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 JAZZ VACATION: KANSAS CITY 1998 Edition © 1991-1998, Dean E. Hampton A jazz vacation to Kansas City is a musical expedition you will never forget. The KC jazz scene in 1998 is very healthy, and it is alive with daily events featuring excellent musicians in a variety of venues. From concert halls and churches to clubs and casinos, jazz is everywhere in Kansas City. Before you come to KC to do it all in just seven days, lets cover the preliminaries. Most of the name hotels -- from downtown to the Country Club Plaza -- will prove to be good, safe bases of operation for your jazz junkets. Kansas City's central location on the map keeps the hotels at high occupancy, so I strongly recommend that you make your reservations well in advance. Dress, for the most part, will be casual. (Plan on it being hot in the summer, cold in the winter. Spring and fall can go either way, all in the same day!) And I'd suggest that you bring a boom box with CD player. There's excellent jazz radio programming in the KC area, and you will want to listen to the jazz CDs you acquire during your stay. Allow about $45 per day for food; drinks are extra. Few events require a cover charge, and a drink minimum doesn't exist in Kansas City. Before you begin your trip, you will need a copy of the current JAM magazine. And since over 54 million Americans now have Internet access, I will assume that you are one of them or that you at least have access to the 'net through work, friends or the library. I recommend that you visit the KC Jazz Ambassadors web site for a "virtual" copy of JAM. That web site can be found at: http://www.jazzkc.org If you don't have 'net access, you can subscribe to JAM ($15 per year) by writing to the Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors, P.O. Box 36181, Kansas City, MO 64171. (Please note that the Jazz Ambassadors do not have a free mailing list.) JAM in either hard or virtual copy will list clubs and other jazz venues. Jazz radio programming is also included. A "News & Notes" section currently comes in hard copy form only. However, the KCJA's monthly newsletter, Wholenotes, is posted to the web site and lists many upcoming events. MONDAY To start your 1998 Kansas City Jazz Vacation, time your drive so you will arrive on a Monday afternoon. On the way into town, tune to either KCMW-FM (90.9) if coming from the east, or KKFI-FM (90.1) if coming from the west. Both play jazz and/or blues in the afternoon. Another option is to tune to KCIY-FM (106.5) for the sounds of Smooth Jazz. (If you fly in to KC, be sure the presets on your rental car radio are set to these stations.) As soon as you check in to your room, call the Jazz Hotline at 753-JASS (5277) for complete jazz event listings. Have pen and paper handy. A weekly calendar form would be ideal for this. It will take about seven minutes to hear the entire recording. You are now ready to enjoy Kansas City's live jazz scene. First, head for the Phoenix Piano Bar and Grill at 8th & Central. And be there at 6:00 p.m. when you are likely to hear the duo of Tim Whitmer and Terry Peffer or the smooth sounds of Max Groove. Having just celebrated its 8th anniversary, the Phoenix is a KC jazz mainstay. Next, you are about to see a part of KC's $27 million investment in jazz. The address is 18th & Vine and the venue is the Blue Room. The "Blue Monday JAM" starts at 7:00 p.m. and will likely include a number of KC's top jazz musicians. The Blue Room is actually part of the new Jazz Museum and is loaded with jazz artifacts, some of which are on display within the club's table tops. Because of the Blue Room's literal connection to the museum, this is KC's only smoke-free jazz club. Later, head for Midtown and The Levee for the rousing jazz and blues of guitarist Sonny Kenner. Be sure to pick up one of Sonny's CDs before heading back to the hotel and drifting off to the classic jazz sounds of the nightly show, "Take Five" on KCUR-FM (89.3). If this happens to be one of those special Mondays in KC, you may want to substitute the above for a cabaret concert presented by the Kansas City Jazz Workshop (KCJW). You will know about their concerts from your call to the Jazz Hotline or from the current issue of JAM magazine. TUESDAY
At 7:00 p.m., head for the Boulevard Cafe where you will find Stan Kessler & The Sons of Brasil, another hot, don't-miss KC group. Latin jazz is the theme and you will want to leave with their most recent CD. And don't forget to sample the Boulevard's fine international cuisine. Move on to the Majestic Steak House downtown, a good place for an introduction to world famous Kansas City steaks. The Majestic has plenty of new parking and live jazz. If you're lucky, this will be a Joe Cartwright night. The pianist and his group will excite your soul, whether on an entrancing ballad or a blazing arrangement of an uptempo standard. Be sure to pick up one of the many CDs Joe will have for sale. If you haven't had quite enough for a Tuesday, head to Club 427 in the City Market area for a jazz nightcap. Band leader/pianist Steve Miller and the superb vocalist Rosetta Robinson are frequent performers. The Scamps are another regular group at 427 and are among the true keepers of the KC jazz flame. Their CD, Swingin' with the Scamps is one you will enjoy for years to come.
