This festival will celebrate Kansas City jazz icon throughout August
“Spotlight: Charlie Parker,” Kansas City’s celebration of its hometown jazz legend, kicks off Sunday, Aug. 3, and runs through most of August.
Born in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1920, Parker grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, where he learned to play the saxophone and made a name for himself before becoming a jazz icon in New York.
Parker had a short but influential career as a musician, bandleader and composer, helping to introduce a new era of jazz that emphasized fast tempos and improvisation. Battling drug addiction and alcoholism, he died in New York in 1955 at the age of 34.
The annual event, which the group Kansas City Jazz Alive has held since 2014 to celebrate Parker’s birthday, includes panel discussions, film screenings, social events and live music. Go to kcjazzalive.org for a complete schedule.
Highlights of Charlie Parker celebration
Spotlight: Charlie Parker Opening Brunch, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Aug. 3, The Phoenix, 302 W. Eighth St. Free.
KC Bier Co. Bird Garten, featuring Bram and Lucy Wijnands and Kadesh Flow, 5-9 p.m. Aug. 7, KC Bier Co., 310 W. 79th St. Free.
Kansas City Jazz Alive 18th and Vine Walking Tour, 10 a.m.-noon, Aug. 16, starts at Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, 1616 E. 18th St. $28.52.
Vivid Visions: Memories of Bird, panel discussion, 6 p.m. Aug. 19, The Blue Room, 1600 E. 18th St. $23.18.
“Spotlight: Charlie Parker,” featuring Kansas City Jazz Orchestra and Lonnie McFadden, 7 p.m. Aug. 23, Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St. $28-$80 (kcjo.org/tickets).
