Among those treasures are a Grafton saxophone played by Charlie Parker, handwritten correspondence from John Coltrane, a gown worn by Ella Fitzgerald, and more. “Coming here, I realized there’s a whole portion of jazz history that most folks don’t know of outside of maybe Charlie Parker.”Įstablished in 1997, the American Jazz Museum is home to exhibits, programs and countless artifacts spanning back over a century in the genre’s tradition. “There’s quite a bit of that Kansas City narrative that just sometimes gets trapped here in town and doesn’t make it nationally the way it should,” says American Jazz Museum executive director Rashida Phillips. Once home to over 50 jazz clubs at its peak in the early-to-mid 20th century, the 18th & Vine District is a must-visit for tourists of all ages. We treat ’em like they’re coming to our house.”Īmerican Jazz Museum / The Blue Room / Gem Theater “We take a special interest in all the artists. “It’s like a mom-and-pop shop,” says Hicks. Oftentimes, more than one stage will be functioning at the same time. Since Knuckleheads began booking touring acts in 2004, they’ve hosted the likes of Johnny Winter, Ray Price, Kinky Friedman, Sly & Robbie, and Billy Joe Shaver. It is co-located with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.The venue is now a veritable entertainment complex, featuring the original indoor saloon stage, the smaller Gospel Lounge (where each week Pastor Carl Butler convenes his honky-tonk church for beers, blues, and Bible readings), a large outdoor stage and the recent addition of a garage stage (the former collision repair shop). Visit the American Jazz Museum, 1616 East 18th Street, Kansas City, Missouri. In addition to Count Basie and Charlie Parker, other well-known jazz musicians who eventually came to be associated with Kansas City included Andy Kirk, Joe Turner, Hot Lips Page, Mary Lou Williams, and Jay McShann. Clubs had names such as the Paseo Ballroom, the Reno Club, the Pla-Mor Ballroom, the Cherry Blossom, the Chocolate Bar, Street’s Blue Room, and the Hi Hat, among many more. After their official gigs, jazz artists would spend all night in jam sessions that helped create the improvisational tradition of Kansas City jazz. The center of the African American community, a few blocks away at 18th and Vine, was also known as a place for jazz. In Kansas City, Missouri, the area around 12th Street was known for gambling parlors and brothels as well as nearly 50 jazz clubs. The community had more than 100 night clubs, dance halls and vaudeville houses during the 1930s. Many believed the political boss Tom Pendergast got anything he wanted during this era, which didn’t interfere with jazz clubs staying open all night, with ready sources of alcohol and even drugs. In addition, it was viewed as a “wide open” town in terms of the flow of alcohol, in spite of prohibition. Budding airlines also had Kansas City on their routes. In 1930, just under 10 percent (38,574) of the Kansas City, Missouri, population of 399,746 was black.ĭuring the 1930s, Kansas City was a crossroads for transportation with the Union Pacific Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe and several other railroads passing through the city. Count Basie, who joined Bennie Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra in 1929, is generally credited to originating the style and Kansas City native Charlie Parker transitioned the musical style to bebop in the 1940s. In the 1920s and 1930s, African American musicians in the Kansas City area developed their own style of jazz that pulled heavily from the blues music tradition as well as ragtime.
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