Lonnie McFadden

Lonnie McFadden (born January 1, 1956) is an American jazz trumpet player, tap dancer, singer, songwriter, arranger, and recording artist. McFadden is known for his exuberant multi-genre performance style. He and his brother, Ronald McFadden, have performed a stage show for decades as The McFadden Brothers. More recently, the Kansas City-based artist leads his own jazz ensembles.

Early life Lonnie McFadden was born on January 1, 1956, in Kansas City, Missouri. McFadden and his siblings were raised by their parents in the Jazz District of Kansas City, Missouri. His father, renowned tap dancer and musician Jimmy McFadden, had a strong influence on Lonnie's musical development. Jimmy, known as “Pops,” toured nationally with top, national jazz orchestras in his youth. He held deep roots in the Kansas City jazz scene and brought influential local talents into the McFadden's home and social circles. Jimmy had Lonnie and his brother Ronald in tap shoes before they reached kindergarten, and he required the boys to study piano.

Career Before graduating from Kansas City's Lincoln High School, McFadden joined the band Clyde N’em and Her, a R&B ensemble led by alto saxophonist Clyde Bagby. McFadden joined as a trumpeter and stayed with the band for a year and half. Bagby required him to sing, and it was here that McFadden first developed his vocal stage presence, now a key part of his performance palette.

In 1974, at age 17, he formed his own group, Lonnie and the Band, playing in Kansas City's inner-city clubs under his father's management.

In 1986, The McFadden Brothers danced in front of the Count Basie Orchestra at the historic 18th and Vine crossroads in Kansas City, to commemorate their father's work with that orchestra.

In 2012, McFadden recorded the CD I Believe in Music. The openly biographical CD reflects his life in music. Its personnel includes his brother and three daughters.

For many years, McFadden enjoyed a steady booking of solo and duo settings at Kansas City's Plaza III Restaurant, until the venue's 2018 closing. That year, Kansas City club owner and producer John Scott invited him to the Black Dolphin stage of the Green Lady Lounge jazz complex, a group of Scott's jazz stages located near the well-known Green Lady Lounge. McFadden accepted a monthly booking and began working with a full quartet. This booking as a quartet leader increased to two nights per week and opened room for a full, signature show.

In 2018, he recorded the CD, Lonnie McFadden Live at Green Lady Lounge. The recording features McFadden in an assortment of roles: he wrote six of its nine tunes in a variety of musical genres, and he emcees, sings, plays trumpet and taps, backed by Tyree Johnson on drums, Deandre Manning on acoustic and electric bass, and Andrew Ouellette on piano.

Musical style and influences McFadden's work embraces diverse 20th-century entertainment traditions and advances into contemporary jazz. His father instilled in him and his brother Ronald the jazz styles of the 1930s and 40s, and performance styles of Vaudeville stage entertainment. He taught the McFadden brothers to create multi-genre shows suited to their audiences, and McFadden has benefited from that vision, reinventing his collaborative stage act throughout his career.

Funk, rock, and R&B influenced him early on, and McFadden's performances include popular songs of the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

McFadden's entertainment style combines energetic trumpet solos with riffs reminiscent of Louis Armstrong, soulful singing, and traditional jazz tap. As a leader, he showcases diverse musicians, invites collaboration across genres, and reflects his penchant for Kansas City's swinging jazz style. In a 2018 interview, he told jazz artist Ken Lovern, “[When I perform] it is just natural for me to be humble and ingratiating to the audience. This is not pandering: I care that the audience has a good time… I count on the musicians I hire to bring musical integrity: I would never hire a musician who doesn’t play better than me.” Raised in the heart of Kansas City's 18th and Vine jazz district, he says of that heritage, “…there’s nobody who could swing like those guys did! No matter what I’m playing…there’s something of that sound in it. It’s what I do.”

Awards In 2016, Lonnie and Ronald McFadden received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Jazz Museum. In 2017, Tapology awarded the brothers The Living Legends Award and Kansas City's Ingram's Magazine awarded McFadden Best Entertainer.

Discography