Local jazz pianist Mark Lowrey tackled the British stars' catalog last year at the Record Bar, and he reprised his collaborative efforts with other 17 local artists on Saturday night. With a string quartet, horns, drums, guitar and vocals from various Kansas City voices, Lowrey's arrangements brought swaying samba and rollicking Afro-Cuban textures to Radioheads' electronic sprawl.
Shay Estes' smoky alto has exactly nothing in common with Thom Yorke's eerie falsetto, and that's why her soulful vocals worked. The ensemble brought sultry, Latin-flavored warmth to a long list of Radiohead's records, including the stark, experimental Kid A and Amnesiac. A swinging, bossa-nova version of "House of Cards" followed a muted, tinny trumpet solo stood in for Thom Yorke's wail on "Lucky." A spoken-word rendition of "Fitter Happier" from a guy from Prospero's Books was another smart moment in the evening, bringing a Beatnik vibe to the Saturday night gathering.
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