JAM: April/May 2004 Issue: Off The Vine

by Juanita Moore

The American Jazz Museum – “Where It Lives”

The calendar may still hint of winter, but the air is ready to burst into bloom with the sweet, hot sounds of jazz! And the American Jazz Museum 's slate of activities certainly reflects this with anticipation. Throughout April and May, the American Jazz Museum will be introducing and promoting its new logo and slogan, “Where It Lives.” The logo that accompanies the slogan features a solo trumpeter affixed within a background stage of hot orange dimmed lights. Yes, you can almost hear the notes coming through the page.

During April and May the Jazz Poetry Jams will continue its innovative partnership of poetry and jazz, now in its tenth month in the newly renovated Blue Room . Adrie Taylor has created an energetic program that blends the spoken word with live jazz music.

Karrin Allyson will take to the Blue Room stage on April 30 and May 1, with two performances each night. It's not just critics who love Karrin Allyson. It is the rest of the world, too—jazz fans, jazz musicians, classical musicians, club owners, concertgoers and listeners of every variety. Karrin Allyson has been quietly gathering fans everywhere jazz is heard since 1992.

In February 2004, she embarked on a major tour of Australia and New Zealand . Now she returns to Kansas City to perform from the Blue Room stage.

May also serves as backdrop for two other very important engagements – the Fascinatin' Rhythms Gala on May 8th, and the CODA Benefit on May 15th, both at the historic Gem Theatre.

The Fascinatin' Rhythms Gala will honor two jazz legends – Nancy Wilson and Abbey Lincoln -- for their lifetime contributions to jazz. Both women have received the Jazz Master Fellows award from the National Endowment of the Arts.

Nancy Wilson won a talent show in Columbus , Ohio , at age 15. The prize was a twice-a-week television show, Skyline Melodies. A member of Rusty Bryant's band at the Carolyn Club, she also sat in at other local clubs with any band that would let her . One night it was Cannonball Adderley, who was so impressed that he told her to look him up if she ever came to New York . In 1959, the ambitious young singer did just that, which then led to her meeting her long-time manager John Levy who got her signed to Capitol Records. "What I heard that night," recalled Capitol A&R man Dave Cavanaugh, "was the nasal quality of Dinah [Washington] and the tear of Billie [ Holiday ]. I signed her immediately."

During her years with Capitol, Nancy was second in sales only to the Beatles, surpassing even Sinatra, Peggy Lee, the Beach Boys and early idol Nat King Cole. But the business had changed and Nancy felt a new label might bring about a fresh start. So she moved over to Columbia , where, despite her usual high aesthetic standards, she found it impossible to compete, sales-wise, with increasingly teen-oriented acts.

Abbey Lincoln is an artist of great intelligence--a lyricist, a composer and an actress, widely acclaimed by critics. She is well known for social commentary and excellence in performance.

Born Anna Marie Wooldridge in Chicago , Abbey, who is tenth of 12 children, grew up on a farm in Michigan called Calvin Center . The small township has the distinction of being one of the stops on the Underground Railroad during slavery. This history, combined with her one-room schoolhouse education, gave her a head start for learning.

Even as a small girl, Abbey showed great promise as a stage performer. She recalls listening to Billie Holiday and Coleman Hawkins on a hand-cranked Victrola, which inspired her to give performances at home, school and church. Abbey's first professional job took place in the basement of a church, which was staged as a cabaret setting. She was paid five dollars for this appearance.

Abbey is a storyteller par excellence and lectures at schools and universities. She taught theater for a year at the California State University at Northridge. Because of her deep concern for the poor and disadvantaged, she has been awarded numerous civic and community awards.

We are pleased to honor both of these extraordinary ladies in Kansas City .

As we have in years past, the GEM Theatre will serve as the venue for the 3rd Annual CODA Jazz Fund Benefit on May 15th. This event is very significant as its proceeds continue to provide financial assistance to pay for funeral home, crematorium or gravesite costs associated with the burial of deceased career jazz musicians. The Coda Jazz Fund is administered by the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation under the direction of an independent, non-partisan Advisory Committee.

Juanita Moore

All these activities are indeed testimony that the American Jazz Museum and 18th & Vine is in fact, “Where it Lives”!

For more information about the Fascinatin' Rhythms Gala, CODA, or Blue Room performances, call the American Jazz Museum box office at 816-474-6262 or visit the AJM website, www.americanjazzmuseum.com Don't miss any of these and the many other features in the coming months.