The big band New Jazz Order performs Tuesdays at Westport Flea Market. The embedded video serves as a mission statement for the institution.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*The retro-soul band the Freedom Affair headlines The Prairie Village Jazz Festival on September 12.
*A television news feature notes the annual celebration of the birth of Charlie Parker.
*Kansas City magazine relays an optimistic vision for the latest public investments in the Jazz District.
*Michael Pagán would like Plastic Sax readers to know that he’s “humbly proud to announce the publication and release of my dad's collection of lead sheets in fake book/PDF format: The Ricardo Pagán Fake Book. There are over 275 tunes written in his hand between 1960-1990. The book is free - please PM me with your email address if you'd like a copy.”
*From a press release: Internationally acclaimed saxophonist, composer, and visionary Logan Richardson returns to his hometown for an extraordinary evening of music, storytelling, and artistic exploration in A Living Score: Searching for Charlie Parker on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at the historic Gem Theater... “This is far more than a concert. It is an exploration,” describes Richardson. He explains the performance is a search through sound, memory, place, and possibility inspired by some of Kansas City's most celebrated cultural icons, including Charlie Parker, Ben Webster, Big Joe Turner, Burt Bacharach, and even Walt Disney.
Plebiscite
Original image by Plastic Sax.
A friend rhapsodized about his plan to make professional recordings of Kansas City jazz artists a couple weeks ago. As he spoke, a quartet expertly covered smooth jazz and soul-jazz standards for a paid audience of less than ten at a listening room. I told him that identifying worthy musicians is easy. Finding an audience for the prospective recordings presents a bigger challenge.
At a different venue later that night, three world-class Kansas City based musicians played daring original material for an audience consisting of myself and three saxophonists at a no-cover gig. The two dozen other people in the room ignored the trio. That’s par for the course.
Given the harsh climate for jazz in Kansas City and elsewhere, I remain enormously grateful for the intrepid musicians diligently documenting their work. A rich bounty is produced by Kansas City artists every year. Two recently published polls highlight their challenges and accomplishments on the international stage.
Four-hundred-and-sixty-one new albums received at least one vote in the mid-year edition of the Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll. Kansas City is represented by new albums by Pat Metheny (81st place with three votes) and Steve Cardenas (82nd place with three votes). My ballot is here.
DownBeat recently published the results of its extensive 74th Annual Critics Poll. A tally of Kansas City artists making appearances follows. Individual voter ballots aren’t published.
Bob Brookmeyer: Hall of Fame (22nd place)
Pat Metheny: Artist of the Year: (22nd place); Album of the Year: (26th place); Group of the Year: (21st place); Guitarist of the Year: (6th place); Composer of the Year: (9th place)
Mike Dillon: Vibraphonist of the Year (21st place)
Samantha Fish: Blues Artist of the Year (12th place); Blues Album of the Year (4th place)
Hermon Mehari: Rising Star Trumpeter (14th place)
Eldar Djangirov: Rising Star Pianist (24th place)
Brittany Davis: Rising Star Keyboardist (19th place); Rising Star Female Vocalist (8th place)
Chris Hazelton: Rising Star Organist (15th place)
Peter Schlamb: Rising Star Vibraphonist (9th place)
Now’s the Time: Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock, 86, has been among jazz’s most persuasive ambassadors for decades. Yet basking in the presence of the icon may not be the best reason to attend Hancock’s return to Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Thursday, August 6. The caliber of his band- trumpeter Terence Blanchard, guitarist Lionel Loueke, bassist James Genus and drummer Jaylen Petinaud- is explosive. The embedded video is pulled from a 52-year-old television appearance.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*The piano bar Uptown Lounge, a venue that once regularly featured jazz, closes August 1.
*An editorial in The Kansas City Star suggests the American Jazz Museum “continues to struggle with many of the same issues: financial sustainability, organizational stability, audience growth, community confidence and a coherent long-term strategy.”
*Café 333’s concept is reiterated at a local outlet.
