[photo credit: Eventbrite]
Kira & the Major 3 grew out of the Los Angeles College of Music in Pasadena, where bandleader Kira Morrison first began performing jazz with classmates. The group’s repertoire spans more than 40 standards drawn from American jazz, Brazilian jazz and Afro-Cuban music — a mix suited to the relaxed, open-air setting.
The series has deep local roots. Before the pandemic, the concerts filled the courtyard outside Vroman’s Bookstore; as audiences grew, organizers moved them to Playhouse Village Park to accommodate crowds that regularly number in the hundreds. The association, marking its 30th anniversary this year, treats the free programming as central to the neighborhood’s character. Funding comes partly from a grant from the nonprofit Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts and from donors to the Playhouse Village Foundation.
The format rewards a little planning. Attendees are encouraged to pick up dinner from a neighborhood restaurant and spread a blanket or set up a low chair on the lawn, where seating is first come. The park sits in the heart of the arts district, within walking distance of the Pasadena Playhouse and the Ice House.
For an evening that costs nothing, the payoff is considerable: live music from trained players, a picnic under the sky and a slice of a tradition that predates most of the crowd’s summers here.
Jazz in the Park featuring Kira & the Major 3 will run on Sunday, July 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Playhouse Village Park, 701 E. Union St., in Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 744-0340 or visit playhousevillage.org. Admission is free.
