JAM Magazine: June/July 1999 Issue: First Take

by Mike Metheny
JAM Editor

Pitch Hits a Klam
clam, n. (poss. partly from being alliterative with its older synonym CLINKER; more prob. shortened form of the derogatory sense of CLAMBAKE; current since c. 1950; see also GOOF) A misplayed note; also, for a rare verb use, see 1961 quotation.

Down Beat, Nov. 30, 1955 (p. 47) -- "I'd say that was a band that doesn't work together regularly... because there were a few clams in the ensemble."

Down Beat, Feb. 2, 1961 (p. 30) -- "(Freddie) Hubbard sounds positively uncomfortable and clams in royal style at the beginning."

The New Yorker, Apr. 25, 1964 (p. 195) -- "Stridency creeps into his tone, clams proliferate, and one senses that he has difficulty translating into sound what he hears in his head."

-- from Jazz Talk by Robert S. Gold (1975)

Not everyone can be up on the subtleties of each art form, but when the jazz-challenged music staff at Pitch Weekly came up with "Klammies" for the name of its annual music awards show in '97, they really rang the gong. ("Just think what they might have called a cat show," said writer and humorist, Chuck Saults. For more on the late, great Mr. Saults, see "Coda".)

Sure, this is nit-picking to some, and inconsequential fussing to others, but at least one cranky jazz curmudgeon with fading east coast sensibilities sees it as analogous to naming a baseball banquet The Errors. ("Maybe you could change it to The Bearded Klammies," I wrote to them last year.)

Come on, Pitch. Do the right thing. Spare the area's many fine jazz and classical musicians further embarrassment and follow the leads of the major leaguers in Boston and New York. "The Kansas City Music Awards" would bring some class to your timely, well-intentioned and philanthropic event, and it would give KC a chance to be taken seriously on the national stage.

"The Klammies," on the other hand, only perpetuates an image that Kansas City has the mentality of (quoting Pitch Senior Editor Bruce Rodgers earlier this year) "a second tier city;" a reputation that still seems to stick years after the Yankees regularly pounded the hapless A's, and decades after Basie and Bird moved on to greener, hipper pastures.

A Grand Symposium
Area jazz musicians, aficionados and students who skipped the Charlie Parker Symposium last March missed out on some wonderful eyewitness accounts and anecdotes. Imagine: Billy Taylor, Max Roach, Milt Jackson, Jay McShann, Claude "Fiddler" Williams, Al Grey, Parker's former wife Doris and many others offering first hand insight, not only about Bird, but about an important chapter in Kansas City jazz history. The hope, according to 18th & Vine's Executive Director Rowena Stewart, is to have more such gatherings, "but only if we can get the attendance up." These distinguished jazz elders won't be around forever, and when they're assembled for unique events like this, historical curiosity alone should help pack the house.

At Last, It's Summer
When it comes to the hot (and cool) sounds of summer, it's hard to beat the Kansas City area this time of year. For jazz lovers in particular, things start to heat up in early June and don't wind down until after Labor Day providing listeners with a variety of events that feature local, national and international jazz talent. For the details, see our summer preview in this issue, and to put the current state of KC jazz into a broader perspective, see our annual "Club Scene Synopsis." Despite a music awards show with an unfortunate name, the Kansas City jazz scene remains vibrant and in good health.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
"When you hit a clam, there's nowhere to hide." -- French trumpet virtuoso, Maurice Andre, in a St. Louis workshop/recital, fall of 1970.

RETURN TO JUNE 1999 MAIN INDEX

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






	Search our site:		by Mike Metheny JAM Editor Pitch Hits a Klam clam, n. (poss. partly from being alliterative with its older synonym CLINKER; more prob. shortened form of the derogatory sense of CLAMBAKE; current since c. 1950; see also GOOF) A misplayed note; also, for a rare verb use, see 1961 quotation. Down Beat, Nov. 30, 1955 (p. 47) -- "I'd say that was a band that doesn't work together regularly... because there were a few clams in the ensemble." Down Beat, Feb. 2, 1961 (p. 30) -- "(Freddie) Hubbard sounds positively uncomfortable and clams in royal style at the beginning." The New Yorker, Apr. 25, 1964 (p. 195) -- "Stridency creeps into his tone, clams proliferate, and one senses that he has difficulty translating into sound what he hears in his head." -- from Jazz Talk by Robert S. Gold (1975) Not everyone can be up on the subtleties of each art form, but when the jazz-challenged music staff at Pitch Weekly came up with "Klammies" for the name of its annual music awards show in '97, they really rang the gong. ("Just think what they might have called a cat show," said writer and humorist, Chuck Saults. For more on the late, great Mr. Saults, see "Coda".) Sure, this is nit-picking to some, and inconsequential fussing to others, but at least one cranky jazz curmudgeon with fading east coast sensibilities sees it as analogous to naming a baseball banquet The Errors. ("Maybe you could change it to The Bearded Klammies," I wrote to them last year.) Come on, Pitch. Do the right thing. Spare the area's many fine jazz and classical musicians further embarrassment and follow the leads of the major leaguers in Boston and New York. "The Kansas City Music Awards" would bring some class to your timely, well-intentioned and philanthropic event, and it would give KC a chance to be taken seriously on the national stage. "The Klammies," on the other hand, only perpetuates an image that Kansas City has the mentality of (quoting Pitch Senior Editor Bruce Rodgers earlier this year) "a second tier city;" a reputation that still seems to stick years after the Yankees regularly pounded the hapless A's, and decades after Basie and Bird moved on to greener, hipper pastures. A Grand Symposium Area jazz musicians, aficionados and students who skipped the Charlie Parker Symposium last March missed out on some wonderful eyewitness accounts and anecdotes. Imagine: Billy Taylor, Max Roach, Milt Jackson, Jay McShann, Claude "Fiddler" Williams, Al Grey, Parker's former wife Doris and many others offering first hand insight, not only about Bird, but about an important chapter in Kansas City jazz history. The hope, according to 18th & Vine's Executive Director Rowena Stewart, is to have more such gatherings, "but only if we can get the attendance up." These distinguished jazz elders won't be around forever, and when they're assembled for unique events like this, historical curiosity alone should help pack the house. At Last, It's Summer When it comes to the hot (and cool) sounds of summer, it's hard to beat the Kansas City area this time of year. For jazz lovers in particular, things start to heat up in early June and don't wind down until after Labor Day providing listeners with a variety of events that feature local, national and international jazz talent. For the details, see our summer preview in this issue, and to put the current state of KC jazz into a broader perspective, see our annual "Club Scene Synopsis." Despite a music awards show with an unfortunate name, the Kansas City jazz scene remains vibrant and in good health. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY "When you hit a clam, there's nowhere to hide." -- French trumpet virtuoso, Maurice Andre, in a St. Louis workshop/recital, fall of 1970. RETURN TO JUNE 1999 MAIN INDEX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.