In Lieu of 1000 Words: The KC Sound Collective at The Blue Room

I’ve said it before: My rediscovery of Kansas City’s jazz scene, bursting with amazing young talent, inspired the start of this blog nearly three years back.  So, when five of those exceptional musicians form a new group and release their first CD, you’ll find me at the release show. 

With Hermon Mehari on trumpet, Steve Lambert on tenor sax and flute, Andrew Ouellette on piano, Dominique Sanders on bass and Brad Williams on drums, The KC Sound Collective brings together five of the best young jazz musicians in Kansas City.  Their contemporary compositions and takes on more modern jazz standards draw an audience in during live performances.

Now The KC Sound Collective has released their first CD, In the Moment. The second CD release show was on the stage of The Blue Room last Thursday, May 24th. As the weather outside stormed, those of us in the club heard jazz from some of the musicians whose excellence is key to this music’s future.

The photos below show you how the evening looked. As always, clicking on one should open a larger version of it.

The KC Sound Collective. Left to right: Andrew Ouellette on piano, Steve Lambert on tenor sax, Dominique Sanders on bass, Hermon Mehari on trumpet, Brad Williams on drums.

Trumpeter Hermon Mehari

Steve Lambert on tenor sax

Steve and Hermon

Bassist Dominique Sanders

Hermon on trumpet and, behind him, Dominique on bass

Pianist Andrew Ouellette

Steve, Dominique and Hermon

Drummer Brad Williams

The KC Sound Collective at The Blue Room