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Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Alex Abramovitz’s band is featured in the latest episode of Kansas Public Radio’s Live at Green Lady Lounge program.
*A television news broadcast touts the construction of a parking garage in the Jazz District.
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*A feel-good story about an elderly Count Basie fan is shared by a TV reporter. Joe Dimino offers his perspective and documents portions of the Count Basie Orchestra’s concert at the Music Hall.
*Bassist Chase McRoy is featured by In Kansas City magazine.
*A television news outlet reports on the latest Jazz District redevelopment project.
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Cynical pundits in Kansas City have long insisted that suburbanites are too frightened to visit the Jazz District. The pernicious myth was busted on Wednesday, June 5, when more than 2,000 people from outlying communities were among the throng packing Parade Park to take in a free appearance by Yo-Yo Ma.
The cellist’s participation in the Kansas City Symphony’s Mobile Music Box event was announced the previous day. The short notice and simultaneous sold-out concerts by James Taylor at Starlight Theatre and Noah Kahan at Azura Amphitheater didn’t prevent people from suburbs such as Lee’s Summit, Gladstone and Lenexa from filling the space directly behind the American Jazz Museum.
Longtime observers are well aware of disappointing attendance for jazz events held in the same space and along the adjacent Paseo Boulevard. Conjecture about the reasons for the failures often include the accusation that suburbanites refuse to patronize the neighborhood. Yo-Yo Ma nullified that excuse on June 5.
(Original image of an entry line at a 2018 festival in the Jazz District by Plastic Sax.)
Not once in the past four decades have I had trouble finding a convenient parking spot in Kansas City’s Jazz District. Even amid the busiest festivals I’ve never been compelled to park more than a five-minute walk from the intersection of 18th Street and Paseo Boulevard.
Yet according to a television news report, Kansas City, Missouri, recently allocated $20 million to build a multi-level parking garage in the area.
The piece suggests the impetus for the construction is based on future projections rather than current need. I hope the optimism is warranted. It would be wonderful if the beleaguered neighborhood finally attained a liveliness resulting in parking hassles.
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Jeff Shirley was interviewed by The Pitch.
*A homespun history of Kansas City jam sessions of the past four decades was published by Kansas City guitarist Jay EuDaly.
*The Jazz District Renaissance Corporation sponsored a television segment about events in the Jazz District.
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*The Kansas City Business Journal reports that construction on a six-story apartment complex is underway at 19th and Vine in the Jazz District.
*Joe Dimino visited Green Lady Lounge.
*A blogger reviewed Branches Choke, an album of noisy improvisations recorded in Kansas City.
*Tweet of the Week: Raman Shah- In Kansas City right now for @TransformGov #tlg2020. It's lovely here: chilly, with hills, flowers, red brick, vintage signage, gentle people. Treated myself last night to cheesy corn+burnt ends @ Jack Stack and some jazz @ the Green Lady. Now to meet some #localgov friends
Original image by Plastic Sax.
The timeless sounds produced by the band overseen by William Basie in the 1930s might be the most immediately enjoyable music ever produced in the New World. Take "Miss Thing". Everything about the brash 1939 recording is intelligent, sexy and yes, incredibly swinging.
Published a year after Basie’s 1984 death, Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie, contains the backstory of “Miss Thing”: “it was named for Rubberlegs (Williams) himself, who was… a female impersonator as well as a dancer and a very raunchy blues singer.”
Almost every page of the out-of-print book contains at least one similarly scintillating anecdote. The conversational tone of the “as told to” volume assembled by the notable jazz writer Albert Murray enhances the wildly entertaining if not entirely complete portrait of the essential American artist. As Basie liked to say, it’s a real killer-diller.
While Basie assiduously avoids revealing details about his personal predilections- “I just don’t see the point of going into things like that” he asserts in Good Morning Blues- Basie was admirably candid about musical and business matters.
For instance, he’s more than willing to confess his limitations as a keyboardist. One of the running bits of Good Morning Blues involves Basie’s fear of being shown up by technically superior pianists including Art Tatum and Mary Lou Williams.
