Now's the Time: Quasimodo

The grand (re)opening of the retooled Quasimodo takes place this weekend.  The new promotional video for the southern Johnson County establishment serves as a microcosm of the actual status jazz holds in the community.  Of the 21 acts booked on its July calendar, there's one true jazz group (Chris Hazelton's organ trio) and a fine jump blues act (Grand Marquis).  Otherwise, there's an assortment of post-Stevie Ray Vaughan blues acts, dance-oriented blues ensembles and classic rock cover bands.  In its previous incarnation, the venue booked a higher ratio of jazz musicians.  I doubt that Quasimodo's management holds an institutional bias against jazz.  They probably found that the non-jazz acts simply attract larger crowds that spend more money.  Please- tell me I'm wrong.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*The Kansas City Business Journal reports that a new "120-seat club will focus on jazz music and rum-based drinks" and is slated for an August opening in the Power & Light District.  Joyce Smith offers additional details about the Kill Devil Club.

*The Folly Theater has announced an outstanding lineup for the 2012-13 Folly Jazz Series.  Pat Metheny's Unity Band will appear in a non-series concert at the Folly on September 6.  Joe Klopus applauds the bookings.

*Broken Waltz, the latest release by Matt Otto, is now available.

*David Hudnall enjoyed celebrating Juneteenth in the Jazz District.

*KCJazzLark dissects the strategy behind the 2012 edition of the Rhythm & Ribs Jazz & Blues Festival.

*Beau Bledsoe, Shay Estes and Jordan Shipley have formed Fado Novato.  The trio's commitment to the Portuguese style is on display here.

*Another update on the lack of activity at the former location of Jardine's is filed by Hearne Christopher.

*A story about the redesign for the space formerly occupied by sometime jazz venue The Marquee makes no mention of plans for live music.

*Emanuel Cleaver submitted recognition of the Mutual Musicians Foundation into the Congressional record.

*Janelle Monae's headlining turn at the Ottawa Jazz Festival is praised.

*Tweet o' the Week: theprojecth- Happy to say that we will be playing the MLB fanfest. Monday, July 9 at 1pm at Bartle Hall. The snowball keeps getting bigger!

*Comment o' the Week: Michael Shults- Thanks for the post and the kind of words, Happy. Much-appreciated. That was a really fun night playing music with some of my favorite people in the world. One small note: it is not captured on the video but the audience that night was well upwards of 50, in a room about the size of Take Five. The median age was probably 25. Not a rock audience, no, but for a Wednesday night at a coffee shop, not bad! If you catch the last 20 seconds or so of the video of "REL" from the same night posted on youtube, you'll hear proof from the crowd reactions that it is possible to play live jazz and have it resonate with young people. It's difficult, yes, and hard to sustain on a regular basis, but I do think if you work really hard at promoting, play original music, and have a good band, there's hope.

*From Tim Whitmer- The year's July Jazz Jam follows up on the standing-room-only inaugural concert in 2011. The acclaimed concert event will be Sunday, July 29 from 7 to 8:30 p.m...  Featured headliners of the concert will be a trio of celebrated All-Star Keyboard Kings: Tim Whitmer, Everette DeVan and Joe Cartwright. Also returning this year is the highly acclaimed July Jazz Jam House band, which includes saxophonist Jim Mair, bassist James Albright and drummer Jurge Welge...  The July Jazz Jam is at Community Christian Church...  Tickets are on sale now: $10 in advance... $15 at the door...

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Welcome to the Future

The embedded video may simply look like five guys playing cerebral jazz for a small audience.  I see more- a lot more.  The video represents the future of jazz in Kansas City.  Four of the five young musicians are graduates of the jazz program at UMKC's Conservatory of Music.  They're playing a gig in Michael Shults' current base of Cincinnati with St. Louis' Peter Schlamb.  At a time when jazz is an afterthought at area "jazz" festivals and the number of Kansas City venues dedicated to jazz can be counted on the hand of a careless butcher, the elements exhibited in this modest video provide a reason to celebrate.

The Charlie Parker Story

Chuck Haddix and Jay McShann are among the talking heads in the BBC's excellent Charlie Parker documentary that was recently uploaded to YouTube.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

 *Angie Stone, Arturo Sandoval and Joe Louis Walker are the national headliners at the 2012 edition of the American Jazz Museum's Rhythm & Ribs Jazz & Blues Festival on October 13.

*Tim Finn reports that Mark Southerland is now an official member of Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey.  The band will perform the entirety of The Race Riot Suite, my favorite album of 2011, in its appearance at the RecordBar on Thursday, June 21.  Here's a five-camera video of a rendition of "Grandfather's Gun."

*The Pace Report offers a compelling 25-minute feature on Eldar.

*David Basse was a guest on KCUR's Up To Date last week.

*KCJazzLark reflects on the impact urban renewal programs have had on the Kansas City's jazz district.

*The American Jazz Museum has a new Tumblr account.

*Hermon Mehari is the subject of a new video "documentary."

*The People's Liberation Big Band will perform its celebrated score to Battleship Potemkin at the Lawrence Arts Center on June 30.

*Mark Edelman lists the week's jazz events.

*Recent upgrades at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem are lauded by the New York Times.

*Tweet o' the Week: WOLFrach3I- #JazzintheWoods there are sooo many people here right now #perfectweather Instagram

*Comment o' the Week: tjjazzpiano- Well, performer selection aside, let me share a positive experience about CWJF. One of my first experiences hearing live jazz was at the Corporate Woods Jazz Festival. I listened to Pete Eye play with his trio on the main stage in 1997. I was able to go right up to the stage afterwards and have him sign a copy of his CD. Just hearing him playing and talking about music played a huge role in my decision to become a serious musician.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Analysis: Jazz in the Woods

Jonathan Butler, Friday's headliner at Jazz in the Woods, surveyed the vast crowd from the stage and suggested that "over 10,000" people were in attendance.

The free festival is designed to raise money for area charities.  I'm tempted to bemoan the fact that Jazz in the Woods no longer features, you know, "jazz," but there's no arguing with success.  That's why I laughed along with Ian Byrne of The Elders when he joked that his Celtic rock band was performing "Irish jazz" as it opened for the adult urban contemporary Soul of Summer review of Butler, Warren Hill and Maysa.  Besides, I'm rather partial to the Elders and I love singing along to Butler's 1988 pop hit "Sarah Sarah".

I recall when the festival was headlined by founder Vince Bilardo and was held in the parking lot of the nearby strip mall that currently houses Garozzo's.  I also remember that I was able to secure a parking spot within 25 yards of the stage back when Jazz in the Woods featured "real" jazz.  With the notable exception of the acts featured at the free Prairie Village Jazz Festival and at a couple holiday-themed concerts, improvisation-based small jazz ensembles haven't been able to draw audiences of more than 1,000 in Kansas City for at least a decade. 

Pouting would be pointless.  Instead, my biggest concern today is that embarrassing video documenting my dancing to Butler's "Mandela Bay" will soon surface.

(Original image of the Soul of Summer's background vocalists by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Maysa

Jazz in the Woods?  #BAM in the Woods would be a more appropriate moniker for this year's edition of the Johnson County festival.  Not that I'm complaining- I'm partial to the adult urban contemporary format.  In fact, Jonathan Butler's appearance at the Gem Theater last May was one of my favorite concerts of 2011.  Performing in a sold-out room for 500 diehard fans, however, is less challenging than attempting to win over an audience of thousands of suburbanites expecting to hear "jazz."  Warren Hill and Maysa will assist Butler on Friday, June 15.  Joe Klopus interviewed Butler for his preview of the two-day event.