Deborah Brown, the doyenne of Kansas City jazz, returns to the Blue Room on Friday, May 8. The embedded video captures the magnificent vocalist at a Slovenian jazz festival.
The Top Jazz Performances of 2025
Original image of Shanté Clair and Krista Kopper at Grand Avenue Temple by Plastic Sax.
The Top Performances of 2025 by Kansas City Musicians
1. Nick Hmeljak, Henry Scamurra, Isaiah Petrie, Jordan Faught and Jaylen Ward at Westport Coffee House
Plastic Sax review.
2. Drew Williams, Ben Tervort and Brian Steever at the Stray Cat Film Center
Instagram clip.
3. Bram and Lucy Wijnands with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra at the Folly Theater
Plastic Sax review.
4. Vanessa Thomas, Kara Smith, Michael Pagán and Steve Rigazzi at the Blue Room
Instagram clip.
5. Henry Scamurra, Isaiah Petrie, Spencer Reeve and Jade Harvey at the Prairie Village Jazz Festival
Instagram clip.
6. The Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society’s “3 Expressions of Light and Sound” at Charlotte Street Foundation
Instagram clip.
7. Matt Villinger, Peter Schlamb, Sebastian Arias and Matt Robertson at the Blue Room
Instagram clip.
8. Steve Cardenas, Forest Stewart and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House
Plastic Sax review.
9. Deborah Brown and George Colligan at Upcycle Piano Craft
Instagram clip.
10. David Chael, Danny Embrey, Gerald Spaits and Brian Steever at Green Lady Lounge
My Instagram clip.
The Top Performances of 2025 by Touring Musicians
1. Christian McBride and Brad Mehldau at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
Plastic Sax review.
2. Terence Blanchard at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
There Stands the Glass review.
3. Branford Marsalis Quartet at the Folly Theater
Plastic Sax review.
4. Samara Joy at the Folly Theater
There Stands the Glass review.
5. Devin Gray at the Ship
There Stands the Glass review.
6. Alexander Adams, Jeff Goulet (and Seth Davis) with Kristen Kopper and Shanté Clair at Grand Avenue Temple
Instagram clip.
7. Cory Weeds (with Chris Hazelton) at Westport Coffee House
Plastic Sax review.
8. Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda and Antonio Sánchez at Helzberg Hall
Plastic Sax review.
9. Helen Sung (with Bach Aria Soloists) at the Folly Theater
Plastic Sax review.
10. Pete Escovedo at the Folly Theater
Plastic Sax review.
Last year’s survey is here.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*The Brian Baggett Trio is featured on the latest episode of Kansas Public Radio’s Live at Green Lady Lounge program.
*Joe Dimino shared footage of performances by Deborah Brown and Wire Town.
*The Pitch checked in with Eddie Moore.
Now’s the Time: Deborah Brown
Deborah Brown tops the bill at the Winterlude Jazz Festival at Johnson County Community College on Saturday, February 15. The Kansas City vocalist also performs with pianist George Colligan at the Blue Room on Friday, February 14, and at Upcycle Piano Craft on Sunday, February 16.
The Top 25 Kansas City Jazz Albums of the Past 25 Years
Despite enduring constant turbulence during the first 25 years of the new millennium, Kansas City’s jazz musicians never ceased creating timeless art. The following list highlights a fraction of the vital recordings released since 2000. The recency bias on display reflects Plastic Sax’s founding in 2007 as well as the uptick in the quantity and quality of releases in recent years. A corresponding non-jazz albums ranking is here.
