JAM Magazine: August/September 1999 Issue: Hampton's Hot Licks

by Dean Hampton

A Time to Reflect
The end of July always feels like the end of KC's "jazz fiscal year" to me. The pub crawl and all of the major jazz festivals have been completed, and the Jazz Ambassadors have participated in numerous special events that fit our organization's mission. It is a time of the year when our volunteers and our Board of Directors are tired and ready to just sit back and relax.

While this period of relaxation is important, it is also just as important to reflect. This is a time for those who participated in the year's jazz events to add to the Book of Lessons Learned. No doubt, our successes outnumber our failures, but there is always room for improvement, and reason to address the rare complaint that comes in.

We also hope everyone who attended one or more of the season's jazz events will contribute to the Book of Lessons Learned. You do have a voice! You can influence decisions and cause improvements! Write to us with your comments and suggestions and we will pass them along to the appropriate planners and directors. Better yet, if you'd like to have an active role in next year's events, we will try to arrange that, too.

A Worldclass Festival
There have been some wonderful jazz-related experiences this summer, but there was one event that had a special luster. Year number four of the Kansas City International Jazz Festival will go down as the one that "sealed the deal" by establishing KCJI as a worldclass jazz festival. All of the right ingredients were there in '99: three days of great jazz, attendance that surpassed previous years, and an organizational team that knows what it's doing. Trombonist Steve Turre closed his set on June 27 not with a song, but with a heartfelt speech about the genuine nature of the music presented by Steve Irwin, Jo Boehr and John Jessup. He spoke for everyone.

The Junkman!
The next time you have a group of people together and want to get some real musical excitement going, start digging into the nearest junk pile! Don Knaack, "The Junkman" totally captivated the KCJI audience on June 27 with a "Junk Jam" that utilized "junk sculptures" made of refuge gathered right here in KC. Knaack opened his set with five all-star percussionists (including festival headliner Norman Hedman) before moving into a "rock tune" (with real rocks, pebbles and boulders), a "heavy metal tune" (with pipes, hubcaps, tin cans, kegs and oil drums) and a "kitchen song" (with pots and pans, wine bottles and wash tubs). At the end of Knaack's show, different pieces of junk were distributed to the audience so that everyone could join in. There was even a junk sculpture on the Crown Center grounds created by Knaack for kids of all ages to "play" during breaks between shows. Instead of the banging and clanging you might expect, there were actually some very cool rhythms that even got some people dancing in the fountains!

Our New Jazz Education Director
Most jazz societies approach jazz education as a major part of their mission. And most contribute to jazz education through fundraising for music scholarships. Only a few develop their own educational programs and projects.

When the KCJA nominating committee went to work last October to fill the positions on the Board of Directors, a new post was created: Director of Jazz Education. While jazz education has always been one of our main priorities (through JAM magazine, special events and contributions), we still felt there was a void to be filled. Kansas City is blessed with many fine educational programs, both in the schools and the American Jazz Museum, as well as from certain private initiatives. But no local organization has attempted to unite the entire community of jazz educators by enabling everyone to share the momentum. That is one of KCJA's major educational goals as our new director forms our first Jazz Education Committee.

This position was a tough one to fill. It requires specialty skills, extensive knowledge of subject matter, and the ability to effectively network in the jazz education community. So, we are happy to announce that Tom Alexios of Lawrence, KS has enthusiastically agreed to accept this new directorship. Tom is currently in charge of Special Events for Down Beat magazine and has a strong track record when it comes to organizing events and projects. He was instrumental, for example, in working with JazzEd to send the Paseo Academy Jazz Ensemble to Washington D.C. in April (see "KC/DC" in this issue for more about that). Tom is also a member of the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) whose convention in January will be held in New Orleans and will attract thousands of jazz educators and musicians.

It's good to have Tom Alexios on the KCJA team.

"The Roots of All Music..."
If you haven't already, make a beeline to the American Jazz Museum's Changing Gallery at 18th & Vine and check out "State of the Blues," a wonderful exhibit of black and white photographs by Jeff Dunas. Such blues greats as Koko Taylor, B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Linda Hopkins and Joe Williams are prominently featured, as are Johnny Guitar Watson, Etta James, Bonnie Raitt and KC's own Jay McShann. There are also some riveting stills that capture the feel of life on the Mississippi Delta where so many blues roots were once formed. As John Lee Hooker once said, "The blues is the roots of all music. It's the roots. Every other song has got some blues in it, 'cause blues is the roots of everything. Blues has been here since the world was born. Once there was women and men loving each other and breaking up, that's the blues."

The exhibition will continue through Sunday, September 12. Call 474-VINE for more information.

