Friday Night and the Green Lady Lounge

Bobby Watson put together a big band and, with the Kansas City Symphony, crammed the Kauffman Center. At the same time, The Folly stood nearly half filled – better than recent shows – for Kenny Garrett. Stan Kessler’s quartet was playing Louie’s Wine Dive over at 71st and Wornall. Ken Lovern’s trio entertained a packed Kill Devil Club downtown while Charles Williams brought piano mastery to The Blue Room at 18th and Vine and Michael Pagán’s trio played The Majestic’s one-time speakeasy and Rob Foster’s violin fronted Take Five way out in Leawood. Later, overnight, crowds would swarm the Mutual Musicians Foundation. And let’s not forget that Lonnie McFadden opened the night at The Phoenix.

So don’t try to tell me jazz is dead in Kansas City.

Especially when you can add another new club to the list.

By 9:00 on Friday night, on Grand Boulevard just south of 18th Street, in the Crossroads district, the Green Lady Lounge was filling up for Mark Lowrey on piano, Sam Wisman on drums and Shay Estes’s vocals.

With jazz six nights a week, the Green Lady Lounge is growing an urban audience in a distinctive space.

If listening to jazz in Leawood’s Take Five is like enjoying a live band with friends in your uncle’s living room, walking into the Green Lady Lounge is like stepping back in time some 70 years. This must be what it felt like in the jazz bars lining 12th Street when Count Basie and Mary Lou Williams played them. A long, thin space, the bar hugs one wall and black booths the other. A few tables sprinkle the front and back. A tin ceiling hangs overhead. Everything is red: the drapes, the walls. But near the front, as you step inside the door, sits a magnificent grand piano and the space where a jazz band performs. The room can be noisy, but speakers line the walls to carry the music just right.

The Blue Room books wonderful music, but looks like what it is: a bar in a museum. The Kill Devil Club is a modern delight. The Mutual Musicians Foundation is authentic history, and downstairs at the Majestic retains its speakeasy heritage. But there is something about this space – maybe it’s the red walls, or the faux-classic paintings hanging on them that pretend to bestow class, or maybe it’s that big grand piano greeting you – that transcends time and leaves 2013 outside the front door.

It’s an urban juke joint with a neighborhood atmosphere. Last Friday night, the crowd was friendly, predominantly thirty-somethings, not your stereotypical jazz aged. Some danced. The staff was welcoming. Drinks were priced reasonably. Food is a short offering of small plates. The one I sampled was quite good. The music was superb. Parking, as in most of the Crossroads district, is challenging. But if you don’t mind walking a block, south of 19th Street on Grand, at least last weekend, sat plenty of unused on-street spots.

The Green Lady Lounge is quietly building an urban jazz delight. Their website is here. Their calendar is here. Their Facebook page is here.

In Lieu of 1000 Words: Shay Estes & Trio ALL

These photos are already KC jazz history. Almost.

Shay Estes and Trio ALL are a key example of the spectacular young jazz talent gracing Kansas City today, the type of talent which inspired me to start this blog. Shay sings, while ALL is an acronym for drummer Zack Albetta, pianist Mark Lowrey and bassist Ben Leifer (note the first letter of each last name).

But, alas, later this summer bassist Ben is bolting to New York City, after a stint in Paris. I wish Ben the best but, damn, I hate to see him go. New York, you may not know it yet, but your jazz scene is about to get even better.

You'd know it if you heard this group. The camaraderie and the respect they hold for each other, from years of performing together, shines through on stage. And all the while that talent plays through in a blend of modern takes on jazz classics and jazz takes on modern pop, deftly arranged, spiced with solos of imagination and wit, topped by soaring vocals.

Of course, we’ll always have their CD, Despite Your Destination, released last year (I’ll always have it, anyway). Now we also have photos of their performance on April 21st at Jardine’s. And a straggler shot of Shay and Ben from a February 13th show at the same locale.

You can find out where to find Shay Estes and Trio ALL's remaining shows together – and upcoming shows with an updated group – on Shay's web site, here (music plays when you open it, so take care if opening at work). For now, here's how their April gig looked (as always, clicking on a photo should open a larger version of it):

Left to right: Mark Lowrey, piano; Shay Estes, vocals; Ben Leifer, bass; Zack Albetta, drums

Shay Estes

Shay and Mark

Mark Lowrey on Wurlitzer

Shay and Ben

Ben Leifer on bass

Zack Albetta on drums

Shay Estes and Trio ALL

From a February show at Jardine's, Ben and Shay