Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Andrew Ouellette was featured in the Hannibal Courier Post.

*Gennaro Caggiano was interviewed by Joe Dimino.

*Chuck Haddix and Steve Kraske consider the latest collection of rare Charlie Parker tracks.

*Jazzwise’s review of a solo Pat Metheny concert in London references the guitarist’s immersion in “the Kansas City jazz scene that had few guitarists.”

*From a press release: The year 2024 marks the 60th birthday of the beloved drummer, composer, and bandleader Matt Wilson. His acclaimed ensemble, the Christmas Tree-O, featuring multi-reed legend Jeff Lederer and revered bassist Paul Sikivie, also celebrates their new album Tree Jazz: The Shape of Christmas to Come… The band will be performing in Wichita as part of their national tour on December 6 and 7 at 8 PM at Walker's Jazz Lounge.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*Harold O’Neal and Dr. Dina Bennett praised Charlie Parker in a television news report.

*The American Jazz Museum offers a new Charlie Parker-related souvenir.

*From a press release: Verve Records announces Bird in Kansas City, an album featuring a new set of rare recordings dating from between 1941-1951, to be released globally on October 25, 2024 on vinyl, CD, and digitally and available to pre-order here. Much of this collection has never been heard before and some recordings have never even been known to exist… To celebrate the announcement of Bird in Kansas City, the first track, “Cherokee,” is available now. Listen & watch the visualizer "Cherokee". Chuck Haddix — scholar and author of Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker, who also produced and wrote liner notes for this album — says, “‘Ray Noble’s ‘Cherokee’ was one of Bird's favorite songs.

Book Review: Kansas City Jazz: A Little Evil Will Do You Good, by Con Chapman

Kansas City Jazz: A Little Evil Will Do You Good looks, feels and scans like a textbook.  Not only is the cover drab, the heavy stock of the 370 pages gives the book the heft of a brick.  Its exhaustive chronology of recording sessions and personnel changes of bands often seems like grist for a pop quiz nightmare.

Portions of Con Chapman’s new study of the heyday of Kansas City jazz are a bit of a slog, but the very elements that make the text dense- an attention to detail and a panoramic lens- make it an essential addition to the library of every person with a serious interest in the history of Kansas City.

The work draws heavily on Count Basie’s autobiography and previously published studies by historians including Stanley Crouch, Frank Driggs and Chuck Haddix.  Consequently, much of the material will already be familiar to enthusiasts.  As an amalgamation of these established works, however, Kansas City Jazz can be viewed as a one-stop compendium.

Chapman also has a few ideas of his own.  In addition to synthesizing the work of previous scholars, he fills in gaps with investigations of overlooked nooks and crannies.  These insights begin with a survey of traveling minstrel shows and circuses in the Midwest and Chapman’s insistence that ragtime’s connection to central Missouri is an integral part of the musical foundation of Kansas City.

He attempts to link regional and national musicians to Kansas City.  Several pages are dedicated to Texas trombonist Jack Teagarden. Chapman also suspects the New Orleans legend Jelly Roll Morton spent time in Kansas City influencing locally based artists.  Furthermore, a case is made for the impact of the innovative style of the Texas born and Oklahoma raised guitarist Charlie Christian on the sound of Kansas City jazz. 

Chapman’s championing of the relatively unheralded Missouri native Wilbur Sweatman as a forebear of the likes of Bennie Moten may be the book’s biggest revelation.  The familiar swing of Sweatman’s overlooked recordings suggest Chapman is right.

Impatient readers will be heartened to learn that Chapman successfully deploys the mountain of facts he accumulates in a wholly effective summation.  The strong conclusion makes the textbook-like list price of $55 seem like a bargain.

