This Weekend at the Blue Room — Jass, Pure Sweetness & Paganova
Thursday, September 3 – Monday, September 7
This week starts close enough to hear every word and builds from there. Jass opens Thursday with a free noon duo set. Friday begins with Darron J & Go Hard Band turning happy hour into a party, then Pure Sweetness fills the night with soul. Paganova brings Latin warmth and bebop fire on Saturday, and Ernest Melton closes the run by opening the bandstand to Kansas City’s players Monday night.
This Weekend’s Lineup
Thursday, September 3
12 pm — Jazz @ Noon: Jass Duo (free admission)
Friday, September 4
5:30 pm — Indigo Hour: Darron J & Go Hard Band ($5; AJM members free)
8:30 & 10 pm — Pure Sweetness ($10 per show)
Saturday, September 5
8:30 & 10 pm — Paganova ($10 per show)
Monday, September 7
7 pm — Monday Night Jam Session featuring Ernest Melton ($10; AJM members, musicians & students free)
Jazz @ Noon: Jass Duo — Thursday at 12 pm
Jass is a Kansas City-born vocalist, poet, producer, and multi-instrumentalist whose music draws from R&B, soul, gospel, funk, rock, and spoken word. Since releasing her first project in 2019, she has carried that sound to the Essence Festival of Culture and the Belfast International Arts Festival, opened for artists including Thundercat, Mereba, Tink, Brownstone, and Morris Day & The Time, and placed songs on Peacock’s Bel-Air.
The duo setting brings every detail closer — the warmth in her voice, the shape of each lyric, and the easy movement between old-school soul and something entirely her own. Free admission.
Indigo Hour: Darron J & Go Hard Band — Friday at 5:30 pm
Darron “DaRockboi” Cobbins does not simply perform — he throws a party. With more than 20 Indigo Hour appearances behind them, Darron J & Go Hard Band have become the Blue Room’s most familiar Friday happy-hour force, moving from smooth R&B and soul to funk, hip-hop, and dance-floor energy without missing a step.
Come early and let the Go Hard Band start the weekend. $5 at the door; AJM members are free.
Pure Sweetness — Friday at 8:30 & 10 pm
Gayle Price grew up singing in her grandfather’s Kansas City church, learning from her mother, Priscilla Bowman — the voice behind a number-one record and the woman known as “the original Rock and Roll Mama.” After raising a family and building a career, Price founded Pure Sweetness Entertainment Band in 2018 and stepped into the spotlight on her own terms.
Pure Sweetness lives up to its name with a soulfully melodic mix of R&B, gospel, pop, rock, and country — music powered by Price’s conviction that you are never too old to live your dream. Friday night, that dream gets two full sets on the Blue Room stage.
Paganova — Saturday at 8:30 & 10 pm
Pianist, composer, and arranger Michael Pagán leads Paganova into the space where bebop drive meets Latin warmth. The music knows the tradition cold without getting boxed in by it — crisp original writing, lyrical turns, hard swing, and improvisation that keeps opening new doors.
Paganova’s self-titled 2024 Capri Records album pairs five Pagán originals with inventive arrangements of Steve Swallow, Kenny Wheeler, and Clare Fischer. Pagán’s Blue Room sets can take different shapes, but the center holds: sophisticated writing, rhythmic lift, and a Latin-bop pulse that is intricate enough to follow every turn and warm enough to simply enjoy the ride.
Monday Night Jam Session featuring Ernest Melton — Monday at 7 pm
Saxophonist and composer Ernest Melton brings gospel roots, searching harmony, and the influence of John Coltrane and Miles Davis to the featured set. His music balances aggressive energy with a deep respect for the tradition — the right spark for a night built around discovery.
After Melton’s set, the bandstand opens to the room. Bring your horn, your voice, or just your ears. $10 general public; free for AJM members, musicians, and students.
The Blue Room · 1600 E 18th St, Kansas City, MO 64108
Full lineup and tickets anytime at americanjazzmuseum.org/blue-room