JAM: October/November 2003 Issue: President's Corner

by Hal Melia

Nights To Remember

Hot on the heels of the "Battle of the Saxes," held this past August 28 at the Grand Emporium, I still feel the magic of that evening as if it were yesterday. Alaadeen, Jim Mair, and I held forth with some righteous music, propelled by the rhythmic forces of Roger Wilder on piano, Tyrone Clark on bass, and Tommy Ruskin on drums. Because I'm gigging all the time, it's not often that I get to sit and listen to other saxophonists ply their trade for a whole set at a time, and this is one evening I'm glad I got that chance. The seasoned smoothness of Alaadeen's soprano sax as he played some gems that are not often heard just made me sit back and smile. Jim Mair offered some original material and standards, and was giving as good as he got all night. The part I relished most was when all three of us were blowing, whether it was a blues or "Cherokee," and building up to a fever pitch. All this made the Sax Battle a night to remember.

Fall Crawl, y'all! Yes, it's that time again, when lots of great jazz players populate clubs in a night-long bash with plenty of partying and great music. This edition of our new "cellular" pub crawl model is in the River Market and Downtown area on Thursday, October 2, so I hope you picked up your copy of JAM early this time! It's lots of fun, as thousands of Kansas Citians and many travelers from other areas can tell you, and we have some people to thank for the hard work they have put in to make this Crawl a night to remember. Gina Speese has been involved with the Jazz Ambassadors Board of Directors for less than two years now, but she is a can-do person who finds ways to make things work, and her tireless efforts on behalf of the Downtown/River Market Pub Crawl must not go unnoticed. Change is a tough thing, often requiring Herculean effort on the implementation side, and Gina has followed through with great results on short notice, mostly because of her positive attitude and her belief in the product: Kansas City Jazz! Kudos to you, Gina, and keep up the wonderful work!

These events do not just magically come together, and Bram Wijnands has gone above and beyond the call of duty in lining up first rate entertainment for all the clubs involved. Bram knows the musicians in town, and he is also quite familiar with the venues, being a working musician himself, so he is uniquely suited to the task of populating each club with the right band. He has also shown tireless energy in sticking to the task until the entire scenario is complete. Great job, Bram!

Participation in the Pub Crawl from a club's perspective involves a good bit of risk, and we applaud all our participating clubs wildly for putting their dollars on the line and opening up their doors in the interest of promoting and supporting live jazz music. Many of the clubs do not hire bands on a regular basis, so this is a stretch for them, and we appreciate the support; yes, I believe jazz is alive and well in Kansas City!

As exciting as these cellular pub crawls are, they are but a portion of what we do here at JA, and with this in mind, I have to mention a new event we are holding at Jardine's on Thursday, November 13. Dubbed "Kats on Keys," this evening is modeled after our successful "Ladies Sing the Blues" night held at Plaza III last winter (thanks, Bill Paprota!). We decided that we would celebrate the rich tradition of piano players in Kansas City by featuring three of them in one night. Look for more details about "Kats on Keys" in "News & Notes." It should be yet another night to remember!

KCJA President Hal Melia is a professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Missouri/Kansas City.