Jazz Ambassador Magazine Jazz Ambassador Magazine • April + May 2018 Contents April + May 2018 Volume 32, No
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APRIL + MAY 2018 18th & vine Past, Present and – Most Importantly – Its Future THE BLUE ROOM AT TheTheB L U ROOM 816.474.8463 1600 EAST 18TH STREET KANSAS CITY, MO 64108 APRIL 2018 MAY 2018 MON 2 JAM SESSION: ERNEST MELTON THURS 3 TJ HOOKER THURS 5 RICH HILL/CHARLES PERKINS QUINTET FRI 4 BMW FRI 6 DELYNIA JANNELL LADY D JC THE NEW KING OF FUNK SAT 5 PABLO SANHUEZA & THE KC SAT 7 JAMES WARD BAND LATIN JAZZ ALL-STARS MON 7 MON 9 JAM SESSION: PABLO SANHUEZA JAM SESSION: ERNEST MELTON THURS 12 CHRIS BURNETT QUARTET THUR 10 HEAT INDEX FRI 13 BMW FRI 11 DA TRUTH HERMON MEHARI JC THE NEW KING OF FUNK SAT 14 CD RELEASE PARTY: CHARLES WILLIAMS SAT 12 JAMES WARD BAND MON 16 JAM SESSION: DEANDRE MANNING MON 14 JAM SESSION: SETH LEE THURS 19 JEFF HARSHBARGER TRIO THUR 17 ROGER WILDER TRIO FRI 20 LADY D FRI 18 JUST A TASTE A JAZZ MAX BERRY TYRONE CLARK SAT 21 IDA MCBETH SAT 19 IDA MCBETH SUN 22 BRUBECK BROTHERS MON 21 JAM SESSION: DESMOND MASON MON 23 JAM SESSION: JASON GOUDEAU THUR 24 BILL MCKEMY TRIO THURS 26 PABLO SANHUEZA & THE KC FRI 25 DELYNIA JANNELL LATIN JAZZ ALL-STARS SONS OF BRASIL FRI 27 THE BAND OASIS SAT 26 ARTHUR WHITE & MERGE MAX GROOVE MON 28 LOUIS NEAL BIG BAND SAT 28 ARTHUR WHITE & MERGE THUR 31 ORQUESTA MUNDO NOUVO MON 30 JAM SESSION: CHRISTIAN SWAN blue room PALE ALE blue room hours indigo hour A PERCENTAGE OF BLUE ROOM MONDAY & THURSDAY 5:00-11:00PM FRIDAYS 5:00-7:30PM PALE ALE IS DONATED BY FRIDAY 5:00PM- 1:00AM DRINK SPECIALS NORTH COAST BREWING TO SATURDAY 7:00PM- 1:00AM HOSTED BY MAGIC 107.3 (2ND AND 4TH FRIDAYS) SUPPORT PROGRAMMING AT THE AMERICAN JAZZ MUSEUM. COVER CHARGE SIGNATURE EVENT INDIGO HOUR See americanjazzmuseum.org for additional information 5TH ANNUAL ARTISTS INDUCTION & CONCERT SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018 GEM THEATER 1615 E. 18th Street | Kansas City, MO 64108 7:00 PM INDUCTION CEREMONY | Free & Open to the public 7:30 PM CONCERT at the GEM THEATER featuring DAVID SANBORN • MARILYN MAYE • RUBEN STUDDARD Concert tickets: $50 per person Available at the Gem Theater Box Office & thru Ticketmaster AMERICANJAZZWALKOFFAME.COM Sponsored by NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS Kansas City Jazz Orchestra to Perform in Europe The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra (KCJO) is headed overseas. The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra is now in its 15th season On May 9th and 10th, KCJO takes part in the Hannover En- of presenting concerts, including its 6th season of performances ercity Swinging Jazz Festival in Hannover, Germany. Then on in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The orchestra May 11th and 12th, the orchestra travels to Szczecin, Poland includes 17 of Kansas City’s finest jazz musicians led by Musical to perform another concert. Director and Conductor Clint Ashlock. The Hannover festival began in 1967 on Ascension Day, a Christian celebration. Last year’s event drew 40,000 people, making it one of the largest open-air music festivals in Europe. Musicians Assisting “The festival’s lineup always focuses on quality and variety,” Musicians 101 says Nicolas Sempff, the festival’s booking manager. “A full- KC Jazz ALIVE is planning an educational workshop for size big band of the caliber of the KCJO is unique and we are Kansas City area jazz musicians from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the excited to welcome them to Hannover.” Black Dolphin on April 21st. Singer/songwriter Karla Bauer will also represent Kansas “Musicians Assisting Musicians 101 – The Business of City. Bauer will direct a choir for an Ascension Day service. Jazz” will coach musicians on fine-tuning their music business skills. Karla Bauer will conduct workshops on “how to pro- mote yourself in a digital world” and “the critical information musicians need to be successful in the music industry.” Jon Troz- zolo of Crossroads Media Group will capture photos of musicians performing which they can then use for self-promotion (photos are available to the first 35 musicians to register). Tickets are $25 each. Scholarships are available on request. For more in- formation, contact Macy Layne at macyl@kcjazza- The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra performing in 2017’s live.org. Kansas City Jazz and Heritage Festival 2 APRIL + MAY 2018 • JAZZ AMBASSADOR MAGAZINE JAZZ AMBASSADOR MAGAZINE • APRIL + MAY 2018 CONTENTS APRIL + MAY 2018 VOLUME 32, NO. 2 (Jam is published bi-monthly by the Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors, a non-profit 501(c)(3 organization dedicated to the development and promotion of Kansas City jazz. All rights News & Highlights ...............2 are reserved. Reproduction of any material is prohibited without consent of the publisher. To contact the KC Jazz Ambassadors, call (816) 888-4503. For advertising information, call (816) 591-3378 or email 18th & Vine: Past, Present and – [email protected]. Letters should be addressed to: Jam, P.O. Box 36181, Kansas City, MO 64171-6181. To contact the editor, email Most Importantly – Its Future.......4 [email protected]. “Jam” and “Jazz Lover’s Pub Crawl” are Registered Trademarks of The Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors, Inc. Jam/Jazz Ambassador Magazine (Online) ISSN: 1533-0745 EDITOR Folly Jazz News ............... 