JAM: April/May 2005 Issue: Feature Story

I suppose this story could have started most any year, but since we didn't get to Kansas City until 1997, the high school graduating class of 1998 is the best I can do. As far as I know, it may have always been like this.

If the jazz world were the NBA or the NFL, they'd call it a “deep draft.” That is when there is an exceptionally lengthy list of promising young athletes.

But this is the jazz world, where one might be surprised if there is even a single talented young musician who is interested in finding his or her musical voice in Bird's music. It's not like this music is waiting around in every radio station change or MTV video. The music is around, for sure, but you have to be willing to seek it out, meet it on its own terms.

Starting in 1998, the deep drafts started to graduate from high schools in the Kansas City area. There were the precocious ones from the Paseo Academy: Harold O'Neal, Seth Lee, Logan Richardson, and Ryan Howard. But there are others, also. Mark Lowrey arrived from Oak Park High School, and Matt Hopper came from Shawnee Mission Northwest.

Their developmental paths have been different, ranging from working as much as possible with the best this region offers to attending prestigious schools from Kansas City to Boston and New York. I spent some time in March catching up with this up-and-coming generation of Kansas City musicians.

Logan Richardson, Alto saxophone

After graduating from the Paseo Academy, Logan attended the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston and then at UMKC with Bobby Watson. But New York was his goal.

“New York City is always where I had to be,” alto man Logan Richardson told me on our recent phone conversation. “There is just so much always happening here. The resources, the players, and the venues put you in a constant learning environment. If you are serious about playing improvised music, or being a part of most any art form, this is the place to be. It is a level setting place, just the magnitude of what is going on, it's constant. It is also very humbling, there is always someone out there who can cut you. There are so many technically proficient players, it's sort of sickening. You always have to bring your best. These players will keep you in check.”

Logan has a very clean sound on his horn, and has developed tremendous technical fluency over the years. His solo statements are often full of long melodic lines. Ideas just seem to flow, he has been seemingly bursting with things to say on the horn since I first heard him. I mentioned that since high school, the most startling change has been the control he has over the horn. “Thanks, it's great to hear you say that, but it doesn't always sound that way in the practice room!”

“I have met some great people in New York. I studied with (fellow alto player) Vincent Herring at the New School, which I plan on graduating from in the fall. The leader gigs have been rare, although on January 18th I took my group into the Jazz Standard. It was part of a series that Greg Osby initiated for new leaders. That went really well. Greg has been a great supporter. He believes in me quite a bit. It's very flattering. I've been looking to get my group recorded by a major label, and Greg has been sort of representing me.

“I have also had some good sideman gigs. I played with vibist Stefon Harris at the Knitting Factory. At the end of the month I am recording with Joe Chambers, for his new CD. I also will be doing some recording with Nasheet Watts (son of the late percussion great Freddie Waits). Nasheet has been a great friend, beyond the music, he has taken more of a personal interest in me.

“I had excellent teachers in Kansas City. Clarence Smith, our jazz band director at Paseo, was an important early teacher. Ahmed Alaadeen has been a great supporter, as has Gerald Dunn. I really appreciate Gerald getting me gigs at the Blue Room when I'm in town!”

“In town” seems to be a place that Logan won't be as frequently as we would like. In addition to his studies at the New School, he has a great job working at the Sam Ash musical instrument store in NYC, doing woodwind repair. “I've been learning from Mike Manning, he is a master builder of his own line of custom horns. Wessell Anderson of the Lincoln Center orchestra plays his horns.”

Logan will get back to Kansas City in early May. He is scheduled to play at the Coda concert (May 21), and there is a another gig on May 7th at a gallery. I recommend catching him every chance you get, as it sounds like hometown appearances will be less and less. But there will always be a stage here for Logan, and that stage will surely be in the best listening room in the city.

Mark Lowrey, piano

“I am now in my freshman year at the UMKC Conservatory,” Mark Lowrey told me in our phone conversation. “I received the Sullivan Scholarship, which Hal Melia encouraged me to apply for.”

Mark has increased his presence around town in the past year, appearing in bands with a broad variety. “I have been playing with Lonnie McFadden every Sunday at the Majestic. He is very professional, and stresses putting on an entertaining show, so I have learned from that in addition to his music.”

