JAM: February/March 2000: Correspondence

New Year's Greetings
Our best wishes to the JAM staff for the very fine issues produced last year and years past. You have given us very informative, relevant and entertaining reading. Your dedication and hard work shows in the material provided the readers.
Kansas City can feel very proud to have such a quality jazz magazine focusing on local and national artists as well as the entertainment scene produced right here in our own back yard!
All the best to you in 2000. Keep up the good work.

Sincerely,
Blanche and Claude "Fiddler" Williams
Kansas City, MO

SOS! from the MMF
At a recent function at the Mutual Musicians Foundation the piano was tuned at 4:00 p.m. At 8:00 it began to slip. And by the end of the session at 10:00 it was horribly out of tune. Even the audience began to comment on the sound.

A Kansas City landmark of such great international acclaim should have a decent piano. The Mutual Musicians Foundation is the home of Kansas City jazz, it is listed with the National Registrar of Historic Places, and it hosts the longest running jam session in America -- over 50 years.

We are making an appeal to concerned music lovers, in Kansas City and elsewhere: DONATE A PIANO TO THE MUTUAL MUSICIANS FOUNDATION! PLEASE! Your donation is tax deductible.

Signed,
Concerned Musicians

For a Better MMF Piano
Have a piano that could be of use to the Foundation? Call 913-831-4396. -- Ed.
Jazz Lives at Paseo...

Thank you for your support of the Paseo Academy Jazz Department. As you know, the jazz ensemble gave a concert at the Smithsonian Institute last spring and in October we attended the Monk Institute Piano Competition in Washington D.C. This experience allowed the kids (and me) to hear future jazz greats as well as such masters as Jimmy Heath, Stevie Wonder and Wayne Shorter. Your article about that trip (JAM, December/January) was excellent, and it was posted for everyone to see.

I would also like to thank you for printing the comments of Bob Drummond and myself in the October/November JAM. Jazz education is important to me and I want everyone to know that preserving America's truest art form is crucial. I am proud of the Jazz Ambassadors and what you do for jazz in our town.

Keep up the good work, and let me know if there is anything we can do for you.

Sincerely,
Clarence Smith
Paseo Academy Jazz Department
Kansas City, MO

...But, Don't Forget About Next Door
Greetings. My name is Ben Anderson and I am a high school student in the greater Kansas City area. I attend Shawnee Mission East High School and am currently a junior there. I am heavily active in music at East and that includes jazz band.

I am writing in response to the October/November issue
of your magazine that contained the article "Keeping the Faith: Jazz Education at the Millennium." I would like to say first that I was disappointed by this article. Not because of the statements that jazz is not studied as much in the schools, but because of the schools you chose to write about.

Here at Shawnee Mission East, our jazz program is well known in both Kansas and Missouri. We have a wonderful program consisting of two award-winning jazz bands, and it continues to grow with more talented players as the years progress. We have been to numerous competitions in both Missouri and Kansas and have obtained numerous first place awards in the top band and combo divisions, with many outstanding soloists.

It seems to me that your article was stating that there aren't really any jazz programs across the state line in Kansas. You stated, "There are still many good school jazz bands, though, especially at places like Liberty, Paseo, and Grandview." But what about next door to these schools? In the Shawnee Mission district alone, each school has at least one jazz band in the curriculum, and not as an extra curricular/beyond school hours class. In fact, two of the schools here, including East, contain two jazz bands.

Also, our school has outplaced in competition some of the schools that you listed. And the others we have not competed against. Jazz is a big part here on the Kansas side with teens. Our two jazz bands are filled to the limit with talented young players and there are several students who are still wanting to get into the bands. Each band averages about twenty students. And they are students who do not play jazz for 30 minutes and then go home and listen to rock 'n' roll. They are students who play and learn jazz, and then go home to play, learn and listen to even more jazz.

As Mr. Clarence Smith of Paseo stated, "For many band directors, jazz is the ugly stepchild. The emphasis is on marching and symphonic music." Jazz here in our school is not the ugly stepchild, and I know our band director doesn't think that. Our school takes pride in our jazz band as we continue to grow even into the next millennium. If you are interested in hearing a sample of our band, please check out this link:
http://home.earthlink.net/~midwestock/BKswing.mp3

Best regards,
Ben Anderson
Prairie Village, KS

Ed. Note -- For the record, the choice of schools covered in the article was made by the editor and should not be a reflection on Bill Fogarty who wrote the piece. We'll try to make up for this unintentional slight in a future issue of JAM!

