Jazz: 2009-2010 Season

Upcoming Events

• KC Jazz Club: Jonathan Batiste Quintet

  Feb 26, 2010 | Buy Now
  With his unique voice on piano and dapper sense of style, Jonathan Batiste "has already been turning heads as an up-and-coming pianist with an ebullient style" (The New York Times).

• KC Jazz Club: Carl Allen–Rodney Whitaker Project

  Feb 27, 2010 | Buy Now
  Drummer Carl Allen and bassist Rodney Whitaker "present straightahead jazz with a great deal of composure…sharp, snappy, and expressive jazz" (DownBeat).

• KC Jazz Club: An Evening with Delfeayo Marsalis

  Mar 12, 2010 | Buy Now
  A multiple Grammy Award winner as a producer, trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis "solos with authority, inserting musical quotes spontaneously as the mood takes him in different directions" (All About Jazz).

• KC Jazz Club: Alison Brown

  Mar 13, 2010 | Buy Now
  A musical pioneer, banjo player Alison Brown has pushed beyond bluegrass. "Like James Taylor's voice or B.B. King's guitar, Alison Brown's banjo is an instrument possessed of a unique sonic signature and an inescapable beauty" (Billboard).

• KC Jazz Club: Maurice Brown Effect

  Mar 19, 2010 | Buy Now
  When Maurice Brown, the first place winner in the 2001 National Miles Davis Trumpet Competition, "blows his trumpet, folks notice. His irrefutable energy, talent, and focus continually surprise audiences" (JazzTimes).

• KC Jazz Club: Shelly Berg

  Mar 20, 2010 | Buy Now
  The Los Angeles Times says pianist Shelly Berg "burns hard, his fingers flying over the keyboard while his body nearly levitates off the bench, [leaving the] crowd breathless!"

• KC Jazz Club: Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio

  Mar 27, 2010 | Buy Now
  Renowned for her bebop mastery and for infusing traditional Japanese music into bold, original arrangements, Toshiko Akiyoshi is a pianist, composer, and bandleader with "unmistakable lyrical gifts" (The New Yorker).

• George Benson

  Apr 11, 2010 at 7:00 PM | On Sale 2/10/10,
  Ten-time Grammy Award–winning guitarist and vocalist George Benson is "an extraordinary musician by any standard" (JazzTimes).

• Mavis Staples

  Apr 23, 2010 at 7:30 PM | On Sale 2/10/10,
  Soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples is one of the most recognizable and treasured voices in contemporary music. Part of Joyful Sounds: Gospel Across America.

• Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival - 15th Anniversary

  May 20 - 22, 2010 | On Sale 2/10/10,
  The 15th Annual Women in Jazz Festival marks the 100th anniversary year of Williams's birth with three evenings of star-studded performances featuring the world's top female jazz artists.

• Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Emerging Artist Showcase

  May 22, 2010 at 6:01 PM
  Witness the future of jazz in this concert featuring five exceptional pianists selected as the inaugural class of the "Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Emerging Artist Workshop."

• Melody Gardot

  Jun 7, 2010 at 7:30 PM | On Sale 4/7/10,
  Singer-songwriter, pianist, and guitarist Melody Gardot returns to the Kennedy Center with Latin rhythms, finger-snapping blues, and deep, smoldering torch songs.

• Matt Savage Trio

  Jun 8, 2010 at 7:30 PM | On Sale 4/7/10,
  Seventeen-year-old jazz pianist Matt Savage has been heralded by Dave Brubeck as "amazing" and "another Mozart," and by Chick Corea as "delightful and inspiring."

• Diane Schuur

  Jun 11, 2010 | On Sale 4/7/10,
  Last seen at the Center in 2006, two-time Grammy Award winner Diane Schuur brandishes the power to amaze with her supreme vocal versatility and sensational 3-1/2 octave range. Part of the 2010 VSA arts International Festival.