Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*Bobby Watson made an appearance on a local television program.

*The Kansas City Star documented the deterioration of Highland Cemetery.  Plastic Sax visited the cemetery in September.

*Hermon Mehari posted a clip of a recent performance to SoundCloud.

*The Pitch recommends Friday's offerings at the Green Lady Lounge.

*Tweet o' the Week: Ryan Heinlein- Great, Christmas jazz. Now we'll never make the iTunes charts

*From Chris Burnett: I am writing on behalf of Ms. Jayne McShann-Lewis, daughter of the late legendary pianist, Jay McShann.  Jayne is producing a Gospel-Classical-Jazz musical on Friday, December 19th.  She believes this musical to be the first of its kind produced in Kansas City.  Gospel-Classical-Jazz music will be performed together at this event, demonstrating the two genres have an inherent unity of history and sound. The event will also feature a panel discussion on the topic... Boone Tabernacle Church of God in Christ, 1317 E. 12th Street, Kansas City, MO 64106, 7pm. $15.

*From Jim Mair: The Kansas City Kansas Community College Jazz Ensemble has been given the distinct honor of being invited to perform at the 30th Annual Havana (Cuba) Jazz Festival December 16-22, 2014.  For the December 3rd Spirituality & All That Jazz program, they will be performing a complete dress rehearsal of their introduction of Kansas City Jazz to the islands... Unity Temple on the Plaza - 707 W. 47th Street…$7.00

(Original image of Highland Cemetery by Plastic Sax.)

Highland Cemetery

At the conclusion of the revitalized gravesite ceremony honoring Charlie Parker on August 30, Kent Rausch offered to provide a tour of nearby Highland Cemetery.  The founder and bandleader of the Vine Street Rumble Jazz Orchestra, Rausch is a leading historian of Kansas City's jazz heyday. 

Embarrassed that I'd never visited the graves of Bennie Moten and Julia Lee, I accepted Rausch's invitation.  Less than five minutes after departing Parker's grave at Lincoln Cemetery, I was looking at the new marker pictured above.  The engraved stone was installed by the people behind the Coda Jazz Fund earlier this year. 

Rausch recounted the story of Moten's shocking death and the huge turnout for his funeral.  "Moten Swing" is one of the recordings that first put Kansas City on the musical map.  Julia Lee's grave is just a few steps away.  Decades later, her risqué songs are still shocking.

Here's a map linking the two cemeteries.  Note that the entrance to Lincoln Cemetery is actually on Blue Ridge Boulevard.















(Original images by Plastic Sax.)