A Fan in Lawrence
I enjoy your magazine; it's a great voice for the KC jazz scene. After living in Chicago for six years and enjoying their scene, I share your enthusiasm for KC's jazz future, which is building on a great past.

How about more KC jazz history and articles on the jazz greats in JAM?

Mark Hansen
Lawrence, KS

p.s. There's another radio station which now reaches KC and plays jazz: KU's KJHK 90.7, "Jazz in the Morning," Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Thanks for the suggestion about articles, Mark. It's a good one. Check out the profile in this issue on Myra Taylor. And if you'd like to see some of the past features we've done about other KC jazz artists, be sure to visit our web site at www.jazzkc.org. -- Ed.

Where Are the Jazz Lovers?
I would like to echo Doug Tatum's concern for disappointing ticket sales for live concerts (JAM, December/January). The Kansas City Jazz Workshop thought that low concert ticket sales were due to virtually no advertising. This is obviously not the case based on all the advertising we received for our November 8 concert, which produced the least amount of walk-in ticket sales to date. This also seems to be the same scenario with the amount of Folly Series advertisements and results.

The KCJW philosophy for the last four years has been to subsidize our concert series with fundraisers, such as benefit concerts and used record sales. This was to keep our ticket prices down to attract both the young and old jazz lover. With the rising costs each year for bookings, travel and lodging, this is not a practical solution either.

One possible problem that's been suggested is that the entertainment dollar has been stretched to its limit. This may be due to all the available major league sports events, the riverboats, computers and the internet, and traveling road shows. Another suggestion is that Kansas City has too many jazz performances now, from either concerts or club entertainment. I find this hard to believe, based on the success of The Bistro in St. Louis. They are having nothing but sellouts for their concert series. The Bistro accomplishes this in spite of having two shows each night and the same artist for up to a week!

Maybe the love for jazz is dying in Kansas City, or our jazz lovers are just passing away. Could the readers of your fine magazine provide us with some answers?

Bob Rodina
Secretary
Kansas City Jazz Workshop

A Plea From Stan
If a man is playing his horn and no one is there to hear it, is there music? This is not a physics question. It's a question of commitment, one of action.

When a major jazz venue goes down in a town that boasts of a heritage second to none, one might say -- as they sit in front of the tube on a Saturday night -- "It's not my fault. I love jazz!"

A jazz magazine is great. And media coverage (the paltry amount the local scene gets) is welcome. But there's no substitute for your presence. People, it's time to stand up and walk the walk. Lip service does not keep musicians' careers afloat. Want to really make a difference? Then get off your ever-widening behinds and GO OUT! And when you get there, spend some money on food or drink and tip like there's no tomorrow! This is what pays for the band.

They even make it easy for you here in Kansas City. In any other major city it's at least ten bucks at the door with a two-drink minimum. Try to find a club in this town that charges a cover.

Friends, we need you, we want you, we gotta have you. There is nothing more inspiring than a room full of listeners. Won't you come out and play? You just may find it enriching and habit-forming.

Stan Kessler
Kansas City, MO

Kudos for Keith...
Congrats to Keith Kavanaugh for his informative article ("A Musician's Guide to CD Package Design and Replication) which appeared in the December/January issue of JAM. For some six years now (and hopefully for many more!), Keith has been an important contributor to the goings-on at MHR Records: whether designing great CD packages, creating beautiful promotional posters, or even submitting JAM ads. Our latest project -- getting the official MHR web site up and running -- has been exhausting at times, but Keith's unique combination of artistic talent, knowledge of his craft, patience, and the ability to communicate make him the ideal person for the job. Kansas Citians, you are fortunate indeed to have Keith working in your community.

Paul Hofmann
MHR Records
Rochester, NY
www.mhrrecords.com

...and also for Rob
When I transferred to Kansas City from California in 1980, I mentioned to some people at work that I was a jazz enthusiast and had heard about the music of Kansas City. I was told of a club called Costello's Greenhouse. My wife and I went there on a Saturday afternoon and heard Pete Eye, Tommy Ruskin and Milt Abel for the first time. What a treat! We met some people there, learned about more clubs in the area, attended many jam sessions and got to hear some more great music. During this period, we met Rob Richardson and have been listening to him ever since.

