JAM: December 2006/January 2007 Issue: Hampton's Hot Licks

It hardly seems possible that it is December already and time for my year-end installment of Roasts & Toasts. The first one is much too important for just one or two lines. The Foundation of Kansas City Jazz The Mutual Musician’s Foundation (MMF) has been holding weekend late night/early morning jam sessions for several more decades than I’ve been alive. I’ve been attending for three decades. In the October issue I wrote about meeting Kenny Taylor (Star Wars R2D2) on the Vine and we included a picture of the two of us on the MMF stage. This was all part of the first annual Charlie Parker Symposium. The concert at the GEM that Saturday night was just the beginning of the night’s jazz. The end was at the Foundation sometime well after the sun came up on Sunday morning and the music was still fantastic in the morning. So were the drinks for those who still wanted any.

The Foundation was filled with some of the finest jazz musician on Earth. I have photos from that night of British alto guru, Peter King, playing with Eldar Djangirov who was only about ten years old at the time. (He was escorted by his father.) Eldar is today one of the brightest shining stars of jazz piano on Earth. And to think that he got part of his start at a late night Foundation jam with a jazz giant from London.

Many nights at the foundation, young jazzers come in to hone their skills and to learn from the old cats that played with Bird and Basie along with some from this era who are also excellent. The Foundation is also where the movie Last of the Blue Devils was filmed. It included most of the Basie band and a lot of local jazz heroes.

The Foundation is also where I tend to take visitors who come to KC for a weekend of jazz when they have not had enough jazz by the time most clubs close. I learned to do that many years ago on a Pub Crawl night. We arrived pretty late and the music was so fantastic that we didn’t bother to catch our bus when the final call came. Musicians from Chicago had dropped in for an old-style cutting session. In the wee hours of the morning we called a cab to get back to our car. (And we were totally sober!)

The Kansas City Star’s November 7, 2006, article about the Foundation said, “In late September, police officers stumbled upon the venue and found its operation to be illegal because it had no liquor license.” Really!! During my twelve years as Director of Publications for KCJA and JAM, these sessions were advertised in every issue. It’s been on the Jazz Hotline (816-522-5277) for more years than that. And it has been written about in every book, magazine, and newspaper containing anything about Kansas City jazz for many decades. The whole world knows all about the Foundation’s late night sessions. They are an institution!

Now, all of a sudden, the legal system is finally catching up with it. No more booze. Or, if there is booze, it can’t go to either 1:30 a.m. or 3:00 a.m. Party poopers! This is not because the police just “stumbled” onto it. They’ve known about it for years, probably since it started and even during Prohibition. I’m sure that some of them even visit the place when off duty. To put an end to this Kansas City tradition is just about as bad as not allowing prayer in schools. This place didn’t become a national landmark because of its architecture! It is not only the Foundation by name; it is one of the last standing foundations of Kansas City jazz. If there is ever a time or way to grandfather historic tradition, this is it. If there is anybody who could fix this, please accept this Roast on me.

TOAST: Mutual Musician’s Foundation. The Foundation is looking better than ever and doing more for the musicians and community than I remember in past years. Here’s a Toast to them for shaping the place up and hanging in there!

TOAST: U.S. Postal Service for making their 30th honoree in the Back Heritage Stamp series none other than Ella Fitzgerald. Expect to see this stamp in late January.

ROAST: The American Jazz Museum still doesn’t have any billboards advertising their existence Hampton's Hot Licks, continued or location. Unless they are really hidden, I don’t think there is even a sign on the Interstate telling one where to exit to the facility. At KCI there are some really stupid neon lights (in the median) that would make a good place to put an advertisement for our city’s mega-million-dollar jazz district. How about getting this done in ‘07!

TOAST: This goes to the many supporters of the Charlie Parker Birthday Celebration held August 27, 2006, at Lincoln Cemetery. Outstanding kudos for this year’s event go to Tara Johnson of Lincoln Cemetery for the wonderful job of getting people where they needed to be, on time. Also huge thanks to the musicians, the KCJA Board, the CODA Jazz Fund Board, and all of those who came for this spiritual event, even with the threat of rain.

TOAST: A huge thanks to Blue Virtual, our Web site host, for taking care of us when we go “over quote” on our allocated server space. These guys understand community service!

ROAST: KCJA broke a twenty-year tradition this year by not having the annual Jazz Lover’s Pub Crawl. I sure hope this is “revived” in ‘07.

TOAST: To all the area jazz educators. Of all of your students, a few will find ways to make a living playing, writing, or arranging jazz in the future. Those who don’t will become the audience of tomorrow. Keep on keeping on.

TOAST: Coda Jazz Fund. What a pleasure it is to work with such a professional group of volunteers on such a worthy cause. The 2006 Coda Concert and other events of the week were outstanding and well supported by the community. This would not happen without Coda’s many gracious sponsors. A toast to you too! Look for some really special things from Coda in ‘07.

ROAST: Rusty Tucker. Gee man, you checked out way too soon for us and we miss you a lot. Rusty left us with the good times rolling.

TOAST: To Karrin Allyson (and the whole Footprints team) for Footprints. At the end of the third quarter of ‘06, Footprints was the second most played jazz album of the year according to JazzWeek.

TOAST: To KCJA Board Treasurer Beverly Mann! Beverly has stepped up to the plate to take over the organization’s Presidency when nobody else would. She’s doing a super job and has the full respect of the other board members. Thank you Beverly!! Along with toasting Beverly, there are a number of new board members who are attacking their jobs with professionalism and excitement. KCJA will definitely be a growth organization in ‘07.

