Now's the Time: Megan Birdsall and Diverse

Change, as the saying goes, is the only constant. Two acts that might otherwise have played at the still-shuttered Jardine's this weekend have gigs at relatively new venues on the Kansas City-area jazz scene. Megan Birdsall performs Friday, January 27, at Take Five Coffee + Bar. Her band includes bassist Ben Leifer, keyboardist Paul Smith and drummer Brian Steever. Hermon Mehari and Diverse perform "a selection of originals and covers inspired by music from Africa" on Saturday, January 28, at Kansas City Academy.