About this Event
The James Ward Band isn't just a house band at the Blue Room — they are the Blue Room. James Ward got the call from Gerald Dunn to fill in with the house ensemble back in January 1998, just months after the 18th & Vine district's revitalization launched. Angela found the Blue Room even earlier, wandering into the club during the district's opening festivities in September 1997 and sitting down at the piano. Nearly three decades later, they're still here — and the music has only gotten deeper.
James plays bass with a feel that moves between jazz, gospel, Latin, and classical — whatever the moment calls for. Angela brings harmonic sophistication shaped by decades of performing and teaching. Their son Jaylen holds down the drums — he first sat in with them at age six and has since performed internationally at jazz festivals in Shanghai and Chile, representing the American Jazz Museum alongside Bobby Watson and Charles Williams.
Nobody knows the Monday Night Jam like a family that's been holding down this stage for almost thirty years. They'll open the night with a featured set, then the bandstand opens up — bring your horn, your voice, or just your ears. Between their 250-plus performances a year and the Comprehensive Arts Institute they run for Kansas City's young musicians, lifting up the next player in the room is what the Wards do.
Free admission. Sign up at the door to sit in.
The Blue Room, 1600 E 18th St, Kansas City, MO 64108. Monday, June 8 at 7 pm.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Blue Room, 1600 East 18th Street, Kansas City, United States
USD 0.00
