Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*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.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*News reports about a man trapped in the waste compartment of a portable toilet in the Jazz District went viral last weekend.

*E.E. Pointer chatted with Joe Dimino.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*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.

Concert Review: Terri Lyne Carrington at the Folly Theater

Max Roach performed in Kansas City’s Jazz District in 1985. Abbey Lincoln appeared at the Folly Theater in 1994. We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite, the 1961 protest album featuring the drummer and vocalist, remains a towering cultural touchstone.

Terri Lyne Carrington told an audience of several hundred that she and her band intended to conduct a “flip of the script” on We Insist! before the first note was played at the Folly Theater on Saturday, April 18. (I paid $37.50 for a balcony seat.)

Powered by Carrington’s ferocious drumming, the auspicious young trumpet star Milena Casado, guitarist Matthew Stevens and multi-instrumentalist Morgan Guerin were supplemented by poet and vocalist Christie Dashiell.

Given the caliber of the musicians, instrumental segments featuring agitated funk improvisations worked best. At ninety minutes, the concert’s brevity was its primary blemish. The musicians behaved as if they had a plane to catch.

It seemed natural to be in the presence of Roach and Lincoln decades ago. I’m now humbled to have shared moments in time with the icons. In furthering the legacies of Roach and Lincoln, Carrington and her colleagues will one day be fully recognized as similarly auspicious figures in the jazz continuum.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*KCUR surveys current construction projects in the Jazz District.

*From a press release: In honor of Women's History Month, the Christopher Burnett Quartet will perform a special midday concert of instrumental jazz ballads on March 25, 2026, at JW Crancers Event Space. The performance will run from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm and is free and open to the public… The Ensemble: Christopher Burnett, Roger Wilder, Gerald Spaits and Houston Smith. Details are here.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*A television station notes the passing of Anita Dixon-Brown.

*A television reporter waxes ecstatic about construction in the Jazz District.

*A television news report hints at disaffection following approval of an additional $3.2 funding for renovations at the American Jazz Museum.

*A trio led by Loren Broaddus submitted an entry to NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*A brief television news report examines the state of the Jazz District.

The Top Stories and Trends of 2025 in Kansas City Jazz

1. Fucinaro and Scamurra
The Kansas City saxophonists Pete Fucinaro and Henry Scamurra released strong debut albums in 2025. The ongoing youth movement represented by Fucinaro’s Little Window and Scamurra’s Urban Forum is a compelling reason for optimism.

2. Festival Revival
The KC Blues and Jazz Festival brought Stanley Clarke, Karl Denson and Bill Frisell to a baseball stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, on October 4. The event was the area’s first large-scale jazz event featuring touring artists since 2017.

3. Musical Chairs
Dr. Dina Bennett resigned as the Executive Director of the American Jazz Museum. Turnover at the institution is concerning.

4. Detour Ahead
The planned transformation of a portion of 18th Street into a pedestrian walkway made access to Jazz District landmarks including the American Jazz Museum and the Gem Theater difficult for much of the year. (See above photo.)

5. Evergreen
Green Lady Lounge remains the focal point of live jazz in Kansas City. Green Lady Lounge hosts more than three times the combined number of jazz performances at the Blue Room, the Ship and Westport Coffee House, the second, third and fourth most significant presenters of jazz in Kansas City.

6. Nevermore
Corvino is the most prominent of several establishments to either completely close or cease featuring live jazz in 2025.

7. Alt Jazz
Sonic experiments that are largely unwelcome in conventional venues thrive in hidden recesses including house parties, a bookstore, an underground cinema and a repurposed church.

8. Best Year Ever
No Kansas City jazz musician had a bigger year than Jackie Myers. Her relentless performance schedule included tours and festival placements. Myers’ ambitious album What About the Butterfly was reviewed by DownBeat magazine, a distinction among Kansas City artists shared only by Carl Allen in 2025.

9. Disinformation Campaign
Visit KC continues to insist that Kansas City is home to “more than 40 jazz clubs” as it promotes next year’s World Cup matches. The convention bureau’s dissembling is outlandish.

10. Persistence
Plastic Sax published 32 album reviews, two book reviews, nine concert reviews, six editorials and 45 gig previews featuring Kansas City musicians in 2025.

Last year’s recap is here.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Joe Dimino interviewed Brian Baggett.

*A man laments the location of a new parking lot being built on the east side of Paseo Boulevard in the Jazz District in a television news report.

*Corvino, a restaurant that once regularly hosted live jazz performances, will close at the end of the year.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Legends Field is slated to host the KC Blues and Jazz Festival on October 3 and 4. The lineup: Stanley Clarke (misspelled on the official flyer), Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shemekia Copeland, Bill Frisell (with Greg Tardy, Thomas Morgan and Rudy Royston), Roosevelt Collier, Harrell Davenport, Brody Buster, OJT, High Society and Jackie Myers (also misspelled on the flyer). Two-day passes are $71.50-$136.50. Single day passes are $25-$60.