-- Mike Metheny

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






	Search our site:		by Dean Hampton A Time to Reflect The end of July always feels like the end of KC's "jazz fiscal year" to me. The pub crawl and all of the major jazz festivals have been completed, and the Jazz Ambassadors have participated in numerous special events that fit our organization's mission. It is a time of the year when our volunteers and our Board of Directors are tired and ready to just sit back and relax. While this period of relaxation is important, it is also just as important to reflect. This is a time for those who participated in the year's jazz events to add to the Book of Lessons Learned. No doubt, our successes outnumber our failures, but there is always room for improvement, and reason to address the rare complaint that comes in. We also hope everyone who attended one or more of the season's jazz events will contribute to the Book of Lessons Learned. You do have a voice! You can influence decisions and cause improvements! Write to us with your comments and suggestions and we will pass them along to the appropriate planners and directors. Better yet, if you'd like to have an active role in next year's events, we will try to arrange that, too. A Worldclass Festival There have been some wonderful jazz-related experiences this summer, but there was one event that had a special luster. Year number four of the Kansas City International Jazz Festival will go down as the one that "sealed the deal" by establishing KCJI as a worldclass jazz festival. All of the right ingredients were there in '99: three days of great jazz, attendance that surpassed previous years, and an organizational team that knows what it's doing. Trombonist Steve Turre closed his set on June 27 not with a song, but with a heartfelt speech about the genuine nature of the music presented by Steve Irwin, Jo Boehr and John Jessup. He spoke for everyone. The Junkman! The next time you have a group of people together and want to get some real musical excitement going, start digging into the nearest junk pile! Don Knaack, "The Junkman" totally captivated the KCJI audience on June 27 with a "Junk Jam" that utilized "junk sculptures" made of refuge gathered right here in KC. Knaack opened his set with five all-star percussionists (including festival headliner Norman Hedman) before moving into a "rock tune" (with real rocks, pebbles and boulders), a "heavy metal tune" (with pipes, hubcaps, tin cans, kegs and oil drums) and a "kitchen song" (with pots and pans, wine bottles and wash tubs). At the end of Knaack's show, different pieces of junk were distributed to the audience so that everyone could join in. There was even a junk sculpture on the Crown Center grounds created by Knaack for kids of all ages to "play" during breaks between shows. Instead of the banging and clanging you might expect, there were actually some very cool rhythms that even got some people dancing in the fountains! Our New Jazz Education Director Most jazz societies approach jazz education as a major part of their mission. And most contribute to jazz education through fundraising for music scholarships. Only a few develop their own educational programs and projects. When the KCJA nominating committee went to work last October to fill the positions on the Board of Directors, a new post was created: Director of Jazz Education. While jazz education has always been one of our main priorities (through JAM magazine, special events and contributions), we still felt there was a void to be filled. Kansas City is blessed with many fine educational programs, both in the schools and the American Jazz Museum, as well as from certain private initiatives. But no local organization has attempted to unite the entire community of jazz educators by enabling everyone to share the momentum. That is one of KCJA's major educational goals as our new director forms our first Jazz Education Committee. This position was a tough one to fill. It requires specialty skills, extensive knowledge of subject matter, and the ability to effectively network in the jazz education community. So, we are happy to announce that Tom Alexios of Lawrence, KS has enthusiastically agreed to accept this new directorship. Tom is currently in charge of Special Events for Down Beat magazine and has a strong track record when it comes to organizing events and projects. He was instrumental, for example, in working with JazzEd to send the Paseo Academy Jazz Ensemble to Washington D.C. in April (see "KC/DC" in this issue for more about that). Tom is also a member of the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) whose convention in January will be held in New Orleans and will attract thousands of jazz educators and musicians. It's good to have Tom Alexios on the KCJA team. "The Roots of All Music..." If you haven't already, make a beeline to the American Jazz Museum's Changing Gallery at 18th & Vine and check out "State of the Blues," a wonderful exhibit of black and white photographs by Jeff Dunas. Such blues greats as Koko Taylor, B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Linda Hopkins and Joe Williams are prominently featured, as are Johnny Guitar Watson, Etta James, Bonnie Raitt and KC's own Jay McShann. There are also some riveting stills that capture the feel of life on the Mississippi Delta where so many blues roots were once formed. As John Lee Hooker once said, "The blues is the roots of all music. It's the roots. Every other song has got some blues in it, 'cause blues is the roots of everything. Blues has been here since the world was born. Once there was women and men loving each other and breaking up, that's the blues." The exhibition will continue through Sunday, September 12. Call 474-VINE for more information. -- Mike Metheny RETURN TO AUGUST 1999 MAIN INDEX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.