Album Review: Marilyn Maye- The Magic of Marilyn Maye: Live at Jazz at Lincoln Center
The announcement of Marilyn Maye’s return to The Folly Theater on September 25 spurred me to revisit the music of the iconic vocalist. I was surprised to discover The Magic of Marilyn Maye: Live at Jazz at Lincoln Center was surreptitiously released on January 16.
The recordings are culled from performances at three venues at the Lincoln Center complex in 2017 and 2018. Four tracks recorded at Dizzy’s feature a backing quartet featuring the Kansas City based guitarist Rod Fleeman.
Fleeman also is part of a big band supporting Maye at the Appel Room on six selections. Maye is accompanied by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at Rose Theater on the opening track.
Maye is effervescent throughout. Anyone who has had the good fortune of catching a Maye performance this millennium will be familiar with the material. The last old-school saloon singer standing, Maye, 98, is more magical than ever.
Now’s the Time: Wendy Eisenberg
Wendy Eisenberg will make their Kansas City debut when they open for the anarchic art-rock veterans Sleepytime Gorilla Museum at recordBar on Friday, July 24. Once a jazz-based, guitar-forward artist, Eisenberg has evolved into a somewhat more conventional singer-songwriter.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Concert Review: Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society’s “A Convocation of Exoplanets” at Charlotte Street Foundation
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Kansas City’s experimental music scene might never have recovered had the massive celestial sounds generated at Charlotte Street Foundation on Wednesday, July 15, managed to transport the art space to a different galaxy. Several dozen people attended the free event.
The conclave of 21 musicians guided by Aaron Osborne included a significant portion of the region’s most notable talent. A single “long-form improvised music composition (drew) inspiration from how planetary objects align and their relationships to each other in space.” The initiative lasted almost an hour, providing plenty of time for cosmic forces to intervene.
Each of the four groupings of musicians dubbed “Chthonian Planet,” “Terrestrial Habitable,” “Gas Giant” and “Rogue Pulsar” were triggered by overhead lighting cues. The sound ranged from intergalactic roars to lonely tones generated by the “Rogue Pulsar” represented by Kelley Gant.
Not only was the cumulative effect of the sprawling opus magnificent, the stellar aggregation of locally based talent was intrinsically momentous. Here’s hoping someone had the foresight to organize a formal group portrait. The image would document one of the most auspicious assemblies in the history of Kansas City jazz.
From the program notes:
The planetary types and groupings are as follows:
Chthonian Planet (lava): Cliff Dunn (bass flute), Elena Collins (bass Clarinet, Clarinet), Michael Eaton (sax, flute), Zak Pischnotte (saxes), Nick Howell (trumpet), Loren Broddeus (cornet), Sam Hughes (bari sax), Rosie O’Brien (tuba)
Terrestrial Habitable: Dwight Frizzell (windjammer), RJ Schultxe (percussion), Pat Conway (percussion), Shanté Clair (prepared guitar), Shawn Hansen (piano), Jackson Graham (vibes)
Gas Giant: Stephanie Priddy (viola), Cliff Hoitt-Lange (viola), Jeff Harshbarger (bass), Spencer Reeve (bass), Seth Davis (guitar), Brooke Knoll (harp)
Rogue Pulsar: Kelley Gant (vocals whistling electronics)
Now’s the Time: Jon Batiste
Plastic Sax reiterated the fraught history of Jon Batiste in Kansas City in a concert preview last year. The star returns to the area for an appearance at Starlight Theatre on Friday, July 17.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Ken Lovern released a second music video in advance of the release of Blind Boone the Musical.
Album Review: Matt Otto- Ephemeral
I swooned the first time I heard Matt Otto showcase his new composition "Rachel". The second time felt equally momentous. Having spent three weeks with Otto’s sublime new album Ephemeral, “Rachel” now plays on repeat in my head.
Ephemeral’s other seven selections are almost as insinuating. “Twilight,” a track with an exquisite guitar solo by Alex Frank, is similarly gorgeous. Frank, bassist Jeff Harshbarger and drummer John Kizilarmut sound like world-beaters on “Elliot” and “Wadada.”
