Jazz Festival

Recap: The sights and sounds of the 2014 Prairie Village Jazz Festival

  Jay Senter 
Shay_Estes_Jazz_Fest
Shay Estes opened her set with a song about September rains — a reminder of the microburst that wiped out the event in 2011 — but the skies were clear and the temperatures perfect for this year’s event.

There was to be no complaining about the weather for this year’s Prairie Village Jazz Festival.

With a picture perfect early September Saturday as the background, thousands of music lovers from northeast Johnson County and across the metro packed the Harmon Park hill to hear a highly touted slew of acts.

The day opened with a performance from SM East’s own jazz band, the Blue Knights, who dipped into the jazz standards catalogue with pieces from greats like Duke Ellington:

By 4:30, more than 1,000 adults had entered the gates, and were on hand to see sets from Shay Estes as well as the Jazz Disciples. Shay Estes sings below:

The crowd just kept growing for the evening act, the Bram Wijnands Swingtet, before first headliner Kevin Mahogany took the stage:

Mahogany

Deborah Brown was ably assisted by trumpeteer Terell Stafford and saxophonist Joe Lovano for the closing headline set:

Headliner Deborah Brown with Terell Stafford and Joe Lovano capped off the evening.
Headliner Deborah Brown with Terell Stafford and Joe Lovano capped off the evening.