Jazz Series

Our second season of the Left Field Series with our friends and partners at @wealwaysswing is in the books! Thanks to all who came out with open ears, hearts and minds to support sometimes challenging and always critically engaged music! Here’s just a cursory glance at the series in review featuring performances from @naturalinformationsociety @bsa.gold @thebadplus @billdmackay @kellymoran__ @carolinedavismusic and @weareallbighere We’re already hard at work on the 26-27 Left Field Series lineup which will once again feature 4 concerts welcoming to Columbia world class artists operating outside the confines of convention. We’re hoping to share our entire season lineup at our fundraising party, June 14th at Waves Cider Company - put it on your calendars now! Photos 2-4, 8-10 by @lucagi.ordano

Today on The Daily Blend, we’re joined by Josh Chittum, assistant director of the We Always Swing Jazz Series, to preview a jam-packed Jazz Appreciation Month filled with incredible performances. Hear about the visiting artists “we’re really lucky to have” and get ready to mark your calendar! 🎷✨ #thedailyblendwac Special thanks to… @kbianews @mujschool

Get tickets at the link below- /events/253806

We know what you need! A saxophone summit special offer! Save big when you bundle tickets to Branford Marsalis Quartet’s April 3 concert and Caroline Davis’s April 4 solo concert. Tickets and more information can be found by calling 573 449 3009 or visiting we always swing dot org

See you at Friday March 6 Left Field Series with @kellymoran__ and @billdmackay presented by @dismalniche and @wealwaysswing Stretch your ears out in the intimate and resonant confines of the Whitmore Recital Hall on University of Missouri’s campus. At the intersection of contemporary classical, minimalism, jazz and electronic music, audience members are in for an immersive evening of deep-listening with performances from pianist Kelly Moran and guitarist Bill MacKay. Friday, March 6, 2026 at Whitmore Recital Hall 7:00-9:00 PM Seated show Free entry for True/False’s Super, Silver, Center and Stay Up Late passholders. Limited capacity, show your valid pass at the door for entry. Other pass levels and attendees can purchase $25 General Admission tickets through @wealwaysswing Cinema Masterpiece by @noahschmitz_ and @rlhuhmann .

Caroline Davis’ dreams for playing music come from a desire to connect and a wish for listeners to expand their ears, minds, and hearts. Her Swedish-British family moved from Singapore to the US around age 6, where she enjoyed R&B, full of horns that lured her to choose the saxophone. Caroline’s musical expression covers a wide range of styles that have been thoroughly explored across eight releases as a band leader and in collaboration with artists including Lee Konitz, John Zorn, Nicole Mitchell, Rajna Swaminathan, and many more! One of the most celebrated players in modern jazz, Caroline has been a resident fellow of MacDowell, The Jazz Gallery, The Rockefeller Estate, Mutual Mentorship for Musicians, UCross, and Civitella Ranieri. She is a recipient of Guggenheim Foundation, Jerome Hill, Chamber Music America, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, The Jazz Gallery, and NYFA fellowships, and the winner of Downbeat Critic’s Poll Alto-Saxophone Rising Star Award while her teaching practice centers around gender studies in jazz at The New School and a private saxophone studio at Manhattan School of Music. Davis’ solo performances are playful and spontaneous taking into consideration the atmosphere of the room and the energies of the audience present. She explores sonic textures offered by interactive technologies and theoretical depth in conversation with the works of feminist scholar and activist bell hooks. To open the evening we welcome a performance from local multimedia duo BIG HERE, known for immersive, improvisational performances that dissolve the boundaries between sound and sight. . 7pm doors 7:30 - BIG HERE @weareallbighere 8:00 - Caroline Davis @carolinedavismusic . Flyer @extra_nothing

