Bobby Watson, alto saxophonist, composer and mentor, is the most important jazz musician in town right now, the chieftain of the Kansas City jazz tribe. So it’s only fitting that he gets to open the Folly Theater’s jazz series on Friday with his group.
Bobby Watson has given Kansas City jazz a gigantic shot in the arm — not just through his playing and writing, but also through his University of Missouri-Kansas City jazz program, which has drawn some incredibly creative young people to town, nurtured their musical dreams and given them all kinds of real-world advice and experience. That’s a primary reason he’s the chief right now. It’s rare that one person ever enriches a scene, anywhere, as much as Watson has in Kansas City over the last 15 years. Read more.