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scrivi al direttoreTravels in America di James Weaver
Kansas City, Missouri: birth of the Blues
“Goin’ to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come. Gonna be standing on the corner of Twelfth Street and Vine with my Kansas City baby and a bottle of Kansas City wine. Goin’ to Kansas City. Kansas City here I come.” Lots of singers have recorded this great jump blues classic. My personal favorite is by Fats Domino. Find it on YouTube.com and enjoy. It’s easy to see why the KC has adopted it as its official song.
Lots of people have come here. A hundred fifty years ago western bound pioneers were passing through town to connect with the famous Oregon and Santa Fe Trails. Texas and Oklahoma cowpokes were driving cattle to market here too. After the Civil War, freed slaves headed here for work and a better life. They brought their music with them — the Mississippi Delta Blues. By the 1920s there was a great jazz and blues scene here with as many as 100 nightclubs and other venues that featured live music. Despite prohibition and great depression these clubs and the city continued to thrive throughout the 20s and 30s, since local official turned a blind eye to the “no drinks” law and KC was widely known as a “swinging destination”.
Fast forward 75 years. The city still has many great jazz and blues clubs where you can hear
some of the best music and musicians in the country. Today, Kansas City’s rich jazz and blues legacy is being kept alive in the minds and hearts of residents. Live jazz can be heard nightly around town at more than 20 area nightclubs that feature jazz on a regular basis. Numerous events are sponsored by Kansas City jazz groups and educational institutions throughout the year. You can also relive the heyday of the era at the American Jazz Museum in the 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District or the Goin’ to Kansas City Plaza at Twelfth Street and Vine. Saxophonist Charlie Parker, who helped define the Bebop style in the 1940s, was from Kansas City and was one of the most influential jazz musicians of the past century.
The American Jazz Museum in the 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District features four major exhibits of jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Charlie Parker. A mixing station allows visitors to create their own mix of sounds. Wee-Bop offers children a chance to learn about the swinging sounds of jazz. Those who want to catch some Kansas City jazz can head to the museum’s Blue Room, where Kansas City jazz musicians are on stage four nights a week.
For decades, the Mutual Musicians Foundation, also located in the 18th & Vine District, has been the after-hours meeting place for some of Kansas City’s most talented jazz performers. Designated as a National Historic Landmark, all the great jazz musicians from “The Count” to George Benson are familiar with this facility as a place for the camaraderie of a late-night gig.
Jazz and Blues Pub Crawls are a favorite activity for many Kansas City residents. Jazz Pub Crawls, sponsored by the Jazz Ambassadors, are fun-filled evenings consisting of shuttle bus transportation between dozens of clubs to sample different jazz offerings. Each year the Kansas City Blues Society hosts the Mardi Gras Club Crawl for a sampling of blues music.
For more information on where you can hear live jazz in Kansas City, go to the Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors website at www.jazzkc.org.
In 1997 a new home was built to showcase the city jazz heritage and to help revitalize the historic district. City officials and the mayor worked to raise over $20 million in bonds to build the new American Jazz Museum. When planning a trip to Kansas City, begin with a visit to www.visitkc.com.
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