Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Dick Hawk, the jazz enthusiast who owned the Gaslight Grill, has died.

*The announcement and subsequent retraction that Janelle Monaé would be the primary headliner of the KC Jazz & Heritage Festival occurred on February 22.  A statement issued by the American Jazz Museum that day suggested that "(i)t is the Museum's hope to announce the new headliner in the next 3 weeks."  That was three weeks ago today.

*Saxophonist Tivon Pennicott is in town and is sitting in at a few gigs this week.

*DownBeat magazine covered the celebration of Pat Metheny at last weekend’s Alternative Guitar Summit.

*Tweet o’ the Week: KC Parks Board- #KCParks Board approves agreement with @americanjazzkc for Jazz & Heritage Festival on The Paseo from Truman to 19th on #MemorialDayWeekend

*From a press release: The American Jazz Museum is thrilled to welcome nationally acclaimed Louisiana pianist, Jon Batiste, to accept its 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award. The ceremony will take place in the Gem Theater on Friday, April 7, 2017, at 8:00pm... Batiste is currently the house bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert... Batiste’s significant strides in jazz at such a young age place him in historic company with other acclaimed artists, like Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald…  During the ceremony, several notable local musicians will perform to honor Batiste… Tickets are $45 for the Lifetime Achievement Award Ceremony…

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Cooking With Gas

I've been sleeping on one the region's most popular jazz bands.

Until I witnessed the excited frenzy at the Gaslight Grill last Monday, I didn't realize that the New Red Onion Jazz Babies' monthly appearance in the back room of the Leawood restaurant was one of the hottest tickets in town. I hadn't seen the band perform since Jardine's was shuttered and had wrongly assumed that it was running on fumes. 

With a average tab that probably exceeds $25, attending the monthly concert of traditional jazz is a pricey proposition.  Even so, reservations for the event are tough to secure.

Gregarious owner Dick Hawk claims that the New Red Onion Jazz Babies is the world's finest Dixieland band. He contributed a bit of enthusiastic keyboard work as he sat in with the large ensemble during the second of three sets.  Lynn Zimmer, the clarinetist who leads a band at the venue several nights a week, was just one of the group's outstanding soloists.

The toe-tapping music is complimented by excellent service and fine dining.   While I'd been oblivious to its popularity, the appeal of the monthly gathering isn't difficult to understand. 

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)