Jazz Articles about Chris Hazelton

About Chris Hazelton

Album Review

Cory Weeds: Hip to Be Square Plays Huey Lewis & The News

Read "Hip to Be Square Plays Huey Lewis & The News" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
November 8, 2026

In 2013, saxophonist Cory Weeds and organist Chris Hazelton used Hazelton's father's van to make a four-hour-long trip from Kansas City to a gig in St. Louis. There was one CD in the van's player: Huey Lewis & the News Greatest Hits. After several listens, an idea started to form in Weeds' head, namely that the music might work well in a classic jazz organ quartet setting. Weeds and Hazelton sat on the idea for more than a decade before ...

Album Review

Cory Weeds: Hip to Be Square Plays Huey Lewis & The News

Read "Hip to Be Square Plays Huey Lewis & The News" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
October 23, 2026

There is something wonderfully mischievous about Cory Weeds taking on Huey Lewis And The News. At first glance, the pairing might seem unlikely, but spend a little time with Hip to Be Square - Plays Huey Lewis & The News (Boop Bop Bing Bash!) and the logic becomes clear. The band's songs were built on strong melodies, deep grooves, and a healthy dose of the blues, making them surprisingly natural material for a Hammond B3 organ quartet. Saxophonist Weeds, organist Chris ...

Radio & Podcasts

Mike Clark, Lisanne Lyons, Seth Kibel, Jeff Rupert & Chris Hazelton

by Joe Dimino
June 28, 2026

From one of the brightest stars illuminating the Kansas City jazz scene, we kick off the 964th Episode of Neon Jazz with bandleader and Hammond B-3 powerhouse Chris Hazelton, featuring music from his vibrant new 2026 album, In Rotation. From there, we journey through a rich landscape of fresh jazz sounds, spotlighting new music and artist insights from Liane Lyons, Henrique Mota, and Mike Bruzzese. Along the way, we showcase an impressive lineup of modern jazz heavyweights making waves in ...

Album Review

Chris Hazelton: In Rotation

Read "In Rotation" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
June 15, 2026

Here is a quartet with an interesting makeup: leader Chris Hazelton on Hammond B3 organ backed by saxophone, vibraphone and drums. It is a sizable departure from the norm, one that can separate an album from the herd and lend it a bracing and singular voice or, if not managed properly, lead to series of relatively tame and colorless themes that fall rather short of the group's capacity and purpose. In Rotation, Kansas City native Hazelton's second album, ...

Radio & Podcasts

Ben Wolfe, Chris Hazelton, David Janeway, Will Lyle and more

by Benjamin Boddie
May 21, 2026

Today's Music--Right Now! Fantastic music by Ted Chubb, Chris Hazelton, Will Lyle, Judith Owens, Ben Wolfe, Klaus Weinerroither, Mike Caudill, Isabella Isherwood, John Sweenie, Taylor Roberts, Phillip Golub, David Janeway, Barry Greene, Catherine Russell, Bria Skonberg, Audrey Ochoa, Jared Hall, Stacey Kent, Blue Moods, Javier Nero Jazz Orchestra, Irreversible Entanglements, Jazzlab Orchestra, Bobby Broom, Daphne Roubini & Black Gardenia, April Varner, Chick Corea, Jenny Klukken, The Sistering, Shunzo Ohno, Arvind Ramdas, Sharon Minemoto, Julian Davis Reid, Sam Yahel, Mark Winkler, ...

Radio & Podcasts

Dr. Lonnie Smith, Frank Sinatra & Chris Hazelton

by Joe Dimino
September 3, 2023

From the king of the Kansas City Hammond-B3 jazz organ, we begin the 818th Episode of Neon Jazz with Chris Hazelton and music from his 2023 album After Dark. From there, we lead into his mentor in the legendary Dr. Lonnie Smith with a cut off his 1969 LP Turning Point. There's also new music from Clark Sommers, Brandon Sanders, Quinn Sternberg and the great Mitch Towne, plus “I've Got You Under My Skin" with Bono and Frank Sinatra. The ...

Album Review

Chris Hazelton: After Dark

Read "After Dark" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
September 2, 2023

Imagine walking down a street After Dark, with nothing important happening, when the sound of music nearby can be heard. Pausing for a moment to listen more closely, the thought occurs that “this is really rather good; I should hang around for a while." That is exactly the vibe that Kansas City-based organist Chris Hazelton and his ensemble wish to convey on this bright and smoothly swinging album. While the untimely passing of maestro Joey DeFrancesco in ...