*Chalis O’Neal is the subject of a feature story published by The Kansas City Star.

*The most recent episode of Kansas Public Radio’s Live at Green Lady Lounge program spotlights the new band led by guitarists Matt Hopper and Jeff Shirley.

*A television news outlet reports on an attempt to fill several empty storefronts in the Jazz District.

*From a press release: In a must-see concert to cap the month-long Spotlight: Charlie Parker celebration, renowned Kansas City trumpeter Lonnie McFadden will lead the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra in a vibrant tribute to Parker’s musical genius on Saturday, August 23 at 7 p.m. at… the Folly Theatre… Tickets, starting at $28, are available… here.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Julie Denesha created an audio feature about the late Erin Keller for KCUR.

*Hermon Mehari chatted with Joe Dimino.

*Startland reports on $19 million of new public funding on projects in and around the Jazz District.

*Guitar Elation was featured on Kansas Public Radio’s Live at Green Lady Lounge program last week.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Bobby Watson is among the commentators extolling Art Blakey in a The New York Times feature.

*Joe Dimino shares footage of the Lee’s Summit Jazz Festival.

*Eboni Fondren is named an “Innovator and Influencer” by In Kansas City magazine.

*A second victim of a June 22 shooting in the Jazz District has died.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The Lawrence Journal-World commends Mia Rasmussen’s ten-minute student film "Kansas City Jazz: A Frontier for Black Success".

*A television news program reports on a shooting that killed one man and injured five others in the Jazz District last weekend.

*Joe Dimino shared footage of a performance featuring Stan Kessler and Doug Talley and interviewed John Stein.

*Bobby Watson promoted his appearance at Dazzle in Denver.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Alex Abramovitz’s band is featured in the latest episode of Kansas Public Radio’s Live at Green Lady Lounge program.

*A television news broadcast touts the construction of a parking garage in the Jazz District.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*A feel-good story about an elderly Count Basie fan is shared by a TV reporter. Joe Dimino offers his perspective and documents portions of the Count Basie Orchestra’s concert at the Music Hall.

*Bassist Chase McRoy is featured by In Kansas City magazine.

*A television news outlet reports on the latest Jazz District redevelopment project.

Urban Legend

Cynical pundits in Kansas City have long insisted that suburbanites are too frightened to visit the Jazz District. The pernicious myth was busted on Wednesday, June 5, when more than 2,000 people from outlying communities were among the throng packing Parade Park to take in a free appearance by Yo-Yo Ma.

The cellist’s participation in the Kansas City Symphony’s Mobile Music Box event was announced the previous day. The short notice and simultaneous sold-out concerts by James Taylor at Starlight Theatre and Noah Kahan at Azura Amphitheater didn’t prevent people from suburbs such as Lee’s Summit, Gladstone and Lenexa from filling the space directly behind the American Jazz Museum.

Longtime observers are well aware of disappointing attendance for jazz events held in the same space and along the adjacent Paseo Boulevard. Conjecture about the reasons for the failures often include the accusation that suburbanites refuse to patronize the neighborhood. Yo-Yo Ma nullified that excuse on June 5.

Parallel Parking

Not once in the past four decades have I had trouble finding a convenient parking spot in Kansas City’s Jazz District. Even amid the busiest festivals I’ve never been compelled to park more than a five-minute walk from the intersection of 18th Street and Paseo Boulevard.

Yet according to a television news report, Kansas City, Missouri, recently allocated $20 million to build a multi-level parking garage in the area.

The piece suggests the impetus for the construction is based on future projections rather than current need. I hope the optimism is warranted. It would be wonderful if the beleaguered neighborhood finally attained a liveliness resulting in parking hassles.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Joe Dimino shared footage of Matthew Whitaker’s concert at the Folly Theater.

*Proponents of the Jazz District decry the failed April 2 tax initiative that might have brought a baseball stadium downtown in a KCUR report.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Jeff Shirley was interviewed by The Pitch.

*A homespun history of Kansas City jam sessions of the past four decades was published by Kansas City guitarist Jay EuDaly.

*The Jazz District Renaissance Corporation sponsored a television segment about events in the Jazz District.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*The Kansas City Business Journal reports that construction on a six-story apartment complex is underway at 19th and Vine in the Jazz District.

*Joe Dimino visited Green Lady Lounge.

*A blogger reviewed Branches Choke, an album of noisy improvisations recorded in Kansas City.

*Tweet of the Week: Raman Shah- In Kansas City right now for @TransformGov #tlg2020. It's lovely here: chilly, with hills, flowers, red brick, vintage signage, gentle people. Treated myself last night to cheesy corn+burnt ends @ Jack Stack and some jazz @ the Green Lady. Now to meet some #localgov friends