Jazz Beat: Stan Kessler’s Force Five at the Green Lady Lounge

Few jazz musicians in Kansas City have created more bands than trumpeter Stan Kessler. And those bands aren’t one-and-done ensembles. His group Sons of Brazil celebrates a quarter-century together this month. Kessler’s newest band includes a musician who was a toddler when Sons played its first gig. But each member of Stan Kessler’s Force 5 is one of the best jazz bands in Kansas City today. On the second and fourth Monday of each month, at the Green Lady Lounge, Kessler on trumpet and flugelhorn, Steve Lambert on tenor and soprano sax and flute, Brett Jackson on baritone and tenor sax and flute, Ken Lovern on B3 organ and Brian Steever on drums play uptempo jazz with an emphasis on original compositions written specifically for this band.