Family, Flex & Student Subscriptions now available!
Children’s subscriptions are free with purchase of a full price adult subscription in any section. Box office fees apply. This offer must be redeemed over the phone at 816.994.7222
Can’t make it to all of the concerts? Choose between 3 or 4 concerts with a flex package!
Student subscriptions now available for $25! That’s just $5 a concert!
The Horn featuring Sean Jones
Friday, September 30, 2022, 8:00 p.m.
From the moments Buddy Bolden and Louis Armstrong released their golden, burnished tones into the world, jazz music has in large part developed through the clarion call of wind instruments. In modern music, there is no more essential practitioner of the brass arts than trumpeter Sean Jones, our guest for this concert. From intimate whispers to spirited shouts, Mr. Jones will evoke the previous masters of the craft through his own inimitable voice.
The Voice featuring Deborah Brown
Thursday, November 10, 2022, 7:00 p.m.
One of the hallmarks of jazz through the ages has been great artists sharing their stories, emotions, and perspective through music. Of all the rhythm, harmony, and melody in jazz, it is the human voice that consistently resonates in our ears and heart. Deborah Brown is one of the treasures in the music world; a pure master of her craft, and a consummate artist and storyteller. Her voice invites all of us to share in the human experience.
The Family
featuring Chloe and Lonnie McFadden
Tuesday, December 6, 2022, 7:00 p.m.
Jazz is often portrayed as a family tree, with branches running from folks like Bessie Smith to Charlie Parker to Herbie Hancock, intertwining here and there throughout the history of the music. Sometimes, though, we are blessed with generations of artists, talent and love for the music passed down from season to season. In Kansas City, one such legacy of royalty exists in the phenomenal McFaddens. Sharing their story are Lonnie and Chloe, inviting us all to a veritable holiday dinner where everyone is welcome.
The Future
featuring Lee Langston and Eboni Fondren
Friday, February 24, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
Jazz is a conversation best shared warmly: from those who have spent a lifetime working and developing their craft shared with those who hunger for the knowledge to take the music forward. Since Mary Lou Williams sat down at the piano with a young Dizzy Gillespie, jazz education has endured and matured to one of the most enriching opportunities for young people, whether they play or just want to listen. The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra embraces the future of the music through performance and education, and this concert is wholly built upon that tenet as we fill the Kauffman Center with learners of all ages.
The Root
Saturday, April 29, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
The root of jazz lies in another great Black American art form: the blues. But the relationship that Kansas City jazz has with the blues is unique, maintaining a strong association throughout the past century. From Mary Lou Williams (who brought the sound of Memphis along with her) to Charlie Parker (who developed his own bebop variation of the standard twelve-bar blues) to Bobby Watson and beyond, Kansas City jazz musicians have embodied this tradition in a hollistic, yet continually contemporary style. For this concert, we will be exploring these deep ties to celebrate and honor the root of the genre.