Basie’s reverence for his peers can make Good Morning Blues slow going. A reader is obligated to put the book down in order to queue up not just the dozens of recording sessions Basie dutifully describes, but also music by a cast of characters ranging from the titanic Duke Ellington to the earthy comedian Pigmeat Markham.
Details about Basie’s interactions with other legendary figures such as John Hammond, Jimmy Rushing, Fats Waller, Lester Young are dazzling. Basie was a lifelong music obsessive. Although his sound evolved through the vaudeville, big band, bop and rock and roll eras, his enthusiasm never waned.
Kansas City’s civic boosters will cringe at some of Basie’s perspectives, beginning with his characterization of the town as “the sticks.” Yet locally based readers will lap up Basie’s descriptions of boarding houses and clubs in the Jazz District, the “lily-white” Fairyland Park and area landmarks such as Jenkins Music and Municipal Auditorium.
Basie recalls “(t)hey always did like farewells and homecomings in Kansas City.” The ongoing vibrancy of his music and the genial tone of Good Morning Blues makes the prospect of closing the door on Basie’s legacy in his one-time stomping grounds absolutely unthinkable.
Original image of Judith Shea’s “Storage” by Plastic Sax.
*Rod Fleeman discussed his new album with Steve Kraske on KCUR’s Up to Date program.
*Nina Cherry caught up with Marilyn Maye.
*A television station reports on concerns related to the latest round of development plans for the Jazz District.
*Snippets of a Jackie Myers performance at Ophelia’s were captured by Joe Dimino.
*More than 500 albums received votes in the 17th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll. Kansas City is represented by Bobby Watson’s Back Home in Kansas City (#106), Steve Cardenas’ Healing Power: The Music of Carla Bley (#125), Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye NYC (#347) and Hermon Mehari’s Asmara (#414). My ballot is here.
*No Kansas City establishments are among the 106 venues listed in Downbeat’s 2023 International Jazz Venue Guide.
*Tweet of the Week: StrayhornProject- Congratulations to Caden Bradshaw from Kansas City, winner of our ‘Strayhorn; An Illustrated Life’ book raffle. Caden is an up and coming jazz pianist himself. We will continue to wish him well on his musical journey! (photo)
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*KCUR’s Steve Kraske interviewed Terell Stafford ahead of the trumpeter’s scheduled appearance at the Prairie Village Jazz Festival.
*Libby Hanssen surveyed Kansas City’s experimental music scene for Classical KC.
*Brant Jester and Alex Frank chatted with Joe Dimino. Dimino also captured footage of the Prairie Village Jazz Festival.
*The Kansas City Star published a guide to the Jazz District.
*Tweet of the Week: MarmaDukeNuke'Em3D- I am the youngest person here by a wide margin
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Kevin Frazee, a prominent Kansas City drummer, has reportedly died. Here’s a representative performance with OJT.
*KCUR offered a musically ambiguous survey of Kansas City’s jazz venues.
*Pat Metheny appeared on Questlove’s podcast.
*A resident of the Jazz District told The Kansas City Star “we’re afraid” in the wake of a deadly shooting last week. A television station also took note of the crime.
*Tweet of the Week: MCC Kansas City- The public is invited to enjoy a FREE evening of jazz 6-9 p.m. this Friday (9/17) Saxophone at MCC-Penn Valley. Featuring: * Gospel vocalist Lisa Henry * Trumpeter Chalis O'Neal * Charles D. Williams, pianist for the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra (link)
*From a press release: The American Jazz Museum is proud to present Lights, Camera, Vine!, a three-day film series that explores jazz music’s impact on film in America. This series has been created in partnership with local film makers Rodney Thompson and Diallo French. Stretching from Thursday, September 30 to Saturday, October 2nd, features include two iconic jazz films - "Lady Sings the Blues" starring Diana Ross as Billie Holiday, and Spike Lee's "Mo' Better Blues" - as well as selections from the American Jazz Museum's John H. Baker Film Collection. Screenings will each include a reception with live music, and a Q&A session and discussion with local film experts after the film.
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*A television station reports on a proposed spending plan that would close traffic on two blocks of 18th Street in the Jazz District.
