MUSIC AT THE MARKET

A Couple Duets

Friday, July 26  | 4:30-7:00pm

Kansas City’s latest premier jazz performers. Paul and Brooke blend pop, jazz, blues, and soul into their own unique style.  They met while performing in Alaska, and then wove together a romance and a professional career.  They live in Overland Park with their 3 instruments and a garage full of children.

Cynthia van Roden

Saturday, July 27 | 4:30-7:00pm

Cynthia van Roden’s playfulness, lush contralto, and sophisticated delivery will transport you back to another era. This chanteuse adds a glamorous glow to her unique set of vintage jazz, swing, standards, blues, bossa nova, Latin and French songs.

Cynthia was nominated this year for KC’s Favorite Vocalist by KC Jazz Ambassadors, and the quartet nominated for The Best Jazz Band by The Pitch.

Lynn Zimmer

Friday, August 2 | 4:30-7:00pm

Lynn Zimmer was surrounded by Dixieland and Swing-era albums in his childhood home at the Lake of the Ozarks. By the time he was 19, he had started gigging professionally on clarinet at the lake’s Osage Beach. Just three years, later Lynn auditioned for and toured with Clyde McCoy, whose famous recording of “Sugar Blues” sold millions.

Next came stints in Kansas City – most notably with the New Red Onion Jazz Babies – and San Francisco – with the legendary Turk Murphy. In 1990, Lynn moved to New Orleans and was hired by the internationally known, Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Al Hirt. For the next year and a half, Lynn toured with Hirt and played in his nightclub on Bourbon Street. “I’ve had good clarinet players in my band for many years,” Hirt once said. “In my opinion, the finest has been Lynn Zimmer.”

Lynn eventually moved back to the Lake of the Ozarks and performed at Dick Hawk’s Country Club Hotel & Spa for twelve years. It was there he began his friendship with legendary Nashville recording artist Boots Randolph, of “Yakety Sax” fame, resulting in countless live performances and a CD recording together.

Marvin Gruenbaum Jazz Ensemble

Saturday, August 3  | 4:30-7:00pm

Marvin is a Kansas City Symphony viola player as well as a versatile C/W/Bluegrass “fiddler” and Jazz violinist. During his 40+ year tenure with the KC Symphony, he has been featured dozens of times as a soloist on Jazz and Bluegrass arrangements, most notably on his own unique arrangement of Ervin Rouse’s “Orange Blossom Special.”

Concurrent with his KC Symphony tenure, Marvin was the fiddle player with iconic local Bluegrass band Spontaneous Combustion (1986-2008), played Jazz violin with “Best of KC” band, A La Mode, and currently shares the stage with the Hot Strings Quartet and award-winning Western Swing band, 3 Trails West.

Marvin Gruenbaum Jazz Ensemble seeks to present innovative bluesy and swingy “conversations” between violin, guitar, clarinet/sax and string bass, with a focus on popular Jazz repertoire: swing tunes and ballads from the American songbook, gypsy jazz, blues, and bossa nova.

Hot Strings Trio

Friday, August 9  |  4:30-7:00pm

The Hot Strings began as a trio in the summer of 2014. The unique presence of the mandolin in the ensemble allows for an eclectic “acoustic jazz” ambiance which might be heard on the streets of Paris or Rome. The musical banter between soloists combined with unwavering rhythmic integrity promotes the best of our Kansas City jazz heritage.

Violinist Marvin Gruenbaum is classically trained and serves as a current member of the Kansas City Symphony. He is renowned as a violinist/fiddler with numerous jazz and alternative groups.

Mandolinist Bruce Graybill, former president of the Classical Mandolin Society, is a multi-year winner of the prestigious mandolin contest at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. He is a versatile jazz/bluegrass player and an in-demand national clinician.

Guitarist Charles Gatschet is a popular, long time veteran of the Kansas City jazz scene.

Bassist Nils Aardahl, who is a recently contracted (2022) member of the KC Symphony, is also a highly skilled jazz bassist and welcome new addition to The Hot Strings.

Carrie Cooley

Saturday, August 10  |  4:30-7:00pm

Carrie Cooley is a professional vocalist and new face in the Kansas City jazz scene. She holds a masters degree in voice, and has sung professionally across several genres.

Carrie has a warm, dynamic voice, and engaging interpretation of jazz standards from the great American songbook from Ella Fitzgerald to Etta James.

Emily Dix

Friday, August 16 | 4:30-7:00pm

Emily is from Prairie Village, KS and started performing live jazz in 2018. With a repertoire of mostly jazz standards and classics from the Great American Songbook, she sings with a range of talented Kansas City musicians in a revolving ensemble.

Learn more at emilydixmusic.com

Jackie Myers

Saturday, August 17 | 4:30-7:00pm

Jackie Myers may have the Midas touch for groove, conjuring up musical styles ranging from soul, jazz and modern R&B each time the talented pianist places her hands on the keys.

Daytrotter’s Pat Stolley says of Jackie’s music “It reminds me of Joni Mitchell’s jazz period.” The finesse on her chosen instrument plays complement to what the Austin Chronicle describes as “her earthy lungs” – beautiful, captivating, complex, and always with an edge.

Learn more at jackiemyersmusic.com.

Mikole Kaar

Friday, August 23 | 4:30-7:00pm

Born in New York City, Mikole began studying clarinet at the age of nine. He was mentored by the great Clifford Scott, whom he knew growing up simply as”Scotty.” Junior Walker and King Curtis were also some Mikole’s R&B idols. Mikole continued to perfect his craft becoming both a clarinet & flute major in college.

In 1985, Mikole traveled to Europe to play jazz and in 1986, his original album, “Back to the Heart” was recorded and released in Germany on Heliocon Records. He later returned to theStates and continued playing with jazz greats, among them Russell Freeman, Ti Lavitz, David Benoit, Johnny Hammond Smith, The Temptations, Bo Diddley, JoeCocker, Rita Moreno, Otis Rush, Cash McCall, Bonnie Bramlett, TheDrifters, the Coasters, The Platters, The Inkspots, and Al Wilson.

In 2003 Mikole traveled to China to do a run of shows in Hong Kong (performing at the Foreign Correspondents Club withAllen Youngblood) and Shanghai (at The Mandarin Gate with Dwight Dickerson and at The Ritz with Danny Woody).

Mikole has also appeared on several movie and television soundtracks. He has played in Europe, Hong Kong, and several International Jazz Festivals around the globe.

Jenna Bauer

Saturday, August 24  | 4:30-7:00pm

Flirting with Great American Songbook Standards, Jenna Bauer fills her setlists with songs that tell stories everyone can relate to.

Thoughtful and warm vocals from Bauer are complemented by the band as they reinterpret these classic melodies for today.

Learn more at facebook.com/JennaBauerMusic

Heidi Mikhael Band

Friday, August 30 | 4:30-7:00pm

Heidi Mikhail performs choice song selections ranging from jazz standards to modern pop and soul.

Cynthia van Roden

Saturday, August 31 | 4:30-7:00pm

Cynthia van Roden’s playfulness, lush contralto, and sophisticated delivery will transport you back to another era. This chanteuse adds a glamorous glow to her unique set of vintage jazz, swing, standards, blues, bossa nova, Latin and French songs.

Cynthia was nominated this year for KC’s Favorite Vocalist by KC Jazz Ambassadors, and the quartet nominated for The Best Jazz Band by The Pitch.