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

*Tim Whitmer was featured on KCUR’s Up To Date. The program also highlighted area jazz musicians’ cultural exchange in China.

*Bobby Watson was included in a roundup of notable locally based artists.

*Dave Scott and Drew Williams chatted with Joe Dimino.

*The man behind Plastic Sax highlighted tracks by Pete Fucinaro, Eddie Moore and Jackie Myers on the December 9 edition of 90.9 The Bridge’s Eight One Sixty program.

Plastic Sax’s Favorite Albums of 2025

The Top Ten Albums of 2025 by Kansas City Artists
1. Carl Allen- Tippin’
Plastic Sax review.

2. Brittany Davis- Black Thunder
Plastic Sax review.

3. Hermon Mehari and Tony Tixier- Soul Song
Plastic Sax review.

4. Pete Fucinaro- Little Window
Plastic Sax review.

5. Henry Scamurra- Urban Forum
Plastic Sax review.

6. Seth Andrew Davis and Krista Kopper- Popular Mechanics
Plastic Sax review.

7. Drew Williams- Demons Hate Fresh Air
Review forthcoming.

8. Jackie Myers- What About the Butterfly
Plastic Sax review.

9. Gerald Spaits- Sunday Night Live at Green Lady Lounge
Plastic Sax review.

10. Eddie Moore- What Makes Us
Plastic Sax review.

The Top Ten Albums of 2025 by Artists from Elsewhere
1. Linda May Han Oh- Strange Heavens

2. Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson- Bone Bells

3. Gerald Clayton- Ones & Twos

4. Charles Lloyd- Figure in Blue

5. Patricia Brennan- Of the Near and Far

6. Vijay Iyer and Leo Wadada Smith- Defiant Life

7. Anouar Brahem- After the Last Sky

8. Ches Smith- Clone Row

9. Trio of Bloom- Trio of Bloom

10. Camila Nebbia, Marilyn Crispell and Lesley Mok- A Reflection Distorts Over Water

Last year’s listings are here.

Album Review: Pete Fucinaro- Little Window

Pete Fucinaro’s astoundingly accomplished Little Window is fully formed and thoroughly convincing. The debut album is so impressive that Kansas City jazz enthusiasts unfamiliar with the locally based saxophonist could initially mistake portions of Little Window for the work of area masters Adam Larson or Bobby Watson.

Yet production techniques rarely employed by local artists and the playing of unfamiliar voices betray the distant origin of Little Window. The album was recorded in New York last November with friends of Fucinaro largely unknown in Kansas City.

As with some of his adventurous cohorts, Fucinaro is a graduate of University of North Texas. The musicians are not immune to the artistic gravitational pull of Snarky Puppy, the occasionally gaudy band founded at the institution.

For the most part, Fucinaro tempers the youthful propensity for flash with cultured maturity. “Bonfire” is state-of-the-art mainstream jazz. "Prelude", featuring vocals from Ebba Dankel, evokes the groundbreaking collaborations between David Binney and Gretchen Parlato.

Rock elements add edginess to “Conreco” and the title track. The application of synths on “Slim” echo the 1980s work of the supergroup Steps Ahead. The successful use of an array of sensibilities help make Fucinaro’s debut one of the most exciting Kansas City albums of 2025.

(Little Window will be released Friday, August 22.)

Now’s the Time: Iver Cardas

The Norwegian guitarist Iver Cardas will be joined by the top-tier Kansas City musicians Pete Fucinaro, Jeff Harshbarger and Ryan Lee at the Ship on Thursday, April 10.

Concert Review: Dawson Jones at Green Lady Lounge

While the Phoenix has long served up jazz-ish brunches, Green Lady Lounge recently resumed offering performances of undiluted jazz on Saturday mornings. Saturday appearances by vibraphonist Dawson Jones currently run from 11:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. 

With no televisions, bright lights or rambunctious children to interfere with recovery from Friday night revelries, Green Lady Lounge is an ideal place to ease into Saturday. The heavenly sound of vibraphone provides a comforting soundtrack for indulging in the hair of the dog or merely sipping coffee.

Dawson’s conception differs from the approaches taken by the prominent Kansas City vibraphonists Mike Dillon, Isaiah Petrie and Peter Schlamb. Accompanied by bassist Andrew Voggesser on March 8 and saxophonist Pete Fucinaro on March 15, Dawson’s sublime sound is reminiscent of Gary Burton.

Voggessor’s aggressiveness waylaid any opportunity for tweeness on material including an imaginative contrafact of Charlie Parker’s “Confirmation.” A week later, Fucinaro tackled a contrafact of “How Deep is the Ocean” as if his life depended on it.

The performances merited rousing ovations. Yet only a pair of diehards showed up to the opening sets. Not only were the regulars present for an experience unique to Kansas City, they knew that the good times were just getting started. The room gradually fills up before the final notes are played at 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Seth Davis, Mike Dillon and Matt Otto received votes in El Intruso’s 16th Annual International Critics Poll.

*A slightly different version of the audio feature about Charlie Parker’s Grafton saxophone created for KCUR in December aired nationally on NPR’s Morning Edition program last week. 

*Joe Dimino shared footage of recent performances of bands led by Pete Fucinaro and Adam Larson.

*WBGO aired a travelog set in Kansas City’s Jazz District.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Joe Dimino shared video clips from shows by Dave Scott and Charles Williams.

*The Chicago jazz advocacy group Fulton Street Collective streamed a performance by the Kansas City trio of saxophonist Pete Fucinaro, bassist Ben Tervort and drummer Brian Steever.

*Tweet of the Week: Kenneth Barreras- Master Musician Carmell Jones was born on this date in 1936. Here he is playing his own composition on a Nathan Davis recording. Davis himself does not play on this tune. With the legendary Kenny Clarke on drums. Carmell's Black Forest Waltz (link)

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Tim Finn interviewed Ryan Heinlein for In Kansas City magazine.

*Pete Fucinaro and Adam Larson chatted with Joe Dimino.

*Tweet of the Week: 20sJazz- String bass innovator, Walter Page was born today in Gallatin, Missouri in 1900. -The tuba player and double bassist was active on the 1920's Kansas City jazz scene as both a member of the "Bennie Moten Orchestra" and leader of his own "Blue Devils". (link)

Now’s the Time: Pete Fucinaro

Saxophonist Pete Fucinaro, a recent addition to Kansas City’s jazz scene, leads a band in renditions of Thelonious Monk compositions at Ça Va on Thursday, January 20.