I've done a little biography check on Rob and am passing it along to you to see if you might do an article on him in your magazine. This is his 30th year of singing in the Kansas City area.
Originally from Topeka, Kansas, Rob began his nightclub career in KC in the spring of 1971 when he first appeared at the Fireside Inn in North Kansas City. This was with the Mike Ning Trio -- Mike on piano, Ron Roberts on bass, and Mike Thompson on drums. One night restaurant owner Ralph Gaines heard the group and immediately booked it into his Colony Steakhouse.

For the past 29 years, Rob has been playing nightclubs throughout the Kansas City area, from the Colony Steakhouse to the Playboy Club where, in July of 1973, Rob and the Gary Sivils group were hired to perform six nights a week in "The Living Room." Rob, Gary (cornet), Paul Smith (piano), Ron Roberts (bass) and Mark Kaplan (drums) were signed to a two-week, open ended contract and ended up playing the club for over a year and a half. Irv Arthur, Entertainment Director of Playboy International, came to the club, heard the group, and decided to move it into the Penthouse, the main showroom of the club. The group played in the Living Room Monday through Thursday, and in the Penthouse Fridays and Saturdays where they were the opening act for such nationally known entertainers as Kelly Monteith and Jay Leno.

In May of 1974, Irv Arthur again visited the KC Playboy Club and, after seeing the audience reaction to Rob and the talented quartet, booked them for a two-week engagement at the Lake Geneva Playboy Club Resort. The booking was a success, and they were asked to play one night in the main showroom where Phyllis Diller, who was ill, had been headlining a two-week engagement.

Over the years, Rob has played all over the Kansas City area -- from nightclubs and country clubs to private engagements and benefits. He can also still be seen sitting in at many of the jazz jam sessions throughout the area. One of Rob's favorite local groups, and one that he would often sit in with, was the Pete Eye Trio. After hearing Rob on several occasions, Pete called Rob in October of 1987 and asked him to work a job. It became a marriage made in heaven, and they have now been working together for over 12 years.

Since arriving in Kansas City in 1971, Rob Richardson has been written up in The Kansas City Star, the Town Squire, the Johnson County Sun, and the Dallas Morning News, where the columnist wrote, "(Richardson) is a happy blend of Jack Jones and a 'T. Bennett'... a permanent fixture at the Kansas City Playboy Club, and a must-see when in Kansas City." Rob was also written up twice in Variety.

If you get the chance to hear Rob sing at a benefit, jam session or club, don't miss it!

Loren Hanson
Bradenton, FL

Supporting Jazz at KCMW
Dear Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors,
As Program Coordinator at KCMW-FM in Warrensburg, I would like to tell you a bit about our radio station and why we think it important that the jazz community in the Kansas City area support this station.

KCMW-FM began as a 10 watt station in 1962. Over the next twelve years, KCMW made several power upgrades until it was approved for 100,000 watts of power in late 1974, the most allowed by the Federal Communications Commission. Since that time our signal has brought KCMW programming into the Kansas City market.

However, due to federal restrictions, the laws of physics and other radio stations around our frequency of 90.9 FM, we have signal problems in certain parts of the Kansas City metro area. In September of 1998, we installed a new transmission system on our antenna located on Northern Johnson County, Missouri which helped, but there are still areas where our signal is not the best.

Recently, a number of changes were made to improve our product. In March of 1999, we made the commitment to become a 24 hour operation and implemented jazz overnight. Then in June of last year, to help augment our signal, we implemented a new feature of our web site where people can now listen to KCMW-FM with their computers. All you have to do is point your web browser to our web site at kcmw.cmsu.edu and click on the Webradio.com logo. People all over the world can now hear great jazz from KCMW 24 hours per day.

While all these efforts to bring quality jazz programming to our listeners have improved our signal, they also cost money. We need the help of the Jazz Ambassadors and all jazz fans in the Kansas City area and beyond to keep the level of quality high. We need your membership. KCMW members become partners in the effort to keep quality high and we need your help.
If you feel KCMW is valuable and a benefit to you, call us and become a member at KCMW. Although our official spring membership drive does not begin until April 1st, you can call our toll free number at (800) 487-5269 and become a member today. Thanks for supporting jazz in the Kansas city area, and thanks for listening to the station for jazz in the Kansas City area, KCMW.

Sincerely,
Bob Milner
Program Coordinator
KCMW-FM
Warrensburg, MO

Start Spreadin' the News
(Note: Just before the holidays, we received the following from Jennifer Vizina, the KCJA's former Director of Public Relations and Programs.)

