KC Connection Jazz Band

Thu, Apr 23

The Wichita Jazz Festival presents The KC Connection Jazz Band Thursday, April 23rd at Wichita Art Museum, 1400 W. Museum Blvd., Wichita Kansas, 67203 Doors at 6:30. Concert at 7:30 $40 plus fees in advance or $40 plus tax at the door (unless Sold Out) Select Show Time in Green Box to Purchase Tickets The KC Connection featuring: Jeff Harshbarger - Bass Rod Fleeman - Guitar Matt Otto - Saxophone Brian Steever - Drums Roger Wilder - Piano About Jeff Harshbarger Bassist/vocalist/composer Jeff Harshbarger has collaborated with both visual artists (Nick Cave, David Ford, Molly Murphy) and musicians (Bobby Watson, Curtis Fuller, Francois Rabbath, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Bach Aria Soloists, David Balakrishnan, Jandek, Marcus Lewis, The People’s Liberation Big Band, Darol Anger, Eugene Chadbourne, Jimmy Karl Black) to produce work that challenges convention. Having contributed to over 100 recordings for albums, art installations and film, Harshbarger’s artistry has been featured at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the Banff Centre, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the Festival International d’Music, the Seaside Institute and the Steans’ Institute at Ravinia. Host of "Jazz in the Afternoon" on 90.1 FM KKFI, Harshbarger is the recipient of the Charlotte Street Generative Performing Artist Award, The Kennedy Center’s Betty Carter Fellowship and the Steans’ Institute Fellowship. About Rod Fleeman Rod Fleeman has been a professional guitarist for over 30 years. Following his studies at the University of Miami, Rod moved to New York City where he toured and recorded extensively with the jazz fusion group Dry Jack. Since returning to Kansas City in 1981, he has toured and recorded with such artists as Marilyn Maye, Karrin Allyson, Jay McShann, Claude Williams and Interstring. Rod currently serves on the staff at Kansas City Kansas Community College. About Matt Otto Matt Otto is currently the Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at Kansas University (KU) teaching Jazz Theory and Performance, Jazz Combo, Mindful Musicianship (meditation for musicians) and private lessons. Matt was also an Adjunct Professor at the Rutgers New Brunswick teaching online courses in jazz improvisation, theory and performance. Matt pursued his education in music performance and composition at Indiana University, Berklee School of Music, New School Jazz (BFA) and California Institute of the Arts (MFA) during which time he studied under Lee Konitz, George Garzone, Billy Pierce, Charlie Haden, Don Hawkins, Paul Carman and many others. Having lived in Japan for 6 years, New York City for 7 years and Los Angels for 6 years, he has performed with a variety of artists including Anthony Wilson, Larry Koonse, Rashid Bakr, Ben Monder, Willie Jones III, Albert “Tootie” Heath, Gregory Hutchinson, Jonathan Kreisberg, Joe La Barbera, Leroy Vinegar, Dick Berk, Bob Bowman, Jimmy Smith (drums), Paul Jackson, Ari Honig, Josh Roseman, Ben Street, Mike Moreno, Sara Gazarek, Josh Nelson, Peter Schlamb, Danny Weiss, Roger Wilder, William Parker, Matt Wilson, Ed Neumeister, Steve Cardenas, Bobby Watson, Bob Weir, Deborah Brown, Larry Goldings, Eric Harland, Sheryl Bailey, Darek Oles, Erik McPherson, John Stowell, Danny Embrey, Alan Pasqua, Alan Ferber, Mark Ferber, and many others. While in Los Angeles, Matt co-founded of the Los Angeles Jazz Collective (lajazzcollective.org). The mission of the collective (LAJC) is to help create opportunities for creative jazz composers and performers to showcase original artistic work and to set up an ongoing Jazz outreach program for young jazz musicians in and around Los Angeles. Matt currently performs his original compositions and jazz standards with his Kansas City based quartet as well as traveling several times per year to NYC and LA for performances and recordings. Matt has recorded and performed with the Grammy nominated Anthony Wilson Nonet (The Power of Nine, Groove Note 1035, 2006), The Rashid Bakr Quintet (Earth Native Majic Records 2001), has performed in Los Angeles with the Grammy Nominated Alan Ferber Big Band as well as having recorded on over 50 CD’s as both a leader and a side man. About Brian Steever Brian enjoys a wide variety of musical collaborations in the Kansas City area and beyond. He graduated from the Conservatory at UMKC in 2012 and attended Betty Carter Jazz Ahead in 2013 and 2014. In the meantime, he’s had occasion to play drums with some of the best musicians in world including Bob Bowman, Hermon Mehari, Danny Embrey, Deborah Brown, Jeff Harshbarger, Steve Cardenas and Matt Otto among many others. Keep in touch with Brian on instagram @briansteever About Roger Wilder Pianist Roger Wilder was born and raised in Rochester, N.Y. and received a Bachelor of Music from University of Miami in 1986. In 2000, the Wilder family moved to the Kansas City area, where Wilder performs with his own ensembles and as a sideman with various jazz artists and occasionally the Kansas City Symphony. He released his own cd “Stretch” in 2013 and has appeared on many cd’s by artists including Angela Hagenbach, Duffy Jackson, Mike Metheny, the Westport Art Ensemble, Dan Thomas, Bob Bowman, Adam Larson, the Sons of Brasil, and Stan Kessler. The Roger Wilder trio appears every Friday at the Majestic Restaurant. Mr. Wilder has served as adjunct jazz professor at the UMKC Conservatory for 15 years, where he has taught Jazz Piano, Jazz Theory, Jazz Ear Training, and Jazz Small Group. Since 2005 he has hosted his own Jazz Radio Show as "The Jazz Geek" on 90.1 fm KKFI (www.kkfi.org) Fridays from 1 to 3 pm CST.