The R&J Playerz Band at the Blue Room

Saxophonist Joe Wakefield, who leads The R&J Playerz Band, met Art Porter at Chicago's Cotton Club. Joe Wakefield began his musical training in sixth grade in Paola, Kansas. After he moved to Topeka and enrolled in the USD 501 schools, his principal, Mr. Woods, introduced him to the saxophone. Through middle school and high school he played in a band called Black Velvet, nearly five years in all, until he left it in 1973. Later, in Chicago, he met the saxophonist Art Porter at the Cotton Club, and KSNT 27 News reports that the meeting got him playing again. When KSNT profiled him in 2022, he was playing soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone, and that July he was the week's featured act at the Live @ Lunch Concert Series on Evergy Plaza in downtown Topeka. The R&J Playerz Band, with featured vocalists, plays every free concert R&J Productions puts on, and the company has hosted four outdoor Summer Concert Series events. Here the band played Indigo Hour in July and headlined a Friday night in September. On July 12 it was on the bill at the Missouri Wine & Jazz Festival in the 18th & Vine Jazz District, a day that also featured Najee. The Blue Room, 1600 E 18th St, Kansas City, MO 64108. Friday, December 18, 2026. Shows at 8:30 pm & 10 pm. $10 per show.