Kansas City Music History - Kansas City Jazz

Kansas City Music History - Kansas City Jazz

Kansas City jazz is a design of jazz that established in Kansas City, Missouri during the 1920s and 1930s, which marked the shift from the structured big band design to the musical improvisation style of Bebop. The hard-swinging, bluesy shift style is bracketed by Count Basie who in 1929 signed with the Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra and Kansas City native Charlie Parker who ushered in the Bebop design in America. Kansas City was understood for the arranged artists of the Local 627 A.F.M., which managed a number of places in the city.

 

The first band from Kansas City to obtain a nationwide track record was the Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra, a white group which transmitted nationally in the 1920s. However, the Kansas City jazz school is determined with the black bands of the 1920s and 1930s, consisting of bands led by Bennie Moten, Andy Kirk, Harlan Leonard, George E. Lee, William "Count" Basie, and Jay McShann.

Kansas City in the 1930s was extremely much the crossroads of the United States leading to a mix of cultures. Transcontinental journeys at the time whether by airplane or train frequently required a stop in the city. The era marked the zenith of power of political manager Tom Pendergast. Kansas City was a broad open town with alcohol laws and hours completely neglected and was called the new Storyville. Many of the jazz musicians connected with the design were born in other locations however got captured up in the friendly musical competitions amongst entertainers that could keep a single song being carried out in variations for an entire night. Typically members of the big bands would perform at regular places earlier at night and go to the jazz clubs later on to jam for the rest of the night.

Jay McShann told the Associated Press in 2003:

It was Kansas City Style. They understood it up North and they knew it down South."

Claude "Fiddler" Williams described the scene:

Kansas City was different from all other places since we 'd be jamming all night.
Clubs were scattered throughout city however the most fertile area was the central city area of 18th Street and Vine.

Amongst the clubs were the Amos 'n' Andy, Boulevard Lounge, Cherry Blossom, Chesterfield Club, Chocolate Bar, Dante's Inferno, Elk's Rest, Hawaiian Gardens, Hell's Kitchen, the Hello There Hat, the Hey Hay Club, Lone Star, Old Kentucky Bar-B-Que, Paseo Ballroom, Pla-Mor Ballroom, Reno Club, Spinning Wheel, Street's Blue Room, Subway, and Sunsetx.

Style:

Kansas City jazz is differentiated by the following musical components:

A preference for a 4 feel (walking) over the 2 beat feel found in other jazz styles of the time. As an outcome, Kansas city jazz had actually a more relaxed, fluid noise than other jazz designs.
Prolonged soloing. Sustained by the non-stop night life under political employer Tom Pendergast, Kansas City jam sessions went on well previous sunrise, promoting an extremely competitive environment and an unique jazz culture in which the objective was to "say something" with one's instrument, rather than simply show off one's strategy. It was not unusual for one "tune" to be performed for a number of hours, with the finest artists often soloing for lots of choruses at a time.

So-called "head arrangements". The KC huge bands frequently played by memory, composing and setting up the music collectively, rather than sight-reading as other big bands of the time did. This further added to the loose, spontaneous Kansas City noise.

A heavy blues affect, with KC tunes frequently based around a 12-bar blues structure, instead of the 32 bar AABA standard, although Moten Swing is in this AABA format.
One of the most identifiable attributes of Kansas City jazz is frequent, fancy riffing by the various areas. Glenn Miller's well-known swing anthem "In the Mood" closely follows the Kansas City pattern of riffing areas, and is a good example of the Kansas City design after it had been exported to the rest of the world.

Kansas City jazz is a design of jazz that developed in Kansas City, Missouri throughout the 1920s and 1930s, which marked the transition from the structured big band design to the musical improvisation style of Bebop. The hard-swinging, bluesy shift design is bracketed by Count Basie who in 1929 signed with the Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra and Kansas City native Charlie Parker who ushered in the Bebop style in America. Other cities include New Orleans, Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and New York City. Kansas City was understood for the arranged artists of the Local 627 A.F.M., which managed a number of venues in the city.

Glenn Miller's popular swing anthem "In the Mood" closely follows the Kansas City pattern of riffing areas, and is a good example of the Kansas City style after it had actually been exported to the rest of the world.