François and Louis Moutin

Moutin Reunion will join blues man Bo Diddley and a number of other nationally-recognized performers on Saturday, Sept. 2nd at The Woodlands in Kansas City, Kan. The 2006 Blues & Jazz festival, now in the second year of its triumphant return, runs Sept. 2-3, Labor Day Weekend.

As for Moutin Reunion, the band is popular throughout the U.S. and Europe. Parisian natives and twin brothers Louis (drums) and François Moutin (upright bass) founded the band in 1999, and were influenced at an early age by their parents' large, mostly jazz record collection. Louis started on piano and François on guitar, but both switched to their current instruments by the age of 20. Louis left college with a master's degree in mathematics, François with a doctorate in physics. Within three years of graduation, both had ditched their more traditional careers to try their luck in the world of jazz.

Louis started with Trio Machado and later became a sideman to John Abercrombie, Markus Stockhausen, Albert Mangelsdorff, and Michel Legrand. François kicked off his career with the Martial Solal Trio and played with Randy Brecker, Toots Thielemans, and Archie Shepp while he was still in Paris. In late 1997, François moved to New York City and kept busy playing with Frank Wess, Monty Alexander, Simon Shaheen, and many others. Despite being on two different continents, the twins managed to come together to form the Moutin Reunion Quartet, adding two French musicians. Pianist and former Mangelsdorff sideman Baptiste Trotignon and saxophonist and Martial Solal alumnus Sylvain Beuf accompanied the brothers on their 2002 debut, Power Tree. Beuf left the band and was replaced with former Miles Davis saxophonist and New York City resident Rick Margitza. The new lineup released Red Moon at the beginning of 2004.

The Blues & Jazz Fest continues to draw large crowds as Kansas Citians rejoice in the area’s jazz roots. For two straight days, festival-goers can hear more than 20 hours of live blues and jazz by both local and national performers. Other planned bands include Proto-Kaw, formerly the popular 1970s band Kansas, The Latin Jazz All Stars, Baby Lee and the Kansas City All Stars and Fast Johnny Ricker – just to name a few. The Festival is considered to be the best entertainment deal around, at only $17.50 per day -- a price unmatched by any other concert in the nation.

Doors to the relaxing and covered Woodlands grandstand open at 11 a.m. and tickets can be obtained through the festival’s website, www.KansasCityMusic.com, or by calling TicketMaster at 816-931-3330. Children 12 and under will be admitted for free. The Woodlands also offers easy and secure parking, along with concessions. Several Kansas City businesses are supporting the festival as sponsors, including The Kansas City Star, Magic 107.3, The Woodlands, State Farm Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Kansas Army National Guard, American Red Cross, Cumulus Broadcasting, Boulevard Beer, Jazz Louisiana Kitchen, Time Warner Cable, Big Dudes Music City, KCStory.com, Barley’s Brewhaus, 39th Street West, 3rd Friday Art Walks, 810 Zone, The Blue Moose, Wyandotte County Visitors Bureau, 75th Street Brewery, O’Dowd’s Little Dublin, Famous Dave’s BBQ, DeMasters Insurance, Audio Port and Brinks Home Security.