JAM: December 2002/January 2003 Issue: Hampton's Hot Licks






	Search our site:		Dean Hampton A Productive 12 Years; But It's Time to Take the Coda I will never forget the day in late 1990 when KCJA President, Kathy Feist asked me to take over the Jazz Ambassador Magazine. I had written a few feature articles about people like Carmell Jones, Danny Embrey and Bob Bowman, and I had a strong publications background, so I kind of knew what I would be getting into. I thought it would be a fun gig and could make the magazine grow. Kathy had been president for three years and the magazine's editor for at least part of that time. She was deservedly tired and ready for a break. (Without Kathy's efforts, JAM would not exist today.) Todd Wilkinson was the president-elect and was on fire with new ideas, and one of my first tasks as the new editor was to develop a list of goals. I never gave much thought to how long I would be in the top spot or where that list would take us. However, most of those goals would be met in the coming years. They included: Increase the magazine's size to a full 8.5" x 11"; Add color, and maybe glossy pages; Increase distribution to something far beyond the usual 1,500-3,000 copies (in recent years we've stayed right at 10,000-plus); Build a strong editorial staff, increase advertising sales, trim production time via computerization, and gobs more. Again, many of those goals have been met. And, looking back, I remember naming a file on my PC "whatever.jam" while writing one of my first articles as editor. Ah!... "JAM!" Let's change the name, too! In February of 1991 we did just that. And in August of '91 we changed size and more than doubled our circulation. In 1993, my employer sent me to Philadelphia for nearly eight months to work on a major logistics project. During my absence, President Mike Rollf solicited the aid of Mike Metheny to be the new JAM editor. It was probably the best decision ever made by a KCJA president. Mike Metheny knew how to take JAM content to places I never dreamed of. We became a tight team that also included some sharp writers and the talented Rod McBride as typographer. Then came even more growth. In 1995 Brad Lucht and Joe Hartenbower suggested that the KCJA start a web site. That site -- www.jazzkc.org -- would become "JAM online" and would also include a lot of info about the Jazz Ambassadors organization. Today we have a couple thousand pages online. Many thousands of people from all over the world visit jazzkc.org each month. From the correspondence received, we can tell that the site is used to monitor what's happening in today's KC jazz scene as well as for research about its past (many college term papers have been written using our online data). One of the high points for us was when The New York Times proclaimed that jazzkc.org was "One of 10 Jazz Sites Worth Visiting." As I end my time as KCJA Director of Publications, I will never forget all the people who were major contributors to what I feel has been a successful and life changing period for me. Each of the KCJA presidents over the last 12 years have come to understand what we do regarding KCJA Publications, which includes JAM, the Wholenotes Newsletter, the Jazz Hotline (816-753-5277), and jazzkc.org. Each leader has soaked it up and enthusiastically supported that part of the KCJA. Those presidents have been: Kathy Feist (3 years), Todd Wilkinson, Mary Ellen Farney, Mike Rollf (2 years), Linda Holmes, Vanessa Barnard (3 years), Mike Fitzgerald (2 years), and the current president, John Leisenring (2 years). Thanks to all of you as well as to all the Board members who have been part of each team. Together with the involvement of hundreds of terrific jazz musicians, a slug of super jazz venue operators, and those of you who go out to listen to live jazz, buy CDs, and support jazz radio, I think we are back on the international jazz map. Looking ahead, I plan to start a major effort to see that jazz stays alive and well in the United States. I have had the pleasure of receiving correspondence from all over the country wanting to know what makes our "jazz society" click. They want to know how to start jazz ambassador-type organizations. They want to know how to have a voice with clubs and theaters in order to present jazz. And they are interested in knowing about fundraising, producing programs, festivals and concert series. I hope the 2003 KCJA Board of Directors will adopt this as a project. Whether they do or not, it is a go with me, and I will need some help. If interested you can email me at jazz@kc.rr.com. While I plan to continue writing Hot Licks for JAM, I also feel that jazz education starts at home. I have eight grandchildren who will be getting a good dose of what I've been giving the KC jazz community via the KCJA. I also hope to drag out the ol' fishing pole a lot more now than I have in the past 12 years. As is the annual year-end tradition in this column, here are just a few "Roasts & Toasts" for 2002, beginning with: A Roast to whatever led to the end of the KC Blues & Jazz Festival. A Toast to Bobby Watson, Hal Melia and their growing staff for putting UMKC on the map as a school for jazz education. A Roast (and a Toast) to former KCJA president Vanessa Barnard (1957-2001) for leaving us way before her time. We miss you, Vanessa! A Toast to Bobby Watson, Kevin Mahogany and Karrin Allyson for staying high on the jazz airplay charts all at the same time and for so many weeks in a row. And finally, a Toast to the entire JAM staff for producing the best six issues ever in 2002. Let's do it again in '03! Dean Hampton has been the KCJA's Director of Publications since 1990. RETURN TO DECEMBER 2002/JANUARY 2003 MAIN INDEX © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2002. All rights reserved.