COMIN' HOME:
Two KC Jazz Vets Return To Their Roots

by Lisa Bauer


Kansas City is home to some of the country's finest blues and jazz musicians, including one jazz veteran whose roots can be traced to the big band era.

Drummer/bandleader Perry Reed has been playing music for the past 64 years. And as far as he is concerned, being a musician is more than being able to read and perform music. It is something that has to come from within.

Perry Reed

"A good musician must be able to feel what he is playing and play it from the heart," Reed told me recently. "It has to come right from the soul."

Perry Reed began playing the drums at the age of 13, but he didn't have any formal training.

"Basically, I'm self taught. I listened to a lot of radio programs and I learned how to play the music from that."

Before going into the military in the early 1940s, Reed liked to go to Musicians Local 627 and listen to Count Basie rehearse. He focused mostly on Basie's drummer, Jo Jones, and was able to ask Jones for tips on how to play the drums.

"Jo had a saying which is still true today: 'A drummer should be felt and not heard.'" Reed adds, "A drummer is the time keeper and the rhythm guy. You have to learn to play along or under (the rest of the band), but you also have to keep driving."

When Reed went into the service in March of 1941, he spent 13 weeks in basic training. One day, while in a marching formation, he heard music being played and asked if there was a band on the base. It was the 9th Calvary Band, he was told. So, when his basic training ended, Reed asked the warrant officer for permission to sit in with the band. Although Perry did not know how to read music (a requirement for any military band), he was still able to play; the band was running down many of the same songs he grew up listening to on the radio. Reed was soon assigned to the group, and a fellow soldier taught him how to read music.

As a member of the 9th Calvary Band during World War II, Reed had the opportunity to work with Bob Hope.

"Bob Hope always had his own band, and Les Brown was the band leader," Reed explained. "But there were times when he (Hope) would have to move on without them. So, he would call the next base and if they had their own band, he would come and rehearse, then use that band for his show. That was how I was able to play with him."

After leaving the service, Reed settled in Wichita, Kansas, and worked as an operating room technician at Wichita's VA Hospital. It wasn't long, however, until he found himself working at the VA Hospital back in Kansas City and attending jam sessions.

In the early '80s, while attending a session at the Mutual Musicians Foundation, Reed was introduced to Junior Williams who was the leader of a big band known as the Kansas City Jazz Brokers. The group needed a drummer and Reed proved to be the right man for the job. He was the band's drummer for the next three years, and when Williams passed away, Reed became its director.

During his time with the Jazz Brokers, Reed became acquainted with Frank Foster, the leader of the Count Basie band. Foster gave Perry a remarkable library of music that consisted of 101 charts from the original Basie book. Reed put the music to good use and the Jazz Brokers appeared at various gigs and festivals in and around the Kansas City area.

In the late '80s, health problems forced Reed to leave the Jazz Brokers (and Kansas City) and move back to Wichita to be closer to his family. But, this setback didn't slow him down for long. He ran into some old friends from Wichita State University, and soon the Air Capital Jazz Band was formed. Reed directed the 17 member big band and, once again, those Basie charts were being played and enjoyed.

Although Perry Reed is no longer its director, the Air Capital Jazz Band is still active in Wichita. And, at 77, Reed is back in Kansas City playing music. He has appeared with many of the greatest jazz artists of his day, and his dream now is to share his knowledge, experience and talent with the next generation of Kansas City jazz musicians.

"Get the kids involved, the kids who know what music is about," Reed says. "And give them a chance to learn something from the professionals. They should have the opportunity to sit next to older musicians and learn from them!"

Reed would like to share his library of Basie charts with a younger generation so they can see how the music originated and developed. And he would like to see a big band formed that consists of kids who are interested in learning more about blues and jazz.

"If that dream comes true," Reed says, "those children will learn more about this music than any schoolbook could ever teach them."

Perry Reed has much to share. And plenty to teach.

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When I sat down with trombonist Monroe "Monny" Nash to discuss what has happened in his life since leaving his native Kansas City for Chicago in the late '70s, it seemed that everyone around us, and even time itself, stood still. Before leaving Kansas City more than 20 years ago, Nash had already lived a life full of legends and opportunities.

