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September 25: An addendum/correction to Plastic Sax's review of Ghost Tantras

There are some representations of authorship and personnel in this review that I'd like to address. Mother Brain Records is a record label co-founded by Seth Andrew Davis and me and is based in Kansas City, Missouri. We, Mother Brain, organized and supervised the recording of "Ghost Tantras" in June 2021 and then commercially released it on April 1, 2022. Mother Brain seeks to cultivate and document musical culture (improvisation, composition, electronics, new music) especially highlighting artists from the KC area and the greater Midwest. Our first recording was released in May 2020, and to date we have 26 recordings available. "Ghost Tantras" was not released by EMAS (Extemporaneous Music and Art Society) and is not affiliated with it. Although EMAS does have a collaborative "imprint" with Mother Brain Records called Extempore, Mother Brain and EMAS are separate commercial entities. Seth Davis is the only member of EMAS present on "Ghost Tantras"; 3 out of the 4 performers on "Ghost Tantras" are not in the EMAS ensemble. EMAS is cited three times in the review, but Mother Brain is not mentioned at all. Of the five hyperlinks to various parties included in the blog's review, none of them directs to Mother Brain's website as of this writing. This is highly unusual. A reader who is not familiar with the performers, labels, or their respective activities on the Kansas City music scene would likely come away from the Plastic Sax review thinking "Ghost Tantras" was performed and released by EMAS, as evidenced by the opening sentence. Although Mother Brain's objective is to sustain and develop improvised and new music regardless, that involves documenting the historical record accurately. I salute and extend my respect and well wishes to the artists of EMAS, who are doing strong and forward thinking work in the Kansas City area to perform, promote, and curate improvised and new music.

There are some representations of authorship and personnel in this review that I'd like to address.

Mother Brain Records is a record label co-founded by Seth Andrew Davis and me and is based in Kansas City, Missouri. We, Mother Brain, organized and supervised the recording of "Ghost Tantras" in June 2021 and then commercially released it on April 1, 2022.

Mother Brain seeks to cultivate and document musical culture (improvisation, composition, electronics, new music) especially highlighting artists from the KC area and the greater Midwest. Our first recording was released in May 2020, and to date we have 26 recordings available.

"Ghost Tantras" was not released by EMAS (Extemporaneous Music and Art Society) and is not affiliated with it. Although EMAS does have a collaborative "imprint" with Mother Brain Records called Extempore, Mother Brain and EMAS are separate commercial entities.

Seth Davis is the only member of EMAS present on "Ghost Tantras"; 3 out of the 4 performers on "Ghost Tantras" are not in the EMAS ensemble. EMAS is cited three times in the review, but Mother Brain is not mentioned at all. Of the five hyperlinks to various parties included in the blog's review, none of them directs to Mother Brain's website as of this writing.

This is highly unusual. A reader who is not familiar with the performers, labels, or their respective activities on the Kansas City music scene would likely come away from the Plastic Sax review thinking "Ghost Tantras" was performed and released by EMAS, as evidenced by the opening sentence. Although Mother Brain's objective is to sustain and develop improvised and new music regardless, that involves documenting the historical record accurately.

I salute and extend my respect and well wishes to the artists of EMAS, who are doing strong and forward thinking work in the Kansas City area to perform, promote, and curate improvised and new music.

Out now! Second Nature on Mother Brain Records

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Second Nature Ensemble's recorded debut is out now on Mother Brain Records. Seth Andrew Davis and I started the electroacoustic group five years ago and used it as to draw upon and fuse a number of our musical interests: American and European free improvisation, Second Viennese atonal composition, the American experimental tradition, graphic scores and notation, jazz, and electronic music. This is our first studio recording made in December 2020. We hope this document album makes a contribution to the new wave of contemporary improvisation and composition happening in Kansas City.

I want to give a special mention to artist Andrea Cukier for allowing us to use her striking work, Broken Forest, on our album cover.  Also thank you to Heather Basile for her beautiful design.

Live on KKFI 90.1FM (Kansas City) with Brad Gregory

I'll be live on Kansas City's community radio station, KKFI, this Friday, July 29 at 1:30pm CT/2:30pm ET to talk jazz and music with Brad Gregory (aka Jazz Geek), shown here to my right. If you are in the KC area you can tune in, or you can stream the segment from the around the globe on the internet.

I'll be live on Kansas City's community radio station, KKFI, this Friday, July 29 at 1:30pm CT/2:30pm ET to talk jazz and music with Brad Gregory (aka Jazz Geek), shown here to my right. If you are in the KC area you can tune in, or you can stream the segment from the around the globe on the internet.

July 14 - Expression: The Late Music of John Coltrane

July 14 was my fifth public foray into the late music of Coltrane, this time titled Expression: The Late Music of Coltrane. We tackled music from Interstellar Space, Stellar Regions, Sun Ship, Living Space, Both Directions at Once, and Giant Steps. I was fortunate to be joined by a very special and pretty rare assemblage of personalities and musical experiences: Kyle Quass (trumpet), Seth Andrew Davis (guitar), Dwight Frizzell (wind controller, laptop electronics), Jeff Harshbarger (acoustic bass), Marty Morrison (drums), and Evan Verploegh (drums). Everyone's creativity, fire, and commitment was in full evidence, and I thank the musicians deeply for realizing this artistic project. As ever, I am grateful to Tom Ptacek for his patronage and deep support for the arts in Kansas City. Westport Coffee House is the place to be.

July 14 was my fifth public foray into the late music of Coltrane, this time titled Expression: The Late Music of Coltrane. We tackled music from Interstellar Space, Stellar Regions, Sun Ship, Living Space, Both Directions at Once, and Giant Steps. I was fortunate to be joined by a very special and pretty rare assemblage of personalities and musical experiences: Kyle Quass (trumpet), Seth Andrew Davis (guitar), Dwight Frizzell (wind controller, laptop electronics), Jeff Harshbarger (acoustic bass), Marty Morrison (drums), and Evan Verploegh (drums). Everyone's creativity, fire, and commitment was in full evidence, and I thank the musicians deeply for realizing this artistic project. As ever, I am grateful to Tom Ptacek for his patronage and deep support for the arts in Kansas City. Westport Coffee House is the place to be.

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