JAM Magazine: October/November 1998 Issue: President's Corner

by Vanessa Barnard

In the last two JAMs I've welcomed you to the start of the summer jazz season (June), and commented on arriving at its halfway point (August). Now, it is officially fall in Kansas City and the summer jazz season has again come to a close.

It was a very successful summer for the Jazz Ambassadors. We heard some great jazz, made a little money, signed up some new members and became involved in several more projects that promote Kansas City jazz.

The one project that makes me especially proud is the annual Jazz Lover's Pub Crawl(sm) in June. This year was no exception. From working with the amazing (and tireless) folks on the pub crawl committee to roving from club to club on June 25 and seeing so many people having such a great time, I couldn't have been more proud. I would be remiss if I didn't thank, in print, the people who worked on this year's committee: Vicki Rollf, Mary Ellen and Nelson Farney, Sydney Alleyne, David Zachery, Jennifer Vizina, Dean Hampton, Jack Kay, Bob Daniel, Don and Jeanne Wickens, Peter Horak, and all who worked as volunteers. And, of course, last but not least, Michael Rollf, the committee chairman. Mike was the glue that held us all together. A huge thanks goes to out him.

The final act of the crawl is that day in the fall when we give away a large portion of the proceeds to worthy recipients, recipients without whom jazz would have a difficult time continuing in Kansas City. This year the committee agreed that it wanted the money to focus more on jazz education. Regardless of the age of the student, jazz will only continue if people are educated about its past. And that's not to mention introducing students to the ingenuity and imagination that will take jazz into the future. So, our funds this year -- over $8,000 total -- are mostly earmarked toward those goals.

The following are the recipients for 1998:

The KC Blues & Jazz Festival (for its "Soul School")
The 18th & Vine Authority (for its jazz education programs in area schools)
Paseo Academy Jazz Studies Program
The GEM Theater
The Folly Theater Jazz Series
Major sponsors of Claude "Fiddler" Williams and David "Fathead" Newman at the Mutual Musicians Foundation (on the Saturday night of the Blues & Jazz Festival)
Kansas City Jazz International
UMKC Polish Jazz Exchange Program
Unity Temple on the Plaza
Musicians Emergency Assistance Fund (MEAF)

Representatives of these organizations gathered at Club Mardi Gras at 19th & Vine on September 17 to receive these donations. And with that meeting, another successful pub crawl came to an end. However, we will begin again after the first of the new year when the committee starts planning for 1999. Before you know it, next June will be here. And we'll do it all over again.

So, thanks to all of you, not only for your help with the pub crawl, but for your assistance in making this another notable summer for the Jazz Ambassadors.

Please continue your support of jazz this fall-winter by attending the Kansas City Jazz Workshop and Folly Jazz Series, along with the many other super events that are coming our way.

Happy listening!

RETURN TO OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1998 MAIN INDEX

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© Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.






	Search our site:		by Vanessa Barnard In the last two JAMs I've welcomed you to the start of the summer jazz season (June), and commented on arriving at its halfway point (August). Now, it is officially fall in Kansas City and the summer jazz season has again come to a close. It was a very successful summer for the Jazz Ambassadors. We heard some great jazz, made a little money, signed up some new members and became involved in several more projects that promote Kansas City jazz. The one project that makes me especially proud is the annual Jazz Lover's Pub Crawl(sm) in June. This year was no exception. From working with the amazing (and tireless) folks on the pub crawl committee to roving from club to club on June 25 and seeing so many people having such a great time, I couldn't have been more proud. I would be remiss if I didn't thank, in print, the people who worked on this year's committee: Vicki Rollf, Mary Ellen and Nelson Farney, Sydney Alleyne, David Zachery, Jennifer Vizina, Dean Hampton, Jack Kay, Bob Daniel, Don and Jeanne Wickens, Peter Horak, and all who worked as volunteers. And, of course, last but not least, Michael Rollf, the committee chairman. Mike was the glue that held us all together. A huge thanks goes to out him. The final act of the crawl is that day in the fall when we give away a large portion of the proceeds to worthy recipients, recipients without whom jazz would have a difficult time continuing in Kansas City. This year the committee agreed that it wanted the money to focus more on jazz education. Regardless of the age of the student, jazz will only continue if people are educated about its past. And that's not to mention introducing students to the ingenuity and imagination that will take jazz into the future. So, our funds this year -- over $8,000 total -- are mostly earmarked toward those goals. The following are the recipients for 1998: The KC Blues & Jazz Festival (for its "Soul School") The 18th & Vine Authority (for its jazz education programs in area schools) Paseo Academy Jazz Studies Program The GEM Theater The Folly Theater Jazz Series Major sponsors of Claude "Fiddler" Williams and David "Fathead" Newman at the Mutual Musicians Foundation (on the Saturday night of the Blues & Jazz Festival) Kansas City Jazz International UMKC Polish Jazz Exchange Program Unity Temple on the Plaza Musicians Emergency Assistance Fund (MEAF) Representatives of these organizations gathered at Club Mardi Gras at 19th & Vine on September 17 to receive these donations. And with that meeting, another successful pub crawl came to an end. However, we will begin again after the first of the new year when the committee starts planning for 1999. Before you know it, next June will be here. And we'll do it all over again. So, thanks to all of you, not only for your help with the pub crawl, but for your assistance in making this another notable summer for the Jazz Ambassadors. Please continue your support of jazz this fall-winter by attending the Kansas City Jazz Workshop and Folly Jazz Series, along with the many other super events that are coming our way. Happy listening! RETURN TO OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1998 MAIN INDEX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.