WEDNESDAY In the afternoon, visit either Music Exchange at its new home on Broadway, or Streetside Records a block north to find recommended recordings of local artists. (Visit our web site's "CD Reviews" page for a starter list of about 40.) While at Music Exchange, ask owner Ron Rooks to help you find that long-lost album you've been trying to find (or replace). He probably has it in stock. If you are a church-goer, plan ahead so you are in Kansas City the first Wednesday of the month. (You will be very tired by Sunday morning!) You will want to visit Unity Temple on the Plaza at 7:00 p.m. for their monthly "Spirituality and All That Jazz." Even if you haven't been to church in 15 years, you will enjoy the way pianist Tim Whitmer and minister Duke Tufty provide a jazzy cleansing of the soul.
While searching out special KC acts, check the Jazz Hotline for the McFadden Brother's schedule at the downtown Marriott Hotel. Fresh from a multi-year engagement with Wayne Newton, the McFaddens put on a first-class show. Lonnie is on trumpet, Ronnie is on sax, and both will tap dance you into a trance! They appear at least 16 times a month, but the nights vary, so do check the schedule. To end this Wednesday evening with more hot sounds, stop by Jardine's just north of the Plaza. Jardine's has hosted a number of CD release parties in the past, most recently a launch for As One by St. Paul pianist, Laura Caviani, recorded here in KC. THURSDAY Stroll the Country Club Plaza during the day. During the summer months, you will enjoy outdoor jazz at either the Penguin or Mermaid Courtyards. Many of those listed in JAM's "Music Mart" play these afternoon concerts. For an early evening treat, I suggest you start at the Majestic Steak House where drummer Tommy Ruskin and singer Julie Turner team to host a steady gig on Thursdays. Be sure to pick up a copy of Julie's recording, Save That Time, featuring many fine KC jazz musicians. Then there are the jazz duos at The Club at Plaza III on Thursday (and sometimes Wednesday) night. Pianist Paul Smith is a regular as is cornetist Gary Sivils whose current CD is called You Must Believe In Music.
Later, drop by a relatively new jazz spot called 39 on Main. Various KC jazz musicians have been featured there on Thursdays. And if you still have time and are in a bluesy kind of mood, end your Thursday at the Grand Emporium. The Emporium is a multi-year winner of the "W.C. Handy Top Blues Club in America" award. If you have room, awaiting you there will be a belly full of Amazing Grace's BBQ and an ear full of the blues. The Grand Emporium frequently features national acts. FRIDAY Now we kick things up a few notches. Let's start by calling this "museum day." Begin the day at 6:00 a.m. with station KKFI-FM and the "Breakfast JAM." Then at 8:00 a.m. tune to KCMW-FM as they begin their jazz programming for the day. After a quick and filling lunch at one of KC's world famous BBQ joints (try Arthur Bryant's or Gates for starters), head back to 18th & Vine. Plan to be there by 2:00 p.m. for a trip through the Jazz Museum. Many parts of the museum are interactive. For example, you may want to try your hand at mixing a recording. Admission is $6 and is worth well more than that. By about 5:00 p.m., head to the Nelson-Atkins Art Gallery for Sprint's "Friday Night Jazz." There you will hear such well-known KC groups as the Milt Abel Trio or Alaadeen and Group 21. (Alaadeen's '96 CD, Plays Blues for RC & Josephine, Too will sound great in that boom box you brought along. As will his Time Through the Ages.) Get to the Phoenix Piano Bar & Grill by 8:00 p.m. and you will probably hear Tim Whitmer & the KC Express. Months after your jazz vacation is over, you will still remember how you couldn't sit still during Whitmer's multi-generational interpretations of the historic Kansas City jazz sound. (And add a couple of Tim's CDs to your collection, too.)