Monny took me on a historical journey through an 18th and Vine district jumping with music, one club after another. He led me through the days when, as a youngster, he listened to Charlie Parker (his uncle's classmate) practice the music that would later make "Bird" a legend. Nash is not only a talented musician, but he is a walking history book full of stories he is eager to share.

Monroe Nash

"I was about 10 years younger than the Bird," Nash explained. "So in 1946, when I started playing the horn, he was going back to New York. The guys I grew up with, Luqman Hamza and Alaadeen, we had so much fun. There were so many clubs down on 18th and Vine in those days; you could walk up and down the street and find music everywhere."

Before Nash became interested in playing music, however, he found himself spending time with gangs at the local pool hall. A simple sign on the wall proved to be a turning point.

"There was a pool hall at 23rd and Prospect where we liked to hang out," Nash said. "And there was a sign on the inside that said 'No Cursing Allowed.' Well, I don't know what I said that day, but the owner kicked me out. It hurt me because then I didn't have a place to hang out. I went home that day and I started practicing. After about a week, I didn't want to go back (to the pool hall) and I didn't. Seventeen years later, I ran into the owner of that pool hall and I thanked him for putting me out that day. If he hadn't done that, I might still be there."

Nash didn't start playing the trombone immediately as a youngster. His parents couldn't afford a horn for each of their children, so Nash picked up his older brother's trumpet and took it to Sumner High School.

"Sumner had some terrific trumpet players," Nash said. "I remember a guy named Jack Curtis who was just fantastic. He was a senior and I was a sophomore so, when I heard they needed a trombone player, I volunteered. That way, I knew I would get to play first trombone instead of playing sixth trumpet."

After high school, Nash studied music and received his first degree from Lincoln University. It was at Lincoln that Nash had the opportunity to play the gig of a lifetime.

"The whole time I was at Lincoln University, I played music. I met guys from different parts of the country and we formed a band. That was my meal ticket. One time Duke Ellington brought his band to Lincoln and (trombonist) Brit Woodman wasn't feeling well, so they had me sit in with Duke's band. Playing with Duke Ellington was one of the biggest thrills of my life."

Over the years, Nash has traveled all over the world. And when he wasn't playing music, he would substitute teach to make ends meet. He's even done some stand-up comedy. As he puts it, "I'm a performer, that's what I like to do."

In 1977, while living in Kansas City, Nash traveled to Chicago to visit relatives. During that trip, he ran into Dr. JoAhn Brown, an old friend from his younger days in Kansas City. It didn't take long for Nash to fall in love with his future wife. After commuting between Kansas City and Chicago, he moved to the Windy City and married Dr. Brown. They spent the next 18 years working together and traveling around the world.

Nash and his wife were active in Chicago's educational system. Together, they were instrumental in introducing computer labs into the schools. In fact, Nash himself became the Administrative Assistant for the Harvey School District in Chicago.

In 1995, Nash's wife passed away, and he found himself alone. He continued to live in Chicago, but in early 1999 he decided to return to Kansas City to perform ("I'm grateful to a man named Lee Lee for getting me my first three jobs back here") and to start several new projects.

"A kid told me the other day he was afraid to go to a club because he thought someone would try to take away his horn. So I'm trying to set up a situation where the kids won't be afraid to come and play music. I would like to put it right down on 18th street where I grew up. We should set something up where kids can come and not feel intimidated. And where they can be creative."

Monny Nash has many dreams for this community that he hopes will come true. He remembers when his buddies would come over and they would all spend the day jamming, or going to Paseo Park on Sundays to hear weekly concerts. It is those kinds of positive situations Nash would like to recreate for today's younger generation. He would like for them to have the opportunity to learn from the very best in this city that is so well known for jazz, past and present.

"I want them to have the chance to grow, and become the best they can be," he says.

With Monny Nash -- and Perry Reed -- back in the Kansas City jazz community, today's children just might have a better chance to benefit from a rich musical tradition. And to be inspired by the dreams of two Kansas City jazz veterans.


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