20 Larry Kopitnik CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Roger Atkinson Joe Dimino Larry Kopitnik David Basse Wayne Goins Mike Metheny Off the Vine ................. 22 Carolyn Glenn Brewer Chuck Haddix Yoko Takemura Chris Burnett Connie Humiston ADVERTISING For the Record ............... 24 Connie Humiston (816) 591-3378 [email protected] TYPOGRAPHY & GRAPHIC DESIGN Rodric McBride Club Scene .................. 27 COVER PHOTOGRAPHY Larry Kopitnik PRINTING Single Source Printing Coda ....................... 28 DISTRIBUTION (PRINT) K.C. Jazz Ambassadors DISTRIBUTION (ELECTRONIC) www.kcjazzambassadors.org Next Jam .................... 28 2018 BOARD OF DIRECTORS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE PRESIDENT Stephen Matlock On the Cover: APRIL + MAY 2018 PRESIDENT ELECT Jennifer Wismeier TREASURER Suzanne Spencer Left: The Hey Hey Club sign from DIRECTOR AT LARGE Robert Altman’s Cheryl Anderson 1996 film Kansas ADVISORY BOARD City sits in the Tom Alexios | Jim Ramel | Angela Hagenbach Boone Theater. JAM DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Cheryl Anderson Middle: The auditorium in Cripus The Board of Directors gratefully thanks Darrell Hoffman and Bob Clark Attucks School as it and the Jam distribution team for their untiring contributions to the KCJA. looks today. Right: ©2018 Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors, Inc. The MLB Urban 18th & vine Youth Academy. Past, Present and – Most Importantly – Its Future JAZZ AMBASSADOR MAGAZINE • APRIL + MAY 2018 3 Past, Present and – Most Importantly – Its Future 4 APRIL + MAY 2018 • JAZZ AMBASSADOR MAGAZINE JAZZ AMBASSADOR MAGAZINE • APRIL + MAY 2018 18th & Vine For two decades, Kansas City’s 18th and Vine district has been defined by its museums. The museums, apparently, were the district’s only hope for broad public acceptance, since a walk down its streets revealed too many empty storefronts and historic sites – at least, you assumed they’re historic sites if they’re still standing – masquerading as boarded up shells. This district is bigger than that. 1500 people live in the area. The city, right now, is spending $7 million on the first phase of a planned $27.6 million in improvements. Behind the scenes, historic buildings are being stabilized and secured. Businesses are being recruited to fill storefronts with new restaurants and clubs. Individuals are investing. The initial fresh successes ring the periphery of the district. But within the core of 18th and Vine, you hear a buzz and excitement from new faces dedicated to making this work. In late March – after this issue goes to press but before you read it – a city-commissioned report will recommend a future path for the American Jazz Museum and the district. Nothing is guaranteed. That report could end up in a city hall closet, investments could dry up, and new business owners could retreat mumbling, never mind. But that’s not the feeling. That underlying excitement is reasoned and measured, yet building beyond anything this district has felt since the museums. Let’s take a look, in alphabetical order, at ten of the buildings and places receiving attention. In most cases, it’s attention the public hasn’t yet seen. Let’s recognize each site’s past and significance, review its current state, and discuss plans for its future. The MLB Urban Youth Academy, the Paseo YMCA and Crispus Attucks School stand out. But every building and space is a critical piece of the jigsaw puzzle defining the future of 18th and Vine. continued Left: The northwest corner of 19th and Vine, also known as the Roberts Building. The top photo is the corner in 1929. The bottom photo is the corner today. The white building at the right side of each photo was the first African American-owned auto dealership in the United States. Past, Present and – Most Importantly – Its Future by Larry Kopitnik JAZZ AMBASSADOR MAGAZINE • APRIL + MAY 2018 5 TH 18 & VINE CONTINUED In the early 1950s, Scotts closed and the building was ac- The Boone Theater quired by the State of Missouri, which converted it to a National In 1922, the land at the southeast corner of 18th and Guard Armory. It became home to the 242nd Engineering Bat- Highland Streets was developed as an outdoor theater, the talion, an all-African American unit. The 242nd disbanded in Highland Gardens, and operated by the father of 1960s civil 1960, when segregation ended in Missouri’s National Guard. A rights leader Leon Jordan. In 1924, the building standing today few years later, the city bought the building from the state for at 1701 E. 18th Street opened as the New Rialto. In 1929, it was one dollar, eventually using it as storage for the Public Works renamed the New Boone Theater for John W.