Andrew Ouellette’s dreamy keyboards help make “Scroll” sound anything but doom-laden. Eddie Moore’s freaky keyboard work enhances the haunting “Sobule.” Amid a large cast of Kansas City and Los Angeles musicians, Otto, as always, plays impeccably.
Yet it’s the addition of Peter Schlamb’s plugged-in vibraphone on the title track and “Dune Town” that makes Ephemeral the probable Kansas City album of the year. Far from ephemeral, Otto’s tour de force is a permanent marker of the best Kansas City has to offer in 2026.
Now’s the Time: David Lord
David Lord returns to Farewell on Tuesday, July 14. The iconoclastic guitarist’s 2014 performance at the venue was astounding.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*KCUR’s feature about the 515 Music Hub merits a close reading.
*Loren Broaddus was interviewed by Joe Dimino.
*Nina Cherry highlighted the whistling of Kelley Gant.
*A television news outlet showcased the Kansas City Jazz Academy.
Concert Review: Gerald Spaits’ Sax & Violins at Greenwood Social Hall
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Charlatans, do-gooders, civic boosters and business people spent months organizing entertainment for the scores of visitors to the area during the World Cup. Perhaps inevitably, what may have been the best outing by locally based talent in recent weeks had no apparent ties to the global event.
Seventy-five in-the-know locals attended a concert by Gerald Spaits’ Sax & Violins at Greenwood Social Hall on Wednesday, July 1. The free show was underwritten by a musicians union.
The veteran bassist’s endeavor isn’t just another jazz-with-strings ensemble. Equally conversant in classical and jazz idioms, the members of Sax & Violins’ string quartet- Adam Galblum, Marvin Gruenbaum, Ezgi Karakus and Joanna Metsker- possess a natural sense of swing.
Two of Kansas City’s most exciting saxophonists, Charles Perkins and Rich Wheeler were born to swing. Brian Steever, Plastic Sax’s reigning Person of the Year, powered the 75-minute performance that flowed between vintage bop, classic rock, chamber music and Americana.
Exceptional moments included a cutting contest between Galblum and Gruenbaum, a vigorous reading of Frank Zappa’s “Peaches en Regalia” and an intriguing arrangement of Thelonious Monk’s “We See.”
Perhaps sensing that Sax & Violins had just won the artistic equivalent of the World Cup after the concert closed with a thrilling reading of the Beatles’ “I Am the Walrus,” Spaits invoked the famous John Lennon quip “I hope we’ve passed the audition.”
Now's the Time: Brian Culbertson
The 2026 edition of The Missouri Wine & Jazz Festival takes place in the Jazz District on Friday, July 11, and Saturday, July 12. Brian Culbertson is the first day’s headliner. The festival closes with Najee on Sunday.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*James McGee gave The Kansas City Star a tour of the Jazz District.
*The rollout for Ken Lovern’s forthcoming album Blind Boone the Musical includes a music video.
Album Review: Steve Swallow- Winter Songs
The Kansas City musicians who regularly interpret Steve Swallow compositions including “Ladies in Mercedes” aren't merely playing standards written by the veteran bassist and composer. The selections are also a nod to Steve Cardenas, the Kansas City guitarist with a longstanding association with Swallow.
As on the 2013 album Into the Woodworks, Cardenas makes elegant contributions to the new ECM Records release Winter Songs. The ensemble is rounded out by saxophonist Chris Cheek, trumpeter Mike Rodriguez, pianist Gil Goldstein and drummer Adam Nussbaum on the session recorded in New York last September.
Primacy is given to conveying the emotional resonance of the stately compositions rather than soloing. Cardenas’ quiet sophistication is ideally attuned to the contemplative chamber jazz setting. His colleagues in Kansas City may already be working on arrangements of Winter Songs.
Now’s the Time: Chalis O’Neal
Chalis O'Neal performs at The Shop Cigar Lounge on Friday, June 26. The trumpeter leads a trio at the Plaza Art Fair in the embedded video.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Matt Otto was interviewed by Joe Dimino.
*A man was killed and five others were injured in a shooting in the Jazz District last week.