Kansas City native, and National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master Frank Wess died October 30th at 91.

These shots were from his (I think) last appearance in Columbia, Missouri as part of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series.  He led a quintet with Terell Stafford, Rufus Reid, and other big names in November, 2008.  Take this as a reminder that the Jazz Series brings to Columbia a fantastic buffet of jazz greats every season – up-and-coming names, artists at the top of their careers, and legendary performers who were part of the core development of the art like Frank Wess.

A Tribune article by Jazz Series director Jon Poses appears here, and a New York Times article here.