Live performances include Lynn Zimmer and Friends, Eddie Moore, and the Deborah Brown Quartet.

Schedule:

1 p.m.: Lynn Zimmer and Friends featuring pop music from the 1930s
2 p.m.: Eddie Moore
3 p.m.: JCCC Jazz Ensemble (led by Ryan Heinlein)
4 p.m.: Guest Lecture by Libby Hanssen
7:30 p.m.: Deborah Brown Quartet - “My Journey”

Bios

Lynn Zimmer and Friends

Jazz clarinetist Lynn Zimmer and his group play the music of early New Orleans jazz, plus many wonderful standards from the 1930s and '40s – the music of the “Great American Songbook.” Most recently, Zimmer and his group played at Dick Hawk's Gaslight Grill in Leawood for 11 consecutive years-five nights every week. Zimmer is the clarinetist with Kansas City's own New Red Onion Jazz Babies and the KC Dixieland Band.

Prior to that, he worked and toured with the famed Swing Era bandleader Clyde McCoy, Turk Murphy’s Jazz Band in San Francisco, and Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Al Hirt in New Orleans. Along the way, he had the pleasure of playing many live performances with Nashville saxophonist/recording artist Boots Randolph.

Each member of the quartet has impressive credentials and decades of experience performing in Kansas City and across the country. Enjoy them as they perform the music of this Golden Era—from gentle, easy-listening tunes to blues, jazz, and swing!

Eddie Moore

Eddie Moore is a keyboardist whose music and creativity runs deep through his veins. He began his musical journey in Houston’s Third Ward, an area credited with some of the deepest roots in Black American Music. Moore earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas Southern University and a master’s in jazz studies from UMKC. He is also a Jazz Lecturer at the University of Kansas. Moore has been credited as “Pulling Kansas City Jazz into the Future.” His music incorporates a myriad of styles, including R&B, Hip Hop, Neo Soul, and Rock all filtered through jazz. He seeks to share the common human experiences of love, loss, joy, and perseverance with every composition. Houston has produced some of the most innovative jazz musicians of the culture, whereas Kansas City has always been home to a more traditional sound. Join Eddie Moore in this transcendental journey of jazz.

JCCC Jazz Ensemble directed by Ryan Heinlein

Under the JCCC Music Department and the direction of Ryan Heinlein, the JCCC Jazz Band performs several free concerts throughout the year. Students also play at events around the metro area and participate in educational opportunities to play with professional musicians such as the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra and Hanover Big Band. They've also participated in master classes with saxophonist Benny Golson, trumpeter Roger Ingram, saxophonist Jaleel Shaw and trumpeter and composer Sean Jones. In 2023, they played at the Jazz Education Network conference in Orlando.

Dr. Ryan Heinlein is an Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Music, Theater and Record Arts department at Johnson County Community College where he conducts the jazz and concert bands. He holds degrees in trombone performance from Wichita State University and the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Ryan serves as the jazz education advisor to the Kansas Music Educators Association and is a highly sought after adjudicator and clinician.

Ryan remains an active performer around the Midwest. His versatility has allowed him to play with groups such as the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, the Marcus Lewis Big Band, The Northland Symphony, Michael Feinstein, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the Harry James Orchestra, the Buckinghams, the Four Tops, Making Movies, Ana Popovich, and Frankie Negron. Ryan is a Conn-Selmer endorsing artist.

Libby Hanssen

Originally from Indiana, Libby Hanssen is a writer based in Kansas. She is the author of States of Swing: The History of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, 2003-2023, and has written for KCUR 89.3 FM, 91.9 Classical KC, KC Studio, The Kansas City Star, The Pitch, and other publications. She earned degrees in trombone performance from Ball State University and UMKC Conservatory, with additional studies at Indiana University Jacob School of Music. She was also a Fellow for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Arts Journalism Institute at Columbia University. Libby maintains the culture blog Proust Eats a Sandwich.

Deborah Brown Quartet

Deborah Brown has been an artist since 1972. You can only imagine all the places she’s been, people she’s met, and experiences she’s had. For this performance, she’ll share her story of well-known jazz artists, her brief encounter with Michael Jackson, a dinner with Quincy Jones, and an evening with Mel Tormé. In between stories, the music of the American songbook will be featured with visiting Portland pianist George Colligan, who has recorded with Brown in New York (Songbird), bassist Ben Liefer, and drummer John Kizilarmut.

Since the early '90s, Colligan has worked with heavyweights of the genre such as Lee Konitz, Benny Golson, Buster Williams, Michael Brecker, John Scofield, Linda May Han Oh, and Jack DeJohnette, amongst many others. Liefer, a favorite artist in Kansas City, has been on the A-list and the first to receive a call for an engagement. Kizilarmut performs regularly with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra and has released a recent recording at The Green Mill in Chicago.

Tickets:

One-day pass - $35 (general admission) or Two-day pass - $50 (general admission)
Premium two-day pass - $40 (general admission when purchased with “New Orleans Songbook” tickets)

Location: Yardley Hall and Polsky Theatre are located in the Midwest Trust Center on the campus of Johnson County Community College.

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