Doug Talley playing the saxophone

Winterlude – Doug Talley Quartet

December 4, 2022 | Polsky Theatre

Past Event


The Doug Talley Quartet expands the parameters of jazz with colorful harmonies and strong rhythms.


Formed in 1995, the quartet has performed at numerous festivals, concerts, clubs and schools throughout the Midwest.

Doug Talley has performed with jazz luminaries Jay McShann, Clark Terry, Bob Mintzer, Claude “Fiddler” Williams, Bobby Watson, Karrin Allyson, Byron Stripling, Ignacio Berroa, Randy Brecker, Scott Robinson and Gary Foster. Talley has appeared at the 18th & Vine Festival, Kansas Jazz and Blues Festival, Kansas City Spirit Festival, Coleman Hawkins Jazz Festival, Mayport Jazz Festival and in Las Vegas with The Four Freshman, The Platters and The Diamonds.

Honored by Kansas City magazine as one of the “40 Under 40 Who Move and Shake Kansas City in Business, Politics and the Arts,” Talley was also recognized in Downbeat magazine “Auditions” in 1986. His discography includes four recordings on the Sea Breeze label for the Trilogy and Boulevard Big Bands, as well as the Doug Talley Quartet’s four CDs.

Pianist Charles Williams has been performing in Kansas City for over 40 years and has been with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra since day one. As a trombonist in his early years, Williams performed with such jazz legends as Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Ernie Wilkins, Rich Matteson, Frank Wess and Cannonball & Nat Adderley, along with many more. He is a board member for the American Jazz Museum and teaches Advanced Jazz Combo at the Jazz Academy on 18th & Vine. He writes and produces, mentors young musicians, teaches private piano lessons and is dedicated to helping students advance their keyboard skills and techniques.

Tim Brewer is a gifted composer and performer. He has appeared with many artists, including Bobby Watson and Eddie Harris. Locally, he also performs with Triology and Boulevard Big Bands, the New Kansas City Seven and Trinity Jazz Ensemble. Brewer is an accomplished composer and arranger, and his compositions, “Carolyn” and “Transcending,” have been recorded by the Doug Talley Quartet.

Keith Kavanaugh is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston and has performed with Diane Schuur, Phil Wilson, Joshua Breakstone, Scott Robinson and Ritchie Cole, among many others. He is also a graduate of Park University, where he studied art and graphic design. He has paintings in many corporate and private collections and has designed hundreds of CD packages for musicians from coast-to-coast.

Support provided by Peter Goulet.