEARS EVE WITH KELLY HUNT
This one is for a good cause and happens at a great venue. Liberty Hall in Lawrence, Kansas will host this benefit for ECKAN/Just Food.  For more information call the Liberty Hall box office 785.749.1972. 

Christmas Presents

So my Christmas present this year is some video I've shot. Last year I shot the Christmas cantata at Our Lady of Sorrows Redemptorist Church. If you would like to see good musical performances that might put you in the Christmas spirit, check out what is happening at your church. My church has a special cantata that happens right before the midnight mass. 

Editors note: 12-25-09
A historic blizzard has curtailed many plans. I talked to Spencer Huston tonight at Redemptorist at about 5pm on Christmas eve, he wasn't sure if the midnight mass performance would be going off due to severe blizzard conditions outside. So, if such performances have to be postponed, it might be possible to see these performances after Christmas. I went walking around my parents neighborhood in Grandview during the storm and got some video and pix....
Editors note: 12-28-09
I talked with some members of the choir tonight and found out they did hold the midnight mass and cantata, but it was much diminished. Many of the performers could not make it in and the mass was very sparsely attended.
























I decided to include dash camera timelapse video of the historic blizzard...

A 'Jazz and Beyond' Xmas!

With Roger Wilder (piano), Rod Fleeman (guitar), Dave Chael (tenor sax), Bob Bowman (bass), Brandon Draper (drums), and special guests Bryan Hicks (vocals), Hermon Mehari (narration), and Lilah Wilder (vocals) for an emotional version of "O Holy Night",  as well as Annabelle Wilder on the xylophone for a kickass jazz version of the Nutcracker.  This was a spectacular and different take on many Christmas favorites, as well as some interesting numbers that should become Christmas standards.

www.SvobodaKC.com cameras were there to document the event.

Dave Chael on flute and Rod Fleeman on guitar

Dave Chael on flute

family, friends and fans in attendance at All Souls Unitarian Universalist church

Bob Bowman on bass and Brandon Draper on drums

Bob Bowman on bass, Brandon Draper on drums, Rod Fleeman on guitar, and Dave Chael

Rod Fleeman on guitar

Brandon Draper on drums

Roger Wilder, piano and director and  Bryan Hicks, vocals

Bryan Hicks waits for his cue


Dave Chael on Tenor saxaphone and Rod Fleeman on guitar

Roger Wilder plays that beautiful Steinway grand at All Souls


Hermon Mehari gets ready to do some spoken word on a hipster version of "T'was a night before Christmas."


Lilah Wilder performs a moving version of "O Holy Night" with her father, Roger Wilder


Annabelle Wilder plays the xylophone an great jazz arrangement of the Nutcracker by her father, Roger Wilder

Annabelle Wilder on the xylophone

My tapes were running out at the end, so I had to use the still camera to capture some video of the last part of the Nutcracker, which was the last song in the performance.


YJ's Jazz Jam

YJ's Third World Snack Bar, 128 West 18th Street, Kansas City Missouri
 Sunday night's jazz jam was really exciting. A lot of people showed up, and there was a different mix of musicians jamming, as well as some of the regulars. Brian Hicks led the jam as always, after performing with Roger Wilder and other musicians at the 'Jazz and Beyond' Xmas at the Unitarian Universalist All Souls church. There was a man and his cousin who drove down from St. Joseph to go to YJ's, and had the added bonus of seeing the jam, as well as a woman who said she was from the Mid America Regional Council, who just came down to read, draw and enjoy some coffee.





Livestreaming Events
Turn on the player below to see what is playing on the Svoboda KC livestream channel. It could be re-run's, or it might be live, you never know....
Watch live video from Svoboda KC on Justin.tv

You can click on the on button over on the Livestream window and see if Svoboda KC is streaming something live or, click on the "On Demand" tab on the bottom and see past livestreams.  We try to stream the YJ's Jazz Jam every Sunday night from 8 to 10 PM.  Contact us at http://www.facebook.com/Svoboda.KC...Maybe we can stream an event. We are also looking for sponsorships for our streams.  You can also check out the SvobodaKC.com Livestream page here or go to www.livestream.com/svoboda.


Chrometuna Also, I have cross pollination of blogs going on with Chrometuna, and his regular talk show, which runs starts at 3 a.m. daily, so if you are up that late, go to www.justin.tv/chrometuna and chat with him...
Watch live video from Chrometuna's Super Natural Boloney on Justin.tv Upcoming Events Finally... I have my handy dandy google calender with all the upcoming events in the area and beyond...

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