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Jazz singer from KC dies

Chris Connor, 81, was born in Kansas City but moved to New York, where she joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Her obit is here.

Canceled: Gretchen Wilson

Not many fall as far and as fast as she has. In 2005-06 she was nominated for eight Grammys. She won one in 2005 for the song "Redneck Woman." Its album, "Here For the Party," went five-times platinum. That was three or four years ago. Her show Friday at Crossroads KC has been canceled. According to what I heard, based on ticket sales so far, they could have fit the crowd inside Crosstown Station, with room to spare (it's capacity is around 300).

Review: 'Idol Live'

It's not about music.

The American Idol tour that stopped at Sprint Center is about many things: aspirational dreams, theatrical drama and hormonal hysteria among them. But its music component is merely an afterthought. The event is a celebration of celebrity and pop culture. It's crass, but it's also a lot of fun. An audience of approximately 10,000 took in the spectacle Sunday night.

Review: Lee 'Scratch' Perry

Halfway through the third song of the night, Lee “Scratch” Perry ordered the band to halt. He wasn’t feeling it from the crowd, and reggae can’t be performed without the proper energy. After admonishing the audience and getting the desired feedback, Perry and his four-piece backing band resumed the number.

Review: Crosby, Stills and Nash

Photos by Chuck France/Special to The Star

Somewhere in the middle of a show that lasted two and a half hours (intermission included) and comprised two dozen songs, David Crosby reminded his audience: This is our 40th year together. By "our" he meant Crosby, Stills and Nash. But the trio's career goes back farther than that and it includes membership in some of the more elite bands in rock history (the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, the Hollies).

Review: Pat Benatar

Saturday's show at the Uptown Theater was an early bird special: in and out by 9 p.m. (give or take a few minutes). It was also "An Evening With ..." which usually means no opener and not much of a backup band. Pat Benatar brought her band, and they spent about 90 minutes of a crisp summer evening capturing her 30-year career in about a dozen songs.

Review: Big Head Todd & G. Love

Above: Todd Park Mohr, leader of the Monsters. Photos by Chuck France/Special to The Star

Friday's big outdoor show in Westport was something old and somethind new. And a little blues, too. The co-headliners were G. Love & Special Sauce and Big Head Todd & the Monsters, two bands with outlandish names who tap into music that is generations old.

On the way: Radiohead tribute

Local jazz pianist/virtuoso Mark Lowrey, who can get way more than just jazz out of the piano, informs us that on Dec. 11 (a Friday), he will orchestrate a tribute to Radiohead at the RecordBar. Lowrey was part of the band that re-created "The Wall" and he also organized his own Ben Folds tribute last year. Here are his early designs for Radiohead:

Nirvana, Foo news

"Nirvana Live At Reading," a CD/DVD of its August 1992 performance at the Reading Festival,  will be released in November, the same month the Foo Fighters released a "Greatest Hits" package. More info below.

Kings of Leon talk remix, new mix

They're music is getting a makeover from admirers like Justin Timberlake, Pharrell and Linkin Park. And their new stuff, says drummer Nathan Followill, is a mixed bag: "There's stuff that sounds like Radiohead. There's stuff that sounds like Thin Lizzy. There's stuff that sounds like The Band." Read more from Billboard. They're at the Sprint Center on Oct. 13, a Tuesday.