JAM: April/May 2000: President's Corner

by Mike Fitzgerald

Spring Fever, Summer Heat & KC Jazz
It's usually about this time that spring fever sets in. (But, can you get spring fever when there was never really a winter?) The days are finally getting longer, and that means it's time to start getting revved up for spring and summer jazz.

We are two and a half months away from the big KCJA Jazz Lover's Pub Crawl (R) on June 22. Mark your calendars. This is our biggest event of the year and plans are now well underway. We expect to have as many as 20 clubs on the crawl this year. And we are looking for a major sponsor or presenter. If you have any ideas, don't hesitate to call this year's Pub Crawl chairman, Dave Jennings. He can be reached at 816-252-3110. Your input will be very welcome.

Jazz Ambassadors and volunteers always seem to enjoy working the door at one of our many Pub Crawl locations. It's not too early to call our Director of Volunteers, Wayne Davis, to get on the list. He can be reached at 913-831-0168 or by email at wdavis@kansascity.com.

Another important event to add to your summer jazz calendar is the 2000 Kansas City Blues & Jazz Festival, July 21-23. Look for more about it in the June/July JAM, which always serves as our special summer preview edition.

Speaking of important summer jazz events, as many of you know, there will not be a Kansas City International Jazz Festival this year. But the promoters of the event, Steve Irwin, Jo Boehr and John Jessup, are to be thanked and congratulated for the festivals of the last four years. Inconsistent weather was certainly a factor at previous festivals, and the sheer magnitude of the undertaking made it impossible to line up enough sponsors to continue. Maybe next year.

I would like to see more of our members at our monthly meetings! Meetings are always held the third Thursday of each month, and our Program Director Bill Williams has been putting together some excellent presentations so far this year. In January, at the Grand Emporium, there was music from one of my favorites, singer/keyboardist Kelley Hunt (see "Hot Licks" for more about that). In February, at the American Jazz Museum, there was a film about John Coltrane followed by music from Mike Metheny at the museum's Blue Room. At the March meeting, Lisa Henry offered a presentation at the Mutual Musicians Foundation about the Jazz Museum, the Charlie Parker Symposium and Sisters in Jazz, a mentoring program designed to "pass on the jazz legacy to the next generation of young women." Lisa is now the Outreach Coordinator at the American Jazz Museum and we look forward to working with her in this new role. (Lisa is also one of KC's finest jazz singers; don't miss any chance you might have to hear her wonderful music.)

Monthly meetings for April and May look interesting and exciting. On Thursday, April 20, at the American Jazz Museum, Dr. Mary Woodburry, the band director at Central Methodist College in Fayette, will bring videos and recordings as a part of her presentation about female jazz brass players. After the meeting we will all be able to slip down the hall to the Blue Room and listen to the sounds of Interstring. And by May 18, the weather should be warm enough to make our outside meeting at Big Daddy's Deck in the River Market a pleasant evening. That night we will have live zydeco music and updates on upcoming festivals, including Topeka Jazz Festival 2000 and the Corporate Woods Jazz Festival.

How about putting the third Thursday of every month on your computer's "auto/date" and joining us? And, while you are doing that, we hope you will think of at least one friend you could bring who would like to get acquainted with the Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors. We welcome new members. And we think that, at $30 per single membership and $50 per family, we are one of the best, and hopefully one of the most enjoyable bargains in town.

See you soon, in the clubs, at the Folly Theater, and in KC's many other jazzy places.

RETURN TO APRIL 2000 MAIN INDEX

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






	Search our site:		by Mike Fitzgerald Spring Fever, Summer Heat & KC Jazz It's usually about this time that spring fever sets in. (But, can you get spring fever when there was never really a winter?) The days are finally getting longer, and that means it's time to start getting revved up for spring and summer jazz. We are two and a half months away from the big KCJA Jazz Lover's Pub Crawl (R) on June 22. Mark your calendars. This is our biggest event of the year and plans are now well underway. We expect to have as many as 20 clubs on the crawl this year. And we are looking for a major sponsor or presenter. If you have any ideas, don't hesitate to call this year's Pub Crawl chairman, Dave Jennings. He can be reached at 816-252-3110. Your input will be very welcome. Jazz Ambassadors and volunteers always seem to enjoy working the door at one of our many Pub Crawl locations. It's not too early to call our Director of Volunteers, Wayne Davis, to get on the list. He can be reached at 913-831-0168 or by email at wdavis@kansascity.com. Another important event to add to your summer jazz calendar is the 2000 Kansas City Blues & Jazz Festival, July 21-23. Look for more about it in the June/July JAM, which always serves as our special summer preview edition. Speaking of important summer jazz events, as many of you know, there will not be a Kansas City International Jazz Festival this year. But the promoters of the event, Steve Irwin, Jo Boehr and John Jessup, are to be thanked and congratulated for the festivals of the last four years. Inconsistent weather was certainly a factor at previous festivals, and the sheer magnitude of the undertaking made it impossible to line up enough sponsors to continue. Maybe next year. I would like to see more of our members at our monthly meetings! Meetings are always held the third Thursday of each month, and our Program Director Bill Williams has been putting together some excellent presentations so far this year. In January, at the Grand Emporium, there was music from one of my favorites, singer/keyboardist Kelley Hunt (see "Hot Licks" for more about that). In February, at the American Jazz Museum, there was a film about John Coltrane followed by music from Mike Metheny at the museum's Blue Room. At the March meeting, Lisa Henry offered a presentation at the Mutual Musicians Foundation about the Jazz Museum, the Charlie Parker Symposium and Sisters in Jazz, a mentoring program designed to "pass on the jazz legacy to the next generation of young women." Lisa is now the Outreach Coordinator at the American Jazz Museum and we look forward to working with her in this new role. (Lisa is also one of KC's finest jazz singers; don't miss any chance you might have to hear her wonderful music.) Monthly meetings for April and May look interesting and exciting. On Thursday, April 20, at the American Jazz Museum, Dr. Mary Woodburry, the band director at Central Methodist College in Fayette, will bring videos and recordings as a part of her presentation about female jazz brass players. After the meeting we will all be able to slip down the hall to the Blue Room and listen to the sounds of Interstring. And by May 18, the weather should be warm enough to make our outside meeting at Big Daddy's Deck in the River Market a pleasant evening. That night we will have live zydeco music and updates on upcoming festivals, including Topeka Jazz Festival 2000 and the Corporate Woods Jazz Festival. How about putting the third Thursday of every month on your computer's "auto/date" and joining us? And, while you are doing that, we hope you will think of at least one friend you could bring who would like to get acquainted with the Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors. We welcome new members. And we think that, at $30 per single membership and $50 per family, we are one of the best, and hopefully one of the most enjoyable bargains in town. See you soon, in the clubs, at the Folly Theater, and in KC's many other jazzy places. RETURN TO APRIL 2000 MAIN INDEX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.