If you need even more jazz tonight, zip back over to Jardine's for "Jazz Around The Clock." The music there doesn't end until 3:00 a.m. SATURDAY will be a long day. And it won't end until Sunday night! We start at 10:00 a.m. with Dick Wright's "The Jazz Scene" on KANU-FM (91.5). Harling's Upstairs kicks off the afternoon JAMs with "Mama" Ray & the Rich Van Sant Band. Take home their bluesy CD, Jam, Kansas City Style. The next stop is 210 at Fedora for Tommy Ruskin's Saturday jazz jam featuring Gerald Spaits on bass and Mike Ning on piano and vocals. Then, around 5:00 p.m., head to the Phoenix at Station Casino for the Pete Eye Trio and vocalist Rob Richardson. Be sure to check out all of the great KC jazz photos (by Beverly Rehkop) of people you have been seeing all week. Dinner tonight is at The Club at Plaza III where you can hear solo piano work of Dr. Ronnell Bright from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. If you don't know of him, read the feature in this issue of JAM; you will be surprised at his list of credentials. On this Saturday night's "main stage," the headliners could include the world-renowned jazz violinist Claude "Fiddler" Williams, or vocalist (and 1994 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition finalist) Lisa Henry. Both will be supplied with great CDs. Lisa's latest is Jam Session, Claude's is King of Kansas City. For the last stop, you will want to move back to the historic 18th & Vine District for all-night music at the Mutual Musicians Foundation. This is the night you will watch the sun come up! SUNDAY If you are up early (or still up!) for church, the Hotline may have information about jazz vespers services. At 9:00 a.m., tune in to Jeff Charney's "Sunday Jazz Brunch" on KPRS-FM (103.3). Jeff's award-winning show is an inspiration in itself. Speaking of brunch, there are a couple of good choices. Guitarists Rod Fleeman and/or Charlie Gatschet are regulars at the Boulevard Cafe's Sunday morning jazz brunch, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Or, try Jules on the Plaza where you can catch organist Everette DeVan. This won't be church music either! DeVan's B-3 work will inspire you to purchase one or both of his CDs, East of the Sun and The Real Thing. On your radio, switch over to KCUR-FM at 2:00 p.m. for "Just Jazz" with Ginney Coleman and Ruth Rhoden. And if you are into Dixieland, do an early evening at Jules with the New Red Onion Jazz Babies. This trad jazz group is back at the location where they once packed the house for years. Like swing dancing? The place to go is The Hurricane in Westport. Dance lessons start at 8:00 and 11:00 p.m., and Dave Stephens plays 'til 3:00 a.m. Headin' Home -- It is now Monday morning. If you have followed my plan you've visited 17 live jazz venues, heard over 25 groups, listened to over 200 hours of jazz radio programming, and have acquired over 20 new souvenir recordings to help you relive your trip. In this year's KC jazz vacation, you will have visited several clubs that you may have visited before. No major jazz clubs or venues closed during the past year, and more have opened. We have not covered all of them. You will have to come back another week to finish it all. If you think you can actually -- and verifiably -- cover all of this in a single week, let me know. I'll bet I can talk the Jazz Ambassadors into giving you a t-shirt that says: "I Survived the 1998 KC Jazz Vacation!" RETURN TO JUNE/JULY 1998 MAIN INDEX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved. |
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