It's official. I live and work in New York City. Well, technically speaking. I actually work in Manhattan and sleep in Queens. I haven't had time to do anything fun yet. Even though this is the city that never sleeps, it seems I can't get enough of it!

My moving truck showed up the weekend before Thanksgiving, and it was reason to celebrate and give thanks. Up until then I had two apartments -- one here and one in KC -- and was feeling very chic about being "mid-coastal." But now I've sent my keys back to KC and have acquired six more to get me into my current apartment.

If any of you ever move to NYC, try to convince your mover not to bring an eighteen wheeler into the neighborhood. It really doesn't fit that well. And make sure that if they use an alley next to your apartment, they check the clearance on the electrical wires stringing across the sky. Government regulations on power lines? Not in Queens.

Keeping in touch with all of you is important and hopefully you feel the same. Hope you are having a wonderful and blessed holiday season!

Jennifer Vizina
New York, NY
jvizina@fcb.com
New York, New York

New York, New York
It has always been a temptation to share the pleasures of one of our frequent jazz-filled excursions to New York with you, and we always just resist, write it in our heads and possibly share it with some friends. But this trip was too good to keep to ourselves.

The week before Christmas is always a blast in the city. This one included a celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary, friends from Charlotte, and four whole days to savor it all.

The first two nights were wonderful. Friday we went to Small's on 10th Street in the Village for Walter Booker and Cecil Payne's birthday celebration. For the uninitiated, Small's is, well, small. And it is the most incredibly smoky joint I've ever had the pleasure of choking in. Cecil played wonderful bebop in a group that included Roni Ben-Hur on guitar and Leroy Williams on drums.

After watching the Chiefs beat the Steelers on Saturday, we strolled to the Jazz Record Center on 26th Street. It's a wonderful vinyl-junkie store, with the added plus of having the best selection of jazz-related literature I've ever seen. Saturday night was our turn to see Jackie McLean with the Cedar Walton Trio (David Williams on bass, Billy Higgins on drums) at our favorite spot on earth, the Village Vanguard. The set was excellent, with plenty of room for Mr. Higgins. The audience at the Vanguard is fantastic; absolutely no distractions the entire set. A great evening of music.

The vinyl junkie struck again on Sunday, as we took New Jersey Transit down to the Princeton Record Exchange. This place is a bargain hunter's delight with a great selection; only the very collectible is "pricy." It was a great excuse to visit a beautiful college town.

The real treat came that Monday. I learned a long time ago that it is worth spending the extra day to see the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and listen to them extend the legacy started by Thad and Mel 34 years ago. It is my opinion that the band sounds better each time that I have the opportunity to hear them. But this night was special -- the return of KC's own Bob Brookmeyer to celebrate his 70th birthday. It was a big night, with hardly any subs and a crew from CNN. (The taping is scheduled to be part of the Sunday night CNN/Time series in late January or early February; I'm the one wearing the KC Jazz Ambassadors baseball cap!) Brookmeyer was a charter member of the band, and then returned as musical director when Thad left in the late '70s. Those couple of years were the beginning of the band as it exists today. The band played a mixture of early Thad Jones charts ("Three and One," "Tiptoe," "Little Pixie"), along with some of the great Brookmeyer arrangements ("Willow Tree," "Skylark") and originals ("Make Me Smile"). Brookmeyer led the orchestra like he'd never left, played his valve trombone beautifully, and no one cheered louder at the end of the night than the band. To quote one of Thad's: "A Good Time Was Had By All."

Band announcer and lead trombonist John Mosca suggested that this become an annual event. I don't think anyone disagreed.

Happy birthday, Bob!

Roger Atkinson
Leawood, KS

A Music Mart Complaint
As a current KC Jazz Ambassador I find it a significant affront that you have not included Dwight Foster in Music Mart (JAM, December/January) for the first time that I can ever recall. It seems that the only way jazz musicians are truly appreciated in Kansas City is after they are deceased.

I have news for you. Dwight Foster is alive and well and performing. When Doreen (Maronde) needed a bassist for the memorial service for Frank Smith, she called Dwight. I've watched and listened at every club Dwight has played in Kansas City. He is the most talented musician, and certainly the most accomplished on all instruments.

He is "The Triple Threat" plus.

Shame on you. I trust you will correct this injustice. How many gigs might you have cost Dwight and other musicians you chose to ignore in (the December/January) issue?

