Jazz Beat: The Nate Nall Quintet at the Westport Coffeehouse

Kansas City jazz continues to evolve, thanks in large part to Bobby Watson’s program at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. One of the next generation’s more promising names: trumpeter Nate Nall. With a style rooted in swing, he can prod and poke around a song’s edges and then light a room with fiery excitement. Nall has already performed with Watson’s big band and with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra. Thursday night, he brings his own quintet to the Westport Coffeehouse for a set of originals alongside arrangements that evoke modern influences, weaving jazz with hip-hop and a hint of indie rock. Joining Nall are A.J. Shank on tenor sax, Adam Sclozman on guitar, Nathan Pence on bass and Zach Morrow on drums.