JAM Magazine: October/November 1999 Issue: Correspondence

Tram
An addendum to Campbell Burnap's fine review (JAM, August/September) of Tram: The Frank Trumbauer Story by Philip R. Evans and Larry F. Kiner.

Listed with the authors, but in parenthesis, is the name of William Trumbauer. Burnap chooses not to mention this particular Trumbauer, so I think that fans of all the Trumbauers should know this part of the story as well.

The William Trumbauer mentioned is not Tram's son William, but Tram's grandson William. Kansas City jazz fans will fondly remember jazz trumpeter Bill Trumbauer, Tram's son, who was for a number of years in the 1960s and 1970s very visible on the KC scene. He was also a teaching colleague of mine at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and a dear friend who died far too soon. It is his son Billy who is credited. Bill III wrote little if any of this fine book, but he did help gather much of the material; and he rode herd on both writers over an extended period of time to see that the work would eventually get published.

Billy was kind enough to see that I received an autographed copy of the book when it was first published, and he enclosed a special "bookmark": one of his grandfather's C melody saxophone reeds, which I treasure.

John Leisenring
Professor of Jazz Studies
University of Missouri/Kansas City
Kansas City, MO

Support or Intrusion?
I just read the August/September JAM, which makes me proud to be part of the Jazz Ambassadors.

A comment on Bob Blount's opposition to the National Endowment for the Arts. Bob says taxpayers shouldn't have to pay his bills when fans won't pay to hear him. He fears government intrusion on the arts. I look at it from an entirely different perspective.

I recall that Lincoln said government should do things for the people that they can't do for themselves or can't do as well themselves. I don't want to pay "unpopular" artists to produce something. What I do want is for the school children of this country to be introduced to jazz, which may not happen if somebody doesn't receive a grant to perform in the schools. Whether it's Bob or someone else I could care less as long as the performance is good.

We expect governments to place art, fountains and flowers in front of buildings. The Folly Jazz Series is funded, in part, by the NEA and its minions. So is the Kansas City Symphony, the Nelson-Atkins Museum, the Missouri Rep, the Unicorn Theater and the State Ballet of Missouri. That means ticket prices are subsidized by the government. For a large market like Chicago such underwriting may not be critical. For a small market like Kansas City, government underwriting may be the difference between having first-rate jazz and theater, having second rate or having none.

Also, I think that if the government tried to tell Cynthia Levin at the Unicorn what plays she could stage, we would all have heard about it.

European governments have long patronized the arts and we tourists love it. Old European cities are so rich for their endowments. We can get paranoid about this and worry (like Jesse Helms), or we can enjoy subsidized arts until some larger problem arises.

I thought we had more pressing problems in government that this.

Ron Miriani
Kansas City, MO

Thanks from the KCJW
First I want to thank JAM for all the great support it has given to KC musicians and especially to the Kansas City Jazz Workshop. The response to the benefit jazz jam on August 15 by both the performers and supporters was indeed overwhelming.

Adding to that, the contributions to the KCJW Scholarship Fund in memory of Barry Gould were truly heart-warming. For those who were at Barry's memorial, in person or in spirit, the fraternity of friends, co-workers and family was made most evident. He was a kind and gentle soul who always remembered your birthday; I received my last card from him even while he was ill.

I find a comforting thought in knowing Barry is up there with his heroes... jamming!

Mike Ning
President
KC Jazz Workshop

A Fan in Santa Fe
I just saw my first copy of JAM. What a terrific publication! I would like to subscribe to JAM and give a gift subscription to a great friend in Annapolis, MD. Would you send me subscription information?

Sincerely,
Richard Carlson
Santa Fe, NM

Thanks, Richard. Good to hear from you. In every JAM you will find an order form that offers several KCJA membership options. Or if you'd just like to subscribe to JAM, there's a box you can check for that, too. Just to make sure you're covered, we'll put a few extra copies of JAM in the mail to you. Again, thanks for writing. -- Ed.

