Ken Lovern

Ken Lovern is a composer and jazz organist who has lived in the free state of Kansas his entire life.  Even before graduating from the Conservatory of Music of the University of Missouri at Kansas City, Ken was playing gigs full time with legendary Kansas City vocalist Ida McBeth.  Ken was recognized by Keyboard Magazine as the “Unsigned Artist of the Month” for May 2006.  Ken currently plays jazz organ with his group OJT at Green Lady Lounge four nights a week.  Ken’s jazz compositions can be heard on numerous OJT releases.  For the last 3 years, Ken has been helping record, mix, and curate “Live at Green Lady Lounge” a weekly hour long show on Kansas Public Radio that features groups that play at Green Lady Lounge.

Ken has been composing for musicals since he wrote the music for “Excuse Me, Are You a Dragon” for Stone Lion Puppets.  Ken wrote the music for numerous Stone Lion shows including Frog Prints, Little Red Hen’s Garden, and The Lost Treasure.

In Blind Boone the Musical, Ken has composed the music, lyrics, and story to create an historical musical fantasy about the life of Missouri’s’ ragtime pioneer, John William “Blind” Boone.  Blind Boone struggled against and overcame racism as one of the first African American concert performers.  This musical tells of his roots in a Union Army camp at the end of the Civil War and how a former Confederate General and town elder of Warrensburg helped arrange for Boone to be educated at a school for the blind.

Ken has been releasing jazz recordings on his Jazz Daddy Records label since the the release of “Ken Lovern’s OJT” in 2005.  Ken has started a new label, Free State Recordings, to release concept albums and historical musicals such as Blind Boone the Musical.

OJT builds on the classic organ jazz trio by mixing old school Kansas City jazz with blues and a modern funky groove.  Ken Lovern on Hammond organ, Kenny Watson Jr. on drums, and Brian Baggett on guitar play equal parts in balanced arrangements with outstanding improvisations. OJT has been a band for more than 20 years and it shows.  Kenny Watson Jr. has been with the group for just over two years, and he brings a fresh groove to the old school organ jazz jams.  

OJT is: 

Ken Lovern:  Hammond Organ

Brian Baggett: Guitar

Kenny Watson Jr.: Drums

Guitarist and composer Brian Baggett started playing jazz gigs in Kansas City in 2000. Shortly thereafter in 2003, Brian teamed up with Ken Lovern and Kevin Frazee to form the original OJT. For years the group played clubs and festivals around Kansas City. In 2013, OJT started playing shows at Green Lady Lounge. Roughly a thousand gigs later the band is still playing Green Lady Lounge four nights a week. 

Brian also plays in Guitar Elation with Danny Embrey and fronts the Brian Baggett Trio on Mondays at Green Lady Lounge. Both groups have recorded live albums at the club and have done “in studio” performances for Kansas Public Radio. 

Before becoming a full time jazz musician, Brian worked for Supersonic Music, taught guitar at area universities, and spent five years making guitar videos for Musicians Friend and Guitar Center.

Kenny Watson Jr. is a highly skilled musician with over a decade of professional experience as a drummer, bassist, composer, and teacher. Kenny's music is known for its energy and infectious positivity, always leaving audiences with a smile on their faces. Recently, Kenny was featured in KC's JAM Magazine, cementing their status as a rising star in the music industry.