JAZZ BEAT: Steve Lambert Quartet plays the Blue Room Thursday night

Part of Kansas City jazz’s fresh generation, tenor-sax and flute man Steve Lambert plays with a rich tone and uncommon inventiveness, testing new directions while filtering the standards through his own contemporary yet respectful voice. Over the years, Lambert’s sound has matured, his experimentation growing more refined; he’s still unafraid to poke and prod, but he has also embraced elegance in a way that comes only with experience. It’s been a while since Lambert has fronted his own quartet in a KC club, which makes Thursday at the Blue Room a bit special. With Andrew Oulette on piano, Dominique Sanders on bass and Matt Leifer on drums, the Steve Lambert Quartet presents a night of original compositions.

Steve Lambert Quartet
7 p.m. Thursday, September 1, at the Blue Room, 1600 East 18th Street (free)