Whitmer to Host Jazz Service
A Jazz Service will be held at Central United Methodist Church , 5144 Oak Street , Kansas City , Missouri at 10:50 a.m. , Sunday, August 13 th. The service will feature the Tim Whitmer Consort , with Whitmer on piano, vocalist Millie Edwards, Steve Regazzi, bass, and Jurgen Welge on drums. For more information, contact Dr. Barry Wenger at barry@cumckcmo.org , or call 816-753-1844.
Jazz Online 24/7
Those of you lamenting the lack of a full-time jazz radio station in the area… Do you have speakers on your desktop or laptop? Good! Then you can catch great sounds around the clock from around the world. How about KCSM, at the College of San Mateo in California www.kcsm.org ? (Pacific Time is two hours behind ours, remember.) You'll dig especially the “Morning Cup of Jazz” show with Alisa Clancy, and Sonny Buxton's show 10 am to 2 pm (their time) on Saturdays. Or, how about music anytime, plus a French language brush-up? Try www.tsfjazz.com , direct from Paris (is that 7 hours ahead of us, by Daylight Saving Time?) Skip the commercials, and you'll have little trouble with the music announcements. Both stations give you on-screen playlists, too. There are others, too. Let JAM know if you know of other sources of jazz online.
Kansas City ONE Aid
The Kansas City jazz community showed its generous support for the ONE campaign to raise awareness to end global poverty on July 14, 15, and 16. Many jazz venues were involved, including Jardine's, the Blue Room, and The Phoenix. Participating musicians include the Sons of Brasil, Ida McBeth, Valery Price, Candace Evans , the Westport Art Ensemble, Mama Ray, Angela Hagenbach, Lonnie McFadden, and Mark Lowrey. Tim Sweeney coordinated the local events, which is part of a world wide effort.
First Friday Jazz
On the evening of Friday, August 4, Topeka based saxophonist Dan Kozak will be in concert as part of the First Friday fun in the Crossroads district. The concert is from 6:30 until 8:30 . This is the fourth live jazz concert in the Mid-America Arts Alliance Presents: Just Jazz series. The concert will be held across from Mid-America's headquarters at 2018 Baltimore Avenue in the Crossroads Arts District. Contact Andy Graham at 816-421-1388 or 800-473-3872 or andy@maaa.org for more information.
KCJO at Shawnee Mission Northwest
The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra (KCJO), under the direction of Jim Mair, and the Shawnee Mission Northwest High School Jazz Band will perform a 7:00pm concert in the Shawnee Mission Northwest auditorium on September 26. The concert will focus on the music of Stan Ken ton, and will feature woodwind virtuoso Kim Park, a Ken ton alumnus. The concert is also the culminating event in a series of jazz clinic and workshops that KCJO members will be presenting at Shawnee Mission Northwest on September 25.
The jazz clinics and workshops are open to all students free of charge. The concert is open to the public. Tickets will be available at the door -- $10 for adults and $5 for students.
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School is located at 12701 W. 67 th St. in Shawnee, Kansas .
For more information call Doug Talley at (913) 993-1031, or at douglastalley@smsd.org .
Whitmer at Soul of the City Fundraiser
On September 28, Tim Whitmer and his Kansas City All Star Jazz Revue will be on stage at Drexel Hall at Kansas City Church Community Organization's (CCO) Soul of the City 2006 Fundraiser. The show starts at 5:15 p.m. Drop in after work for an evening of delicious food and drink, fabulous entertainment and spending time with other friends of CCO. A live and silent auction will be held during the evening amidst the festivities.
CCO will be presenting Beth Smith with the legacy of leadership award. Drexel Hall is located at Linwood and Baltimore in Kansas City , Missouri . Call (816) 444-5585 for sponsorship opportunities and tickets. Ticket Price: $60.00
Old Webster Jazz Festival in St. Louis
Considering a drive across the state? You might want to mark your calendars, as the Old Webster Jazz Festival might be the reason to make the trip. The festival will be held on September 26, and starts at noon . Performers on the two stages include Erin Bode, the USAF Big Band of the Mid-America, and Billy Peek. Information, including directions, is available at www.oldwebsterjazzfestival.com .
Russ Long Night at Jardine's…
Jardine's “special nights” are truly special, and this one promises to be one of those nights. On Sunday, August 6, the music of long-time favorite Russ Long will be featured, performed by Russ and what promises to be a long list of his many colleagues through the years; for example, I understand that JAM contributor Carol Comer might sing a couple of Russ' compositions. You can call the club for more information and reservations at (816) 562-6480. Note that the Sunday evening shows typically start at 6:00 p.m.
… and Dig the Blue Room Schedule
It looks like Gerald Dunn has been his normal busy self, if the upcoming shows at the Blue Room are any indication. In August, Karrin Allyson returns for two nights (August 1 and 2); a couple of days later, ace drummer Winard Harper brings in his exciting band (August 4 and 5). The September lineup includes two of the finest pianists around: Ken ny Werner on September 18 and Ken ny Drew, Jr. on September 23. Add to this an evening with guitarist Will Matthews on September 29, and what you have is a good reason to program 18 th and Vine into your GPS.
Artist Kuemmerlein Commissions Paintings for AJM
Kansas City-based artist Janet Kuemmerlein's portrait of Miles Davis is already part of the collection at the American Jazz Museum , and she is halfway through her current project for the museum, a series of eight portraits of local female jazz artists. The portraits completed thus far are of Angela Hagenbach, Carol Comer, and Lisa Henry. One portraying the Wild Women of Kansas City is in progress. The three-foot-by-four-foot paintings are being commissioned at a cost of $3,000 each (tax deductible), payable to the museum. The paintings will be a part of the museum's permanent collection and the donor's will be acknowledged. For further information about the series contact Ms. Kuemmerlein at (816) 842-7049.
Prints of the Davis portrait are available at the museum's gift shop.
Kuemmerlein's work is in public and private collections around the world.
Obituary
Orestie “Rusty” Tucker
1925-2006
Rusty Tucker, a favorite since arriving in Kansas City in 1948, passed away on June 14.
A native of Alabama , Tucker originally worked as a trumpeter in Kansas City . However, after his front teeth were knocked out in an accident, he returned to the drums, the instrument he started on when he was a teenager. He became not only an excellent drummer, but also a fine vocalist.
Career highlights include working with Claude “Fiddler” Williams, traveling with Williams to Montreal in 1986 for the Montreal Jazz Festival. More recently he played in Tim Whitmer and the KC Express and The Scamps.
In a December 1996 JAM profile of Tucker, Rusty said “I owe a great deal to music. It definitely changed my life. And I want to let other people know what an influence music can have.”
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Notes? Please send to: Editor/JAM, P.O. Box 36181, Kansas City, MO 64171-6181.
Deadline for all submissions is the 15th of each odd numbered month.