“On Mondays, I play solo at the Grand Street Cafe on the Plaza. I also have my own trio, which stretches the music a little more. We play regularly at Boozefish and the Cup and Saucer.” An email to Mark at marlowrey@hotmail.com will get you on his gig mailing list.

“My favorite bands right now are more avant-garde, like the Malachy Papers and Snuff Jazz. Their musical palette is so wide; one minute they're playing Monk, then more hip-hop and rock, then free jazz. I like their genre juxtaposition. It's a very fresh, surprising approach.”

Such joy of variety is apparent in Mark's other regular gigs as well. “At UMKC, Doug Auwater has formed a band called Makusa. We play about two-thirds Cuban and one-third Brazilian music. The band started as a class, and we have played at Jardine's and the Jazzhaus in Lawrence. We just received an Outstanding Combo award at the Elmhurst Jazz Festival, too.

“I am attracted to the music of Central and South America. I played with Tango Lorca for a while; they play Argentinean music, bled into improvisational and jazz styles. I love rhumba and salsa, mixing these styles together.”

“There are so many people that have influenced me. Brad Cox has been a mentor. Roger Wilder—he's my favorite pianist in town. Bobby Watson has been a profound influence.”

Add to this activity the rock-funk band Fat Finger, who he has worked with the past few months. “I also work with a wonderful singer, Shay Estes, she sings like Ella. Oh, and Stan Kessler's TV band, we play television themes; that's a blast, fun and creative.” Mark is on the recent CD release of this band, which also includes bassist Jeff Harshbarger and guitarist Jake Blanton.

With all of this activity, Mark thinks his greatest strength is sight-reading, which was aided by occasional Tuesday Boulevard Big Band gigs at Harling's. “They have like 300 charts—great charts; this was a great educational gig.”

As for the future, what might he be doing in another four years? “Well, I'll be just finishing at UMKC. I don't foresee leaving Kansas City. I am blessed to be able to play with such great musicians.”

Join us again in the June/July issue, when we continue talking to Seth Lee, Harold O'Neal, Matt Hopper, and Ryan Howard.