We are so thrilled to welcome @billdmackay who will join @kellymoran__ for her Missouri debut performance on Friday, March 6’s Left Field Series showcase in partnership with @dismalniche and @wealwaysswing ! Stretch your ears out in the intimate and resonant confines of the Whitmore Recital Hall on University of Missouri’s campus. At the intersection of contemporary classical, minimalism, jazz and electronic music, audience members are in for an immersive evening of deep-listening with performances from pianist Kelly Moran and guitarist Bill MacKay. Poster art by @pencewilson , which features the sculpture at MU Fine Arts Building near Whitmore Recital Hall made by former MU professor Robert Bussabarger in the early 1980s. You may also recognize the statue’s twin from @ragtagcinema / @uprisebakery patio! Friday, March 6, 2026 at Whitmore Recital Hall 7:00-9:00 PM Seated show Free entry for True/False’s Super, Silver, Center and Stay Up Late passholders. Limited capacity, show your valid pass at the door for entry. Other pass levels and attendees can purchase $25 General Admission tickets through @wealwaysswing Composer and producer Kelly Moran challenges the piano’s traditional, classically imposed school of thought with a more contemporary, experimental approach. Her unique strand of compositions, conjuring hypnotizing textures and dramatic compositional arcs, have been included on year-end lists across classical, avant-garde, and metal genres. Chicago-based guitarist, improvisor, composer, and singer Bill MacKay has spent the past 20+ years cementing his name as one of the most inventive and talented American guitarists. A prolific artist on the @dragcityrecords roster, Bill has released a compelling catalog of solo and collaborative albums. From the avant-garde to the American songbook, Bill uses his guitar to manifest sublime beauty and effervescent grace like only a select few around the world can. Thank you to our 2026 Music Program sponsors @veteransunitedfoundation and @comoarts , and the Left Field Series sponsors @ozark_biscuits @logboatbrewing @missouriartscouncil @wavescider @kopnfm @irenesbbq @endwelltaverna @cyclexcomo !

Stretch your ears out for the Friday Night Showcase at the True/False Film Featival! At the intersection of contemporary classical, minimalism, jazz and electronic music, audience members are in for an immersive evening of deep-listening with performances from pianist Kelly Moran and guitarist Bill MacKay! This show is being presented as a partnership between True/False Film Festival and the Left Field Series – a collaborative program of Dismal Niche Arts and the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series – who brought us last festival’s gorgeous opening night concert with Shabaka at the Blue Note! — Kelly Moran is a New York-based composer and pianist who has spent her career excavating the sonic possibilities of the piano across a catalog challenging the piano’s traditional, classically-imposed conventions. Her unique strand of experimental compositions, characterized by hypnotizing textures and luminous dramatic arcs, have been included on year-end lists across classical, avant-garde, and metal genres. In addition to her solo works, Moran has collaborated with visionary contemporaries including FKA Twigs, Yves Tumor, The Avalanches, Kelsey Lu, Oneohtrix Point Never, and classical musician Margaret Leng Tan. — Bill MacKay is a Chicago-based guitarist and composer whose exploratory guitar work effortlessly blends elements of classical, folk, experimental rock, jazz and free improvisation into warm fabrics of sound that are at once lyrical, spontaneous, textured and abstract. Working primarily with the independent Chicago institutions Drag City and Thrill Jockey Records, Bill has released four solo albums in addition to critically praised collaborations with fellow guitarist Ryley Walker, cellist Katinka Kleijn, banjo player Nathan Bowels, avant-garde rock outfit Black Duck (with Douglas McCombs) and and the experimental groove-drone project BCMC (with Cooper Crain). — Presented in the intimate and resonant confines of the Whitmore Recital Hall, this showcase offers up a rewarding opportunity for the curious and attentive listener. Tickets are available as part of the T/F “stay up late” music pass or individually from We Always Swing. . Flyer by @pencewilson

The Left Field Series Presents: The Bad Plus Jan. 21st at The Blue Note 7pm doors / 8pm show . GA Tickets in Bio Reserved table seating available by calling @wealwaysswing box office

The Left Field Series presents: The Bad Plus Jan. 21st at The Blue Note 7pm doors / 8pm show . Get your tickets now for your first concert of 2026! . @wealwaysswing @the_blue_note @thebadplus flyer by @extra_nothing

🎄THANK YOU everyone for coming to our annual Rock Bridge Jazz Combo Christmas fundraiser!🎄 It was such an amazing night, thanks to @serendipitysalonandgallery for allowing us in the venue. Also, thank you, @wealwaysswing , for always being the greatest partner and supporter of our jazz program! And lastly, thank you, jazz combo of course for the music, but also for your hard work preparing for this event and for your support and help in making this event happen! Thanks everyone for coming and hope to see you again next year! 📸 photo credit: @sing.gemmajung @emma_baumstark

Skip the shopping crowds & lines, & give the gift of Jazz this holiday season! Save $25+ when you purchase a “District Sampler” with The Jazz Series” Simply purchase five or more tickets to any combination of our remaining “Jazz in The District” concerts and save $5 per ticket. That could be five tickets to a single concert (saving $25), or a pair of tickets to all four shows (saving $40). Available only through the Jazz Series Box Office, call 573/449-3009 to save big on “Jazz in The District” concerts.