1. Peter Schlamb- Tinks (2004)
2. Logan Richardson- Shift (2016)
3. Bobby Watson- Back Home in Kansas City (2022)
4. Hermon Mehari- Asmara (2022)
5. Bob Bowman- Songs for Sandra (2014)
6. Pat Metheny- Orchestrion (2010)
7. Ahmad Alaadeen- And the Beauty of It All (ASR 2007)
8. Karrin Allyson- Imagina: Songs of Brasil (2008)
9. Steve Cardenas- Panoramic (2002)
10. Mike Dillon- Inflorescence (2023)
11. Deborah Brown- Songbird (2003)
12. Adam Larson- With Love, From Kansas City (2022)
13. Myra Taylor- My Night to Dream (2001)
14. Matt Otto and Ensemble Ibérica- Ibérica (2017)
15. The People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City- The People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City (2010)
16. Kevin Mahogany- Pride & Joy (2002)
17. Micah Herman- The Ship, Vol. 1: The Studio Sessions (2011)
18. EMAS Quartet- EMS (2022)
19. Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle- Kings & Queens (2016)
20. Rod Fleeman Trio- Saturday Afternoon Live at Green Lady Lounge, Volume 3 (2024)
21. Alaturka- Tamam Abi (2010)
22. Betty Bryant- Lotta Livin' (2024)
23. Everette DeVan- For the Love of You (2014)
24. Gregory Hickman-Williams- Passages (2006)
25. Marcus Lewis Big Band- Brass and Boujee (2018)
Now’s the Time: Deborah Brown
Deborah Brown and Bobby Watson are the preeminent musicians based in the Kansas City area. Each is an international treasure. Brown and Watson will be featured at the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra’s concert at the Folly Theater on Friday, May 17. Brown is accompanied by the Portland pianist George Colligan in the embedded video.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*KCUR reported on the resignation of Rashida Phillips as the executive director of the American Jazz Museum.
*Reed Jackson investigated the Kansas origins of guitarist David Lord for The Pitch.
*Greg Carroll and Deborah Brown promoted the annual Spotlight: Charlie Parker initiative on KCUR.
*Joe Dimino interviewed Matt Otto.
*Marc Myers is on a Basie bender.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Hermon Mehari was featured on Radio France.
*Bird Lives, a Swedish tribute to Charlie Parker, was nominated for three Grammy Awards yesterday.
*Joe Dimino shared footage of Deborah Brown’s performance with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra.
*Tweet of the Week: Dr. Compact Housedwarf- I have seen Etta at a jazz and blues festival in Kansas City! Too bad they don’t do that festival anymore. Outdoors and cheap to get in.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Eddie Moore chatted with Steve Kraske on KCUR’s Up To Date. His portion of the segment begins around the 12-minute mark.
*Skateboard celebrity Sean Malto cites Green Lady Lounge as one of his favorite Kansas City haunts in a Thrillist feature.
*Tim Whitmer’s letter praising the late Charlie Wheeler was published by The Kansas City Star.
*Joe Dimino interviewed Deborah Brown and shared footage of a performance by the JCCC Faculty Jazz Quintet.
*Footage of Leon Brady’s 90th birthday party was uploaded to YouTube.
*Wyandotte Daily published a press release for m-pact’s activities at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
*Tweet of the Week: Steve Paul- "Healing Power: The Music of Carla Bley," by Steve Cardenas, Ben Allison, Ted Nash.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Brian Baggett and Ken Lovern discuss Baggett’s forthcoming album in a promotional video.
*The Kansas City debut of the Los Angeles duo Ohma is reviewed at There Stands the Glass.
*Bobby Watson promoted a concert in Schenectady in a candid interview with a correspondent for Albany’s The Times-Union.
*Jazzwise considers the sound of Britain’s Big Band Metheny ensemble.
*Joe Dimino interviewed Morgan Faw and shared clips of performances by the Greg Meise Trio, Lisa Henry and the Hannover Big Band.
*Tweet of the Week: Midwest Music Foundation- JUST ANNOUNCED! Check out the official lineup for Apocalypse Meow, Nov 5th at the @recordBar, ft. Eddie Moore, MellowPhobia, The Electric Lungs, purextc, and Nathan Corsi and My Atomic Daydream! Grab tickets: (link) #apocalypsemeow #abbysfund
*From a press release: The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra Executive Director Lea Petrie today announced the next concert for the 2022-2023 20th Anniversary season, The Voice featuring guest artist Deborah Brown, Thursday, November 10 at 7 p.m. at … Helzberg Hall… Brown is one of many American jazz performers who found her greatest fame and recognition overseas rather than in the U.S.
Now's the Time: Deborah Brown
A seasick-green filter hardly detracts from the divine version of “Save Your Love for Me” performed by the impeccable Kansas City vocalist Deborah Brown and the New York City based pianist Bruce Barth in the embedded video.