*Tweet of the Week: Aaron Rhodes- Pick up @RollingStone issue 1352 (June 2021) to see my first national byline. It’s a sponsored content piece from @VisitMO that highlights a few Kansas City venues worth visiting (@Knuckleheadskc, @ajazzmuseumKC, and Lemonade Park).
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*A television news broadcast reports that streets in the Jazz District will be blocked on weekends this summer.
*Downbeat published a review of Tony Tixier’s I Am Human. The French pianist’s album features duets with Ben Leifer, Hermon Mehari and Logan Richardson.
*Tweet of the Week: Dr. K Goldschmitt- Something I think about every time I teach History of Jazz is Altman’s Kansas City. He got a group of ridiculously talented musicians in the mid-1990s to meticulously re-enact a style from 60 years prior. Can you imagine this happening in any other genre?
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*The 2021 edition of Prairie Village’s jazz festival is scheduled for September 11.
*The Kansas City Star and KCUR share details about the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra’s 2021-22 season.
*A report in The Kansas City Star suggests live jazz will be featured at the former Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at 1400 Main Street when B&B Theatres takes over operations at the location.
*In an account of a new round of bloodshed in the Jazz District, a man employed on the block of the deadly quadruple shooting tells The Kansas City Star “people can’t come out to have a good time at night without fearing a shooting.”
*Anita Dixon and Jakob Wagner will remind participants in a virtual forum of Kansas City’s status as a UNESCO City of Music.
*Tweet of the Week: Regan Porter TV- UPDATE: One person dead, three others injured following a shooting near 19th and Vine. @kcpolicesaid another person showed up to the hospital with a broken leg, possibly received while running away from the gunfire. @fox4kc
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Laura Spencer reports on the American Jazz Museum’s current fundraising initiative for KCUR.
*Pat Metheny was interviewed by The Kansas City Star.
*Evan Verploegh chatted with Joe Dimino.
*Hermon Mehari promotes his new weekly program on KCUR’s Up To Date show.
*Tweet of the Week: The Kansas City Star- Historic House of Hits building in Kansas City’s 18th & Vine Jazz District collapses. (link)
Original image of a persimmon by Plastic Sax.
*Scalawag, an initiative dedicated to “supporting Southern movement, community, & dissent,” published the provocative stories There Goes the Neighborhood: What Really Caused the Decline of 18th & Vine and The Mutual Musicians Foundation is Fighting the Gentrification of Jazz in Kansas City.
*Christian McBride, Bobby Watson and Chuck Haddix participated in a panel discussion inspired by the graphic novel Chasin’ The Bird: Charlie Parker In California.
*The Peter Schlamb Quartet’s December 6 performance at Murry’s in Columbia streams on YouTube.
*The American Jazz Museum’s Believe In: AJM event streams at YouTube.
*Whirlwind Recordings posted a trailer for Logan Richardson’s latest album.
*Hermon Mehari created a music video for “All Alone.”
*Tweet of the Week: Modern Recordings- A perfect Sunday-Morning track: "Road to the Sun Pt. 2" from the forthcoming Pat Metheny-album. (link)
Larry Kopitnik, Plastic Sax’s 2015 Person of the Year, uploaded this 1990 television segment about Claude “Fiddler” Williams to YouTube in 2010. In addition to featuring the music of the late violinist, the piece offers valuable glimpses of what the Jazz District looked like 30 years ago.
The disorienting youthfulness of several members of the all-star band is one of the most striking aspects of this supplemental clip from Robert Altman’s 1996 film. Nicholas Payton and Joshua Redman are among the participants who look like children. Twenty-four years later, elements of Kansas City’s set still stand in the Jazz District.
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Steve Cardenas is featured on the October 6 episode of the GuitarWank podcast. (Tip via PF.)
*Jim Mair chatted with Joe Dimino.
*Kevin Collison reports on an ambitious new proposal for the vacant, city-owned Boone Theater in the Jazz District.
*Tweet o’ the Week: The Independent- Suddenly, classical radio is back. Almost exactly 20 years after its disappearance from the FM dial, the music that KC is becoming known for worldwide has made its way onto local airwaves again. On June 30th, 91.9 Classical KC went live.
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*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.