Documentary Review: Bird: Not Out of Nowhere

During a pledge break on the broadcast premiere of Bird: Not Out of Nowhere, the Kansas City musician Lonnie McFadden lauded Louis Armstrong’s colossal status in New Orleans and cited Memphis’ ongoing embrace of Elvis Presley.  McFadden wistfully acknowledged Charlie Parker remains relatively unknown in his hometown of Kansas City.  The ongoing cold shoulder Kansas City gives Parker added an ironic twist to the public television station KCPT’s use of the documentary as a fund-raising vehicle.  

In a separate pledge break, Brad Austin, the producer, director, editor and photographer of Bird: Not Out of Nowhere, explained “the film is based on Chuck (Haddix)’s book and his knowledge of Charlie Parker.”  Haddix, the author of Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker, is one of four Parker experts narrating the documentary.  McFadden and his fellow musicians Logan Richardson and Bobby Watson also contribute to the film designed to provide “a new look on how (Parker’s) upbringing in Kansas City led to worldwide fame.”

The stories told by Haddix, McFadden and Watson are so familiar to dedicated members of Kansas City’s jazz community that some viewers of Bird: Not Out of Nowhere have their routines memorized.  Still, it’s good to have their patter preserved for posterity.  And the visuals- a refreshed version of the effects used by the famed documentarian Ken Burns- are worthy of their subject.  The misspelling of the word “saxophonist” as “saxaphonist” is one of the few blemishes in the polished film.

Not surprisingly, the scenes featuring music are best.  Excerpts of a quartet led by Watson playing “Wheel Within a Wheel,” “I’m Glad There Is You” and “Confirmation” are compelling.  Watson’s demonstration of the stylistic difference between swing and bop is similarly excellent.  McFadden’s rendering of “Parker’s Mood” over habitual background chatter at The Phoenix is also valuable.

Richardson provides a candid assessment of Kansas City’s appalling erasure of Parker’s legacy near the end of the film. He contrasts the majesty of Frédéric Chopin’s grave in Paris with the scruffy resting place of Parker in Lincoln Cemetery.  Speaking for all of Kansas City, he sighs “we could be better.”  While Bird: Not Out of Nowhere can’t rectify past injustices, it’s an encouraging step toward a more honorable future.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Brian Scarborough is featured in The Pitch.

*The legacy of the late LaVerne Barker is examined by Flatland.

*Jacob Wagner tells KCUR that “Kansas City's taken too long to recognize black creativity and African-American music that put us on the map” in a KCUR overview of Charlie Parker’s life.

*Aryana Nemati-Baghestani is interviewed by an in-house UMKC publication.

*The editorial board of The Kansas City Star ponders violence in the Jazz District.

*Bill Clinton is among the luminaries paying homage to Charlie Parker on the icon’s YouTube channel.

*Bret Primack interviewed Bobby Watson and Chuck Haddix.

*Joe Dimino documented a performance by five members of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra. He also interviewed the participants.

*Alliance, a new album by Matt Otto, was released last week.

*The Mid-America Arts Alliance awarded $50,000 to the American Jazz Museum.

*A new mural adorns the exterior of the Mutual Musicians Foundation.

*Tweet o’ the Week: HypnoRaygun- Danny Embrey makes 99% of "real guitarists" look like beginners. He's unbelievable.

*From a press release: Due to restrictions imposed by Kansas City, MO and the CDC, and our concern for our patrons, staff, volunteers, crew, and artists, the Folly (Theater) has made some changes in our current Jazz Season. We have decided to postpone Karrin Allyson from October 17th to January 22. David Benoit will be moved to December 10th of 2021.

*From a press release: Craft Recordings is proud to announce the release of the compact disc edition of The Savoy 10-Inch LP Collection. The collection, which spotlights Charlie Parker’s groundbreaking bebop sessions for the legendary jazz label (spanning 1944 to 1948), is already available on vinyl and digital formats. The CD edition features 28 tracks from the four legendary Savoy 10-inch LPs, presented with newly restored and remastered audio and a deluxe 20-page booklet… The compact disc edition… (is) set for a November 6th release date.