KC’s ‘Horn Doctor’ handcrafts jazz preservation, keeping soul, tradition alive on Vine Street 

Across the historic intersection at Kansas City’s 12th and Vine streets, B.A.C. Musical Instruments operates as one of the few remaining American factories handcrafting professional brass instruments.

“This is where all the musicians would hang out back in the day,” said founder Mike “Horn Doctor” Corrigan, gesturing toward the Paseo sunken garden beside his shop. “They called it ‘The Bowl.’ So to be here, across from 12th and Vine, making jazz instruments for musicians around the world — it’s surreal. It feels meant to be.”

B.A.C. horns have traveled from high school band rooms to the Super Bowl stage. Artists like Trombone Shorty, Elliot Mason and Vincent Gardner of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Kameron Whalum from Bruno Mars’ band, and the Boston Crusaders, this year’s DCI champions, all play B.A.C. instruments.

An intricate design spans the bell of a trumpet at B.A.C. Musical Instruments in Kansas City; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Many Kansas Citians have already seen a variation of Corrigan’s work: a sculptural collaboration with artist Willie Cole at Kansas City’s Harry S. Truman Terminal called “Ornithology” that sees musical instruments reimagined as a flock of brass birds overhead.

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Artist Willie Cole and Mike “Horn Doctor” Corrigan stand alongside elements from their “Ornithology” collaboration in 2023; photo by Channa Steinmetz, Startland News

Virtual Booster Club

Corrigan’s love of music began when his family couldn’t afford band class, until a school perk for teachers’ kids made it possible.

Mike “Horn Doctor” Corrigan in the B.A.C. Musical Instruments space; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

“I didn’t know what I was doing, but it was amazing,” he said. “Now I look at my life and think — where would I be if I hadn’t had that opportunity?”

His commitment to that sense of access drives everything at B.A.C.

“We want to make that experience available to as many people as possible,” Corrigan said. “That’s what keeps me going.”

That mission inspired the Virtual Booster Club, a B.A.C. program that turns family rentals into free instruments for school music programs nationwide.

“The business model for this industry is 100 years old,” Corrigan said. “We wanted to modernize it, and make music accessible.”

Each school receives a custom rental link. Every dollar families spend renting instruments comes back as credit to buy new equipment.

“If 100 families participate, that’s $42,000 in credit,” Corrigan explained. “Band directors can finally replace that old saxophone or tubas held together with tape. Some schools haven’t had budgets in decades.”

In Wellington, Kansas, one school earned $16,000 in its first year. “It’s remarkable,” Corrigan said. “We’re supporting families, and they’re supporting us back. Because we’re the only manufacturer doing this, we can make it happen right here in Kansas City.”

Sounds like New Orleans

B.A.C. — short for Best American Craftsmen — was born from Corrigan’s experience in post-Katrina New Orleans. After the 2005 hurricane, he traveled south to repair instruments for free in schools and community bands.

“I didn’t have money to donate, so I donated my skills,” he said. “One night, local musicians waited hours for their last horn to be fixed. When I finished at midnight, they played a song for me right there in the neighborhood. I’ll never forget it.”

That moment helped define B.A.C.’s mission: connecting craftsmanship, access, and community rebuilding.

Corrigan also serves as an advisor for Creative City Kansas City, which helps steward the city’s UNESCO Creative City of Music designation — the first in the United States.

“When people hear that, they say, ‘Not Memphis? Not New Orleans?’” Corrigan laughed. “But Kansas City earned it. We had remarkable people here who made it happen.”

In late October, UNESCO announced that New Orleans had been named the second Creative City of Music, a designation encouraged by Corrigan’s recommendation to an organization in the city.

He sees deep parallels between Kansas City and New Orleans, both built on improvisation, migration, and resilience.

“People say New Orleans is where jazz was born,” he said. “Kansas City is where it grew up.”

Brass instruments on display at B.A.C. Musical Instruments in Kansas City; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

For musicians, by musicians

Step inside B.A.C.’s century-old factory,  a 1919 brass foundry, and it feels like walking into a living museum.

“There’s a spot where someone stood for probably 70 years on the same machine, you can see their footprints in the floor,” said Corrigan. “There’s a lot of character here.”

Artisans still use vintage mandrels and hand-spinning techniques, the same process used by craftsmen whose horns once accompanied Louis Armstrong and Glenn Miller.

“This technique came from Dominic Colicchio, an artisan who immigrated from Rome over 100 years ago,” said Corrigan. “We’re keeping that tradition alive.”

Every bell, slide, and engraving is shaped by musicians who are also makers. One craftsman engraved a trombone for Paul McCartney’s band, inspired by Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Another designed a custom horn that “looks like a rocket ship,” Corrigan laughed.

“These are musicians making instruments for musicians,” he said. “There’s a soul to that.”

Training the next generation

Corrigan’s next project aims to train the next wave of instrument makers. His new repair training program for high school students will launch first in New Orleans, then expand to Kansas City Public Schools.

“There’s a severe global shortage of skilled repair technicians,” he said. “This program is job readiness, it gives young people a career path and fills a real community need.”

He’s now working with Kansas City Public Schools staff to bring the program home. “We’ve proven it works,” Corrigan said. “Now we want to show Kansas City what’s possible.”