Kansas City Music History – Kansas City Jazz
Kansas City jazz is a style 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 design 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. Kansas City was understood for the organized artists of the Local 627 A.F.M., which managed a number of venues in the city.
The very first band from Kansas City to get a national 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 really much the crossroads of the United States resulting in a mix of cultures. Transcontinental journeys at the time whether by aircraft or train frequently needed a drop in the city. The age marked the zenith of power of political employer Tom Pendergast. Kansas City was a broad open town with liquor laws and hours absolutely disregarded and was called the brand-new Storyville. Most of allure artists related to the design were born in other places however got captured up in the friendly musical competitions amongst performers that might keep a single tune being carried out in variations for a whole night. Often members of the big bands would carry out at regular places earlier at night and go to allure 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 explained the scene:
Kansas City was various from all other places because we ‘d be jamming all night.
Clubs were scattered throughout city but the most fertile area was the inner city neighborhood of 18th Street and Vine.
Among 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 Hey 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.
Design:
Kansas City jazz is distinguished by the following musical aspects:
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 a more unwinded, fluid noise than other jazz styles.
Prolonged soloing. Fueled by the non-stop night life under political manager Tom Pendergast, Kansas City jam sessions went on well past sunrise, cultivating an extremely competitive environment and a distinct jazz culture in which the goal was to “say something” with one’s instrument, instead of simply reveal off one’s strategy. It was not uncommon for one “tune” to be performed for a number of hours, with the very best artists frequently soloing for dozens of choruses at a time.
So-called “head plans”. The KC big bands often played by memory, composing and setting up the music jointly, rather than sight-reading as other big bands of the time did. This additional added to the loose, spontaneous Kansas City noise.
A heavy blues affect, with KC tunes typically based around a 12-bar blues structure, rather than the 32 bar AABA standard, although Moten Swing is in this AABA format.
One of the most recognizable attributes of Kansas City jazz is frequent, intricate riffing by the various sections. Riffs were typically developed – and even improvised – jointly, and took lots of kinds: a) one section riffing alone, working as the primary focus of the music; b) one area riffing behind a musician, adding excitement to the song; or c) 2 or more areas riffing in counterpoint, producing an amazing hard-swinging noise. The Count Basie signature tunes “One O’Clock Jump” and “Jumpin’ at the Woodside”, for example, are just collections of intricate riffs, remembered in a head plan, and punctuated with solos. Glenn Miller’s well-known swing anthem “In the Mood” carefully follows the Kansas City pattern of riffing areas, and is a fine example of the Kansas City design after it had been exported to the remainder of the world.
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 huge 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 style in America. Other cities include New Orleans, Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and New York City. Kansas City was known for the organized musicians of the Local 627 A.F.M., which managed a number of locations 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 design after it had actually been exported to the rest of the world.