Pitch, Jazz and Klams
Dear Editor,
PitchWeekly is used to criticism, be it about not covering jazz in KC (JAM, Aug.-Sept.) or being too liberal in our politics. We are, after all, a general interest alternative publication that long ago abandoned the definition of just being a music rag.

Regardless, I would agree that jazz is not the top music genre we cover on a week-to-week basis, but we do cover it. And in the case of Kevin Mahogany, we were the first KC publication to write a lengthy, full blown cover story on him, written by one of your contributors Doug Auwarter. He, along with Vanessa Barnard and John Leisenring, have written for PitchWeekly in the past.

No doubt part of the reason none of those writers remain regular contributors to PitchWeekly has to do with the fact we are not solely a jazz publication, so there is competition for space with other music genres, and that there are time constraints, particularly in the case of Auwarter, who's a musician.

As for the name Klammies being insulting to jazz musicians or their reputations: The general public does not draw a connection between the term "clam" (hitting a wrong note) and the Klammies word, which stands for Kansas City/Lawrence Area Music Awards -- a term based on marketing, a decision that musicians can understand considering the whole point of being an artist is getting one's work out there to be heard. Apparently some great area jazz musicians are untroubled by the name; Claude "Fiddler" Williams and Milt Abel have both played at the Klammies awards event.

If you and other JAM staffers feel that PitchWeekly and the Klammies are not doing enough to promote jazz in Kansas City, then you have a way to remedy it: GET INVOLVED, either through the balloting process or contributing CD or music interview suggestions/reviews/articles to PitchWeekly.

Bruce Rodgers
Editor
PitchWeekly
Kansas City, MO

Mike Metheny replies:
First, it should be said that the opinions expressed by the JAM editor are not necessarily those of "other JAM staffers." As a matter of fact, most of my colleagues probably think I'm inexplicably obsessed when it comes to the name Pitch chose for its music awards show two years ago. But the fact remains, had there been anyone at Pitch with a comprehensive awareness of jazz and classical vernacular, they would have spoken up when the event was first being conceived. "Hey guys, what we're about to do here is like calling a journalism awards show The Typos. This isn't cool."

When "The Klammies" was born in 1997, there was unanimous disbelief, even ridicule, from friends I spoke with around the country. "How insulting to jazz musicians," was one comment that still stands out. These were/are people in New York, Boston, Chicago and other cultural hubs -- well known musicians and worldly professionals in related fields like jazz artist management, music journalism and marketing -- who were incredulous. My feeling then remains the same today: if Pitch wants to reveal its own naiveté, that's one thing; but when it makes the whole city look out of touch -- how ever symbolically -- then something needs to be said.

True, most members of "the general public" are unaware of the subtleties of jazz and classical music; but since when did Pitch, or JAM, or any other niche magazine with brains start to concern itself with that demographic? I'd like to think that both publications aspire to uplift and illuminate while appealing to intelligent, arts-savvy readers. Yet when it comes to matters related to jazz, the most widely-read weekly newspaper in a city known for that noble art form remains deficient and naive. Even defiantly so, according to Bruce Rodgers' email.

Earlier this year, Rodgers wrote in Pitch that Kansas City was "a second tier city," a complaint that I found ironic. There's a good chance that in a "first tier city" -- like the ones mentioned above -- Pitch would not even exist. (After 13 years of living in Boston, I'm sure that there it would be mostly ignored.) But that doesn't mean we all shouldn't work toward higher levels of hipness here. And a good place to start is in the offices of Kansas City's version of the Boston Phoenix or Village Voice, where smarts in multiple artistic fields, including jazz, should be the norm.

Is Pitch ready to become a first tier weekly newspaper when it comes to its occasional jazz coverage? Only time will tell. But, for now, it can take a positive step in that direction by giving its annual music awards show a name that befits the dignity of all the genres it includes. Otherwise, at least one idealistic curmudgeon will occasionally point out that the emperor is missing some clothes.

(Incidentally, JAM featured a "full blown cover story" about Kevin Mahogany in June of '93, well before the piece in Pitch, and possibly before Rodgers was aware of JAM, which, by then, was in its seventh year as a regional jazz publication.)

