Review: Jazz in the Weeds

Jazz in the Weeds was cool.  Literally.  The temperature at the "pop-up" festival was at least ten degrees less than it was in Kansas City's central districts on Saturday.

The event was staged in the back of large lot behind a storage shed/barn near a lovely house.  The shaded grounds included free-range poultry and a goat pen.  Delightful!  A ten dollar donation came with tokens for a complimentary water and hotdog.  About sixty people enjoyed the excellent sound and relaxed ambience. 

I took in two performances in the ninety minutes I spent at the nifty event.  The Moon City Big Band is a fine kicks ensemble. One member graduated from high school two months ago while another is pushing 70.  Killer Strayhorn's winning set reminded me that the band is probably the closest thing Kansas City has to an act that embraces the sensibility of the ECM label.  (Plastic Sax's reviews of all three Killer Strayhorn albums are here).

I hope that the organizers of Jazz in the Weeds are willing to give it another go.  Kansas City desperately needs additional forums for jazz.  Besides, I'm eager to return to the spot that's seemingly exempt from this summer's heat wave.

(Original image of the Moon City Big Band and my tiny butterfly/moth friend by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Jazz in the Weeds

I laughed out loud the first time I read the name of the Jazz in the Weeds festival.  Event organizers are presumably spoofing the nearly jazz-free but incredibly popular Jazz in the Woods festival.  The prospect of paying ten dollars to sit in a field while sweating like the owner of a Kansas City jazz club, however, isn't nearly as amusing.  Even so, I'm tempted by the lineup on Saturday, July 28.  It includes Killer Strayhorn (who provide the music for the embedded noirish video), the Michael Pagán Quartet, the Moon City Big Band and OJT.    

Edit: A musician performing Saturday at Jazz in the Weeds objected to the tone and content of this preview. He urged me to post a brief clip of the James Ward Band's set at last weekend's event. He also suggests that "(b)y 530 pm everyone is in the shade."