Instructor — 18th Street Combo
Stan Kessler
Stanton Kessler has been a mainstay on the Kansas City jazz scene for 50 years as a trumpet player, composer, and arranger. He has maintained a steady stream of groups as leader and is a highly sought-after sideman. His current groups include The Sons of Brasil, Horacescope (the music of Horace Silver), Passport, and The Stanton Kessler Quartet/trio/duo. He has won several awards over the years, including Musician of the Year (PlasticSax.com), Best Jazz Trumpet (The Pitch), and Favorite Jazz Trumpeter (Jazz Ambassador Magazine). Stanton was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame in 2021.
Stanton is also a highly respected educator. He spent 22 years as adjunct jazz faculty at the University of Missouri–Kansas City and has taught jazz theory and improvisation privately for all instruments for 25 years. Some of his former students include Hermon Mehari, Clint Ashlock, Nate Nall, and Nic Weaver. He is currently traveling the region doing clinics, master classes, jazz festivals, and camps, and has been a youth jazz faculty member for 15 years. Stanton received the Duke Ellington Award for excellence in jazz education in 2023, the first given in Kansas City.
During his career, Stanton has produced 12 CD projects and has played with such notables as Clark Terry, Paquito D’Rivera, Gary Foster, Karrin Allyson, Steve Cardenas, Kevin Mahogany, Bobby Watson, Kim Park, Matt Otto, Adam Larson, The Matt Catingub Big Band, the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, and more. Visit Stanton at stantonskessler.com.