	Search our site:		I suppose this story could have started most any year, but since we didn't get to Kansas City until 1997, the high school graduating class of 1998 is the best I can do. As far as I know, it may have always been like this. If the jazz world were the NBA or the NFL, they'd call it a “deep draft.” That is when there is an exceptionally lengthy list of promising young athletes. But this is the jazz world, where one might be surprised if there is even a single talented young musician who is interested in finding his or her musical voice in Bird's music. It's not like this music is waiting around in every radio station change or MTV video. The music is around, for sure, but you have to be willing to seek it out, meet it on its own terms. Starting in 1998, the deep drafts started to graduate from high schools in the Kansas City area. There were the precocious ones from the Paseo Academy: Harold O'Neal, Seth Lee, Logan Richardson, and Ryan Howard. But there are others, also. Mark Lowrey arrived from Oak Park High School, and Matt Hopper came from Shawnee Mission Northwest. Their developmental paths have been different, ranging from working as much as possible with the best this region offers to attending prestigious schools from Kansas City to Boston and New York. I spent some time in March catching up with this up-and-coming generation of Kansas City musicians. Logan Richardson, Alto saxophone After graduating from the Paseo Academy, Logan attended the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston and then at UMKC with Bobby Watson. But New York was his goal. “New York City is always where I had to be,” alto man Logan Richardson told me on our recent phone conversation. “There is just so much always happening here. The resources, the players, and the venues put you in a constant learning environment. If you are serious about playing improvised music, or being a part of most any art form, this is the place to be. It is a level setting place, just the magnitude of what is going on, it's constant. It is also very humbling, there is always someone out there who can cut you. There are so many technically proficient players, it's sort of sickening. You always have to bring your best. These players will keep you in check.” Logan has a very clean sound on his horn, and has developed tremendous technical fluency over the years. His solo statements are often full of long melodic lines. Ideas just seem to flow, he has been seemingly bursting with things to say on the horn since I first heard him. I mentioned that since high school, the most startling change has been the control he has over the horn. “Thanks, it's great to hear you say that, but it doesn't always sound that way in the practice room!” “I have met some great people in New York. I studied with (fellow alto player) Vincent Herring at the New School, which I plan on graduating from in the fall. The leader gigs have been rare, although on January 18th I took my group into the Jazz Standard. It was part of a series that Greg Osby initiated for new leaders. That went really well. Greg has been a great supporter. He believes in me quite a bit. It's very flattering. I've been looking to get my group recorded by a major label, and Greg has been sort of representing me. “I have also had some good sideman gigs. I played with vibist Stefon Harris at the Knitting Factory. At the end of the month I am recording with Joe Chambers, for his new CD. I also will be doing some recording with Nasheet Watts (son of the late percussion great Freddie Waits). Nasheet has been a great friend, beyond the music, he has taken more of a personal interest in me. “I had excellent teachers in Kansas City. Clarence Smith, our jazz band director at Paseo, was an important early teacher. Ahmed Alaadeen has been a great supporter, as has Gerald Dunn. I really appreciate Gerald getting me gigs at the Blue Room when I'm in town!” “In town” seems to be a place that Logan won't be as frequently as we would like. In addition to his studies at the New School, he has a great job working at the Sam Ash musical instrument store in NYC, doing woodwind repair. “I've been learning from Mike Manning, he is a master builder of his own line of custom horns. Wessell Anderson of the Lincoln Center orchestra plays his horns.” Logan will get back to Kansas City in early May. He is scheduled to play at the Coda concert (May 21), and there is a another gig on May 7th at a gallery. I recommend catching him every chance you get, as it sounds like hometown appearances will be less and less. But there will always be a stage here for Logan, and that stage will surely be in the best listening room in the city. Mark Lowrey, piano “I am now in my freshman year at the UMKC Conservatory,” Mark Lowrey told me in our phone conversation. “I received the Sullivan Scholarship, which Hal Melia encouraged me to apply for.” Mark has increased his presence around town in the past year, appearing in bands with a broad variety. “I have been playing with Lonnie McFadden every Sunday at the Majestic. He is very professional, and stresses putting on an entertaining show, so I have learned from that in addition to his music.” “On Mondays, I play solo at the Grand Street Cafe on the Plaza. I also have my own trio, which stretches the music a little more. We play regularly at Boozefish and the Cup and Saucer.” An email to Mark at marlowrey@hotmail.com will get you on his gig mailing list. “My favorite bands right now are more avant-garde, like the Malachy Papers and Snuff Jazz. Their musical palette is so wide; one minute they're playing Monk, then more hip-hop and rock, then free jazz. I like their genre juxtaposition. It's a very fresh, surprising approach.” Such joy of variety is apparent in Mark's other regular gigs as well. “At UMKC, Doug Auwater has formed a band called Makusa. We play about two-thirds Cuban and one-third Brazilian music. The band started as a class, and we have played at Jardine's and the Jazzhaus in Lawrence. We just received an Outstanding Combo award at the Elmhurst Jazz Festival, too. “I am attracted to the music of Central and South America. I played with Tango Lorca for a while; they play Argentinean music, bled into improvisational and jazz styles. I love rhumba and salsa, mixing these styles together.” “There are so many people that have influenced me. Brad Cox has been a mentor. Roger Wilder—he's my favorite pianist in town. Bobby Watson has been a profound influence.” Add to this activity the rock-funk band Fat Finger, who he has worked with the past few months. “I also work with a wonderful singer, Shay Estes, she sings like Ella. Oh, and Stan Kessler's TV band, we play television themes; that's a blast, fun and creative.” Mark is on the recent CD release of this band, which also includes bassist Jeff Harshbarger and guitarist Jake Blanton. With all of this activity, Mark thinks his greatest strength is sight-reading, which was aided by occasional Tuesday Boulevard Big Band gigs at Harling's. “They have like 300 charts—great charts; this was a great educational gig.” As for the future, what might he be doing in another four years? “Well, I'll be just finishing at UMKC. I don't foresee leaving Kansas City. I am blessed to be able to play with such great musicians.” Join us again in the June/July issue, when we continue talking to Seth Lee, Harold O'Neal, Matt Hopper, and Ryan Howard. RETURN TO APRIL/MAY 2005 MAIN INDEX © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2005. All rights reserved.