RETURN TO OCTOBER 1999 MAIN INDEX

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






	Search our site:		Tram An addendum to Campbell Burnap's fine review (JAM, August/September) of Tram: The Frank Trumbauer Story by Philip R. Evans and Larry F. Kiner. Listed with the authors, but in parenthesis, is the name of William Trumbauer. Burnap chooses not to mention this particular Trumbauer, so I think that fans of all the Trumbauers should know this part of the story as well. The William Trumbauer mentioned is not Tram's son William, but Tram's grandson William. Kansas City jazz fans will fondly remember jazz trumpeter Bill Trumbauer, Tram's son, who was for a number of years in the 1960s and 1970s very visible on the KC scene. He was also a teaching colleague of mine at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and a dear friend who died far too soon. It is his son Billy who is credited. Bill III wrote little if any of this fine book, but he did help gather much of the material; and he rode herd on both writers over an extended period of time to see that the work would eventually get published. Billy was kind enough to see that I received an autographed copy of the book when it was first published, and he enclosed a special "bookmark": one of his grandfather's C melody saxophone reeds, which I treasure. John Leisenring Professor of Jazz Studies University of Missouri/Kansas City Kansas City, MO Support or Intrusion? I just read the August/September JAM, which makes me proud to be part of the Jazz Ambassadors. A comment on Bob Blount's opposition to the National Endowment for the Arts. Bob says taxpayers shouldn't have to pay his bills when fans won't pay to hear him. He fears government intrusion on the arts. I look at it from an entirely different perspective. I recall that Lincoln said government should do things for the people that they can't do for themselves or can't do as well themselves. I don't want to pay "unpopular" artists to produce something. What I do want is for the school children of this country to be introduced to jazz, which may not happen if somebody doesn't receive a grant to perform in the schools. Whether it's Bob or someone else I could care less as long as the performance is good. We expect governments to place art, fountains and flowers in front of buildings. The Folly Jazz Series is funded, in part, by the NEA and its minions. So is the Kansas City Symphony, the Nelson-Atkins Museum, the Missouri Rep, the Unicorn Theater and the State Ballet of Missouri. That means ticket prices are subsidized by the government. For a large market like Chicago such underwriting may not be critical. For a small market like Kansas City, government underwriting may be the difference between having first-rate jazz and theater, having second rate or having none. Also, I think that if the government tried to tell Cynthia Levin at the Unicorn what plays she could stage, we would all have heard about it. European governments have long patronized the arts and we tourists love it. Old European cities are so rich for their endowments. We can get paranoid about this and worry (like Jesse Helms), or we can enjoy subsidized arts until some larger problem arises. I thought we had more pressing problems in government that this. Ron Miriani Kansas City, MO Thanks from the KCJW First I want to thank JAM for all the great support it has given to KC musicians and especially to the Kansas City Jazz Workshop. The response to the benefit jazz jam on August 15 by both the performers and supporters was indeed overwhelming. Adding to that, the contributions to the KCJW Scholarship Fund in memory of Barry Gould were truly heart-warming. For those who were at Barry's memorial, in person or in spirit, the fraternity of friends, co-workers and family was made most evident. He was a kind and gentle soul who always remembered your birthday; I received my last card from him even while he was ill. I find a comforting thought in knowing Barry is up there with his heroes... jamming! Mike Ning President KC Jazz Workshop A Fan in Santa Fe I just saw my first copy of JAM. What a terrific publication! I would like to subscribe to JAM and give a gift subscription to a great friend in Annapolis, MD. Would you send me subscription information? Sincerely, Richard Carlson Santa Fe, NM Thanks, Richard. Good to hear from you. In every JAM you will find an order form that offers several KCJA membership options. Or if you'd just like to subscribe to JAM, there's a box you can check for that, too. Just to make sure you're covered, we'll put a few extra copies of JAM in the mail to you. Again, thanks for writing. -- Ed. Pitch, Jazz and Klams Dear Editor, PitchWeekly is used to criticism, be it about not covering jazz in KC (JAM, Aug.