David Dreier: From Kansas City to Politics to Jazz Radio on LA's K-Jazz

Famous Interviews & Neon Jazz with Joe Dimino · Oct 30, 2026

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Kansas City-born former U.S. Congressman and Los Angeles jazz radio personality David Dreier.

A sixth-generation Kansas Citian, David's love of jazz began when he was just seven years old. His father introduced him to Kansas City's rich jazz heritage and took him to see the legendary Count Basie. During the concert, Basie introduced a tune as “April in Kansas City”—and it took David a while to discover that the song was actually “April in Paris.” It's a memorable story that captures the humor, history, and magic of a lifelong…