Please don't lose any more musicians or jazz enthusiasts in Kansas City... or on the web, for that matter!

Jacqueline M. Yohe
Lofty Aspirations
General Manager/Coordinator,
Right Choice Publishing
Kansas City, MO

As we announced in October, Music Mart -- a free listing service provided by JAM -- was set to undergo a complete revision for December, mostly due to the new requirement for area codes, but also because many of the listings were out of date. We hope readers will consider Music Mart in its current form a work in progress as we attempt to make it more concise and accurate. (Incidentally, Dwight Foster was listed in the December/January issue under "Saxophonists.") Please let us know of any additions, updates or corrections by calling 913-967-6767, or by emailing us at info@jazzkc.org.

The KCJA web site has also been under reconstruction. Please bear with us as we continue to fine tune a new look that will hopefully keep us worthy of The New York Time's declaration that www.jazzkc.org is "one of ten jazz sites worth visiting." We hope to be back to full speed soon. -- Ed.

Dick Wright
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Professor Dick Wright of the University of Kansas. And, I thought it fitting to let those who are interested in on a small slice of his life by passing along a short memoir from one of his music history classes. I was one of many students who revered this gentle man.

In 1994, while looking for an elective at the University of Kansas, I came across "Music History" as a possible "fill in" course to complete the required credits for my BFA in Fine Art (painting) degree. Little did I realize that I had enrolled in one of the best classes on campus.

I was privileged to be one of many students who thoroughly enjoyed going to Dick Wright's music history class. He was a teacher who loved to teach. And, he was so well versed in music that he could recall titles, musicians and dates verbatim.

Mr. Wright's classes mostly utilized recorded music. But, one day he announced that he would sing the next selection. Of course, everyone was astounded; no one knew that he possessed an incredible operatic tenor voice. Mr. Wright sang unaccompanied, and when he finished the selection, you could have heard a pin drop. He then went on with the class just as though he did that kind of thing all the time. In that class, he was charming, friendly, and he possessed an unassuming sense of humor. He showed us what it was to be human.

Professor Wright gave me such a love for jazz that some of the original paintings I produce today are of local and national jazz personalities. I visit local night spots to photograph musicians as they are performing and create original portraits that I market at my shows.

So, thank you Professor Wright for sharing your life and your love of music. If the "House of Jazz" was the church where I worshipped, you would be the Pope.

Cindy Alkire
Overland Park, KS

Dear Mike,
Thank you very much for the tribute to Dick you wrote for JAM. More than any of the other obituaries, yours was the one that got it right. Your remark that Dick was "a good person right down to the core of his soul" is most penetrating.

Dick, more than anyone I have known, lived his beliefs. It seems to me that it takes most of a lifetime and considerable work to sort out important issues of ego, morality and individual good. Dick seemed to have been born with a perfect balance of those qualities.

Best wishes for health and happiness in the New Year.

Gary Foster
Los Angeles, CA

On behalf of my family, I'd like to thank the Jazz Ambassadors, and jazz fans from all walks of life, for the kindness and compassion they have shown during the recent passing of my father, Dick Wright. My dad had a passion, and that passion was jazz. The local jazz scene was blessed to have had a presence like Dick Wright to preserve and promote it, but my dad was equally blessed to have people like you to share his love of the music. He was a man who loved life and the people he met along his journey. His friendships stretched around the world, and Dick was loved by many people.

Although his passing was untimely, his life was complete. He had a beautiful wife Maxine, and a wonderful loving family that he was extremely proud of. He had a job he couldn't wait to get to every day, and he put his best effort into everything he did. Dad was many things: a teacher, an historian, a musician, a promoter, a disc jockey, a sports nut, a religious man, and a family man. But above all, Dick Wright was the ultimate "good Samaritan," giving his time and knowledge to anyone who asked. He touched our lives, and we are all better people for having been friends of Dick Wright.

Please remember the passion that Dick Wright had for life, and in particular the jazz. Again, thank you for your prayers and kindness in our time of sorrow. God Bless you all.

Brian Wright
Prairie Village, KS
On behalf of the Dick Wright Family

p.s. We have set up a scholarship fund in memory of Dad. If you would like to contribute please make donations to:
Dick Wright Memorial Jazz Scholarship
KU Endowment
P.O. Box 928
Lawrence, KS 66044

Send written correspondence to:
EDITOR/JAM
P.O. Box 36181
Kansas City, MO 64171-6181

Email:
correspondence@jazzkc.org

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