Jazzman Honored

Longtime Kansas City singer and jazz supporter Ray Reed has terminal cancer. He requires hospice care, and his medical bills are substantial. To help raise funds, 2009 Elder Statesmen of Jazz recipient and Oliver School of Music founder Toni Oliver has put together a jam session and roast. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own instruments so they can jam with some of KC’s finest — Luqman Hamza, the McFadden Brothers, Eugene Smiley Sr., Charles Williams, Just a Taste of Jazz, and Will Matthews of the Count Basie Orchestra. Guests will share memories of the 66-year-old jazzman (who started out in these parts in the early 1960s) throughout the session. All donations will go toward his care; the benefit, which runs from 3 to 7:00 p.m., also marks the one-year anniversary of the venue, Danny’s Big Easy (1601 Vine, 816-421-1200).

Sun., April 10, 3-7 p.m., 2011