Kansas City Music History - Kansas City Jazz

Kansas City jazz is a style of jazz that established in Kansas City, Missouri throughout the 1920s and 1930s, which marked the transition from the structured big band design to the musical improvisation design of Bebop. The hard-swinging, bluesy transition 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 design in America. Kansas City was known for the organized musicians of the Local 627 A.F.M., which managed a number of venues in the city.

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

Kansas City in the 1930s was very much the crossroads of the United States resulting in a mix of cultures. Transcontinental trips at the time whether by aircraft or train typically required a stop in the city. Kansas City was a large open town with liquor laws and hours absolutely ignored and was called the brand-new Storyville.

Jay McShann informed the Associated Press in 2003:

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

Claude "Fiddler" Williams explained the scene:

Kansas City was different from all other places since we 'd be jamming all night. And [if] you show up here ... playing the incorrect thing, we 'd align you out.

Clubs were spread throughout city but the most fertile area was the inner city community 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 Hi 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 distinguished by the following musical elements:

A choice for a 4 feel (walking) over the 2 beat feel discovered in other jazz styles of the time. As an outcome, Kansas city jazz had a more unwinded, fluid sound than other jazz designs.

Extended soloing. Fueled by the non-stop night life under political employer Tom Pendergast, Kansas City jam sessions went on well previous dawn, promoting an extremely competitive environment and a distinct jazz culture in which the goal was to "state something" with one's instrument, instead of simply reveal off one's strategy. It was not uncommon for one "tune" to be carried out for a number of hours, with the best musicians frequently soloing for lots of choruses at a time.

So-called "head plans". The KC huge bands often played by memory, composing and setting up the music collectively, instead of sight-reading as other huge bands of the time did. This additional added to the loose, spontaneous Kansas City noise.

A heavy blues affect, with KC songs typically based around a 12-bar blues structure, instead of the 32 bar AABA requirement, although Moten Swing remains in this AABA format.

One of the most recognizable qualities of Kansas City jazz is frequent, elaborate riffing by the different sections. Glenn Miller's famous swing anthem "In the Mood" carefully follows the Kansas City pattern of riffing sections, and is an excellent example of the Kansas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City,_Missouri City style after it had actually been exported to the rest of the world.

Kansas City jazz is a style of jazz that developed in Kansas City, Missouri during the 1920s and 1930s, which marked the transition from the structured big band design to the musical improvisation design of Bebop. The hard-swinging, bluesy transition 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 design in America. Other cities consist of New Orleans, Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and New York City. Kansas City was understood for the organized artists of the Local 627 A.F.M., which managed a number of venues in the city.

Glenn Miller's well-known swing anthem "In the Mood" carefully follows the Kansas City pattern of riffing areas, and is an excellent example of the Kansas City design after it had actually been exported to the rest of the world.