One of KC's Most Dedicated Jazz Fans,
DR. LESLIE E. BECKER

Dr. Leslie E. Becker

JAM: When did you first get the "jazz bug"?

LB: In Providence, Rhode Island, when I was about four years old. There was a (radio) program where Bessie Smith would show up periodically. My grandmother, who was in charge of the family then, would turn it off as soon as it came on! But I always managed to hear a few licks first. There was also Rudy Vallee, Kate Smith and all those people (on the radio). They weren't jazz people, but their music had a rhythm that helped me develop a taste for Duke Ellington, Noble Sissle and people like that. By the time I moved to New York, where I grew up, I was into jazz quite deeply.

JAM: What kind of music can be heard coming out of the ceiling of your office?

LB: In our office the background music is jazz. But, I don't know where they're getting it, and I've never asked. Obviously someone in our building has an interest in playing good music. And that's a nice coincidence.

JAM: Urology and jazz don't seem to have much in common. Or do they?

LB: No, they really don't. And, for me, jazz came way before urology.

JAM: Have you ever played an instrument?

LB: Yes, I was taught piano and violin. But, after a group of girls chased me and my violin for two blocks calling me names, I gave up the violin. (laughs) That was when I was about 14 years old and still trying to find my persona in music.

JAM: What would we find on your CD player these days?

LB: Jack McDuff. Jimmy McGriff. I like sax and organ. And I like singers who sing the melody true to form.

JAM: Where are some of your favorite KC jazz spots?

LB: Jardine's, primarily. They have a fairly consistent lineup. I also like the Blue Room. And Fedora's. And I like the Club at Plaza III because they periodically have dancing. Also, the Phoenix, which has more blues and contemporary jazz now. (At the Phoenix) I enjoy the Scamps, Jim Mair and Betty Jo Miller. And there was Club 427, which will be missed.

JAM: You mentioned the Blue Room. What, in your opinion, will it take to make 18th & Vine succeed?

LB: Things there are grinding along slowly. And the infrastructure needed for things to take off is still being built. But the superstructure, which includes live jazz, is developing a following. Before you can have a place where the jazz can live, however, there has to be a basic community structure. Otherwise (18th & Vine) will continue to be isolated.

JAM: What do you think it will take to make it less isolated?

LB: It needs to be a "walk around community," like the one in Westport. They need to have more shops, and definitely some eating places. But they know that; it's been talked about and complained about. Apparently the wheels of finance grind very slowly.

JAM: You mentioned the loss of Club 427. A few years ago the Drum Room also closed its doors; and now the Kansas City International Jazz Festival had to fold its tent. Should the local jazz community be concerned about these things?

LB: Not if we have more of an insight into the (jazz) movement that's going on nationally and internationally. Jazz is alive in many places. It's not commercially successful, however, and that's part of the problem. It's no longer the music of the people, and that will continue to be a problem.

JAM: Why is jazz no longer the music of the people?

LB: The way it keeps reinventing itself, it's not stable like reggae or blues or country music, which never change. People come to depend on those things as staples. People know what to expect! Whereas in jazz, you never know which way it's going. And if a jazz group gets popular, it soon becomes too innovative, or too commercial.

JAM: Do you think the casinos have had anything to do with some of the problems the local jazz clubs have had?

LB: No. The people who go to the casinos aren't interested in jazz. Even now, at the Phoenix out at Station Casino, they mostly have a little of this and a little of that, not much jazz. When they had more jazz, people would come in for a while then leave; when they got more rock and country-like things, people stayed longer because they could talk and smoke and have fun.

JAM: How long have you been in KC?

LB: Since 1958.

JAM: So, you've heard a lot of Kansas City jazz since then...

LB: Oh yes. I was here when the Orchid Room was still open. And when the (original) Blue Room was in the (Street's) hotel.

JAM: As you look back over the last 42 years, how are things for jazz in Kansas City now?

LB: Very good. Very good. The talent is excellent. And the Blue Room, with its (Monday night) thing that allows young students to come and sit in is an excellent vehicle. We have good jazz programs at several of the high schools and at UMKC. But, commercially, from the point of view of attracting the average person, it's still a difficult thing. A person has to develop a taste for jazz.

JAM: How does that happen?

LB: I'll give you an example. At the Beaumont Club, where we have our Jazz Outreach event (in March), the people who work there are subjected to a steady diet of cowboy and country music. Whenever we come in there, they say, "God! This is interesting!" Now, surprisingly, they're starting to book some jazz in there. They're starting to see that there's a niche for jazz.

JAM: If you could put together an all-star Kansas City jazz group, who would you chose?

LB: That would be too difficult. Plus, I want to keep living in this town!

JAM: OK, how about including great KC jazz musicians of the past... Count Basie...

LB: Actually some of Count Basie's sidemen were my real favorites. Like Lester Young, who is my all-time favorite.

JAM: How will jazz best be passed on to future generations?

LB: One way is through the IAJE (International Association of Jazz Educators). Every January I go to their convention, and I come back full of hope about the future of jazz.

JAM: Why's that?

LB: There are things to do with jazz at those conventions for everyone from kids in junior high to people in their 80s. It gives me hope to see that.

JAM: So, you're optimistic about the survival of jazz?

LB: Jazz has survived a lot of things! But, like I said, jazz is no longer the music of the people. And for that to happen (again), people will have to be exposed to it. And one good way to do that, in addition to the clubs and schools, is from the radio. We have some good radio stations here, especially KANU, KCUR and KCMW. You can't beat that!

© Mike Metheny 2000. All rights reserved.

Dr. Becker is now in his 16th year as an underwriter of jazz programming on KCUR-FM. -- Ed.


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