-Sept.) or being too liberal in our politics. We are, after all, a general interest alternative publication that long ago abandoned the definition of just being a music rag. Regardless, I would agree that jazz is not the top music genre we cover on a week-to-week basis, but we do cover it. And in the case of Kevin Mahogany, we were the first KC publication to write a lengthy, full blown cover story on him, written by one of your contributors Doug Auwarter. He, along with Vanessa Barnard and John Leisenring, have written for PitchWeekly in the past. No doubt part of the reason none of those writers remain regular contributors to PitchWeekly has to do with the fact we are not solely a jazz publication, so there is competition for space with other music genres, and that there are time constraints, particularly in the case of Auwarter, who's a musician. As for the name Klammies being insulting to jazz musicians or their reputations: The general public does not draw a connection between the term "clam" (hitting a wrong note) and the Klammies word, which stands for Kansas City/Lawrence Area Music Awards -- a term based on marketing, a decision that musicians can understand considering the whole point of being an artist is getting one's work out there to be heard. Apparently some great area jazz musicians are untroubled by the name; Claude "Fiddler" Williams and Milt Abel have both played at the Klammies awards event. If you and other JAM staffers feel that PitchWeekly and the Klammies are not doing enough to promote jazz in Kansas City, then you have a way to remedy it: GET INVOLVED, either through the balloting process or contributing CD or music interview suggestions/reviews/articles to PitchWeekly. Bruce Rodgers Editor PitchWeekly Kansas City, MO Mike Metheny replies: First, it should be said that the opinions expressed by the JAM editor are not necessarily those of "other JAM staffers." As a matter of fact, most of my colleagues probably think I'm inexplicably obsessed when it comes to the name Pitch chose for its music awards show two years ago. But the fact remains, had there been anyone at Pitch with a comprehensive awareness of jazz and classical vernacular, they would have spoken up when the event was first being conceived. "Hey guys, what we're about to do here is like calling a journalism awards show The Typos. This isn't cool." When "The Klammies" was born in 1997, there was unanimous disbelief, even ridicule, from friends I spoke with around the country. "How insulting to jazz musicians," was one comment that still stands out. These were/are people in New York, Boston, Chicago and other cultural hubs -- well known musicians and worldly professionals in related fields like jazz artist management, music journalism and marketing -- who were incredulous. My feeling then remains the same today: if Pitch wants to reveal its own naiveté, that's one thing; but when it makes the whole city look out of touch -- how ever symbolically -- then something needs to be said. True, most members of "the general public" are unaware of the subtleties of jazz and classical music; but since when did Pitch, or JAM, or any other niche magazine with brains start to concern itself with that demographic? I'd like to think that both publications aspire to uplift and illuminate while appealing to intelligent, arts-savvy readers. Yet when it comes to matters related to jazz, the most widely-read weekly newspaper in a city known for that noble art form remains deficient and naive. Even defiantly so, according to Bruce Rodgers' email. Earlier this year, Rodgers wrote in Pitch that Kansas City was "a second tier city," a complaint that I found ironic. There's a good chance that in a "first tier city" -- like the ones mentioned above -- Pitch would not even exist. (After 13 years of living in Boston, I'm sure that there it would be mostly ignored.) But that doesn't mean we all shouldn't work toward higher levels of hipness here. And a good place to start is in the offices of Kansas City's version of the Boston Phoenix or Village Voice, where smarts in multiple artistic fields, including jazz, should be the norm. Is Pitch ready to become a first tier weekly newspaper when it comes to its occasional jazz coverage? Only time will tell. But, for now, it can take a positive step in that direction by giving its annual music awards show a name that befits the dignity of all the genres it includes. Otherwise, at least one idealistic curmudgeon will occasionally point out that the emperor is missing some clothes. (Incidentally, JAM featured a "full blown cover story" about Kevin Mahogany in June of '93, well before the piece in Pitch, and possibly before Rodgers was aware of JAM, which, by then, was in its seventh year as a regional jazz publication.) RETURN TO OCTOBER 1999 MAIN INDEX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.