ROAST: Perhaps the biggest roast I’ve ever written goes to the City of Kansas City, MO, for not paying Gill Construction Company $400,000 when they had the chance to do what was right. Instead, many years later, the price tag ended up at $3 million via a lawsuit in federal court. Add to that, the amount of time and expense the City used in trying to avoid paying for Gill’s services. Just think of all the AJM billboards that $2.6 million extra could have bought.

TOAST: To the whole JAM staff for producing six great issues of this magazine. Great content, coollooking, and the premier jazz society magazine in the USA. Keep up the good work!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night—of live KC jazz!!






	Search our site:		It hardly seems possible that it is December already and time for my year-end installment of Roasts & Toasts. The first one is much too important for just one or two lines. The Foundation of Kansas City Jazz The Mutual Musician’s Foundation (MMF) has been holding weekend late night/early morning jam sessions for several more decades than I’ve been alive. I’ve been attending for three decades. In the October issue I wrote about meeting Kenny Taylor (Star Wars R2D2) on the Vine and we included a picture of the two of us on the MMF stage. This was all part of the first annual Charlie Parker Symposium. The concert at the GEM that Saturday night was just the beginning of the night’s jazz. The end was at the Foundation sometime well after the sun came up on Sunday morning and the music was still fantastic in the morning. So were the drinks for those who still wanted any. The Foundation was filled with some of the finest jazz musician on Earth. I have photos from that night of British alto guru, Peter King, playing with Eldar Djangirov who was only about ten years old at the time. (He was escorted by his father.) Eldar is today one of the brightest shining stars of jazz piano on Earth. And to think that he got part of his start at a late night Foundation jam with a jazz giant from London. Many nights at the foundation, young jazzers come in to hone their skills and to learn from the old cats that played with Bird and Basie along with some from this era who are also excellent. The Foundation is also where the movie Last of the Blue Devils was filmed. It included most of the Basie band and a lot of local jazz heroes. The Foundation is also where I tend to take visitors who come to KC for a weekend of jazz when they have not had enough jazz by the time most clubs close. I learned to do that many years ago on a Pub Crawl night. We arrived pretty late and the music was so fantastic that we didn’t bother to catch our bus when the final call came. Musicians from Chicago had dropped in for an old-style cutting session. In the wee hours of the morning we called a cab to get back to our car. (And we were totally sober!) The Kansas City Star’s November 7, 2006, article about the Foundation said, “In late September, police officers stumbled upon the venue and found its operation to be illegal because it had no liquor license.” Really!! During my twelve years as Director of Publications for KCJA and JAM, these sessions were advertised in every issue. It’s been on the Jazz Hotline (816-522-5277) for more years than that. And it has been written about in every book, magazine, and newspaper containing anything about Kansas City jazz for many decades. The whole world knows all about the Foundation’s late night sessions. They are an institution! Now, all of a sudden, the legal system is finally catching up with it. No more booze. Or, if there is booze, it can’t go to either 1:30 a.m. or 3:00 a.m. Party poopers! This is not because the police just “stumbled” onto it. They’ve known about it for years, probably since it started and even during Prohibition. I’m sure that some of them even visit the place when off duty. To put an end to this Kansas City tradition is just about as bad as not allowing prayer in schools. This place didn’t become a national landmark because of its architecture! It is not only the Foundation by name; it is one of the last standing foundations of Kansas City jazz. If there is ever a time or way to grandfather historic tradition, this is it. If there is anybody who could fix this, please accept this Roast on me. TOAST: Mutual Musician’s Foundation. The Foundation is looking better than ever and doing more for the musicians and community than I remember in past years. Here’s a Toast to them for shaping the place up and hanging in there! TOAST: U.S. Postal Service for making their 30th honoree in the Back Heritage Stamp series none other than Ella Fitzgerald. Expect to see this stamp in late January. ROAST: The American Jazz Museum still doesn’t have any billboards advertising their existence Hampton's Hot Licks, continued or location. Unless they are really hidden, I don’t think there is even a sign on the Interstate telling one where to exit to the facility. At KCI there are some really stupid neon lights (in the median) that would make a good place to put an advertisement for our city’s mega-million-dollar jazz district. How about getting this done in ‘07! TOAST: This goes to the many supporters of the Charlie Parker Birthday Celebration held August 27, 2006, at Lincoln Cemetery. Outstanding kudos for this year’s event go to Tara Johnson of Lincoln Cemetery for the wonderful job of getting people where they needed to be, on time. Also huge thanks to the musicians, the KCJA Board, the CODA Jazz Fund Board, and all of those who came for this spiritual event, even with the threat of rain. TOAST: A huge thanks to Blue Virtual, our Web site host, for taking care of us when we go “over quote” on our allocated server space. These guys understand community service! ROAST: KCJA broke a twenty-year tradition this year by not having the annual Jazz Lover’s Pub Crawl. I sure hope this is “revived” in ‘07. TOAST: To all the area jazz educators. Of all of your students, a few will find ways to make a living playing, writing, or arranging jazz in the future. Those who don’t will become the audience of tomorrow. Keep on keeping on. TOAST: Coda Jazz Fund. What a pleasure it is to work with such a professional group of volunteers on such a worthy cause. The 2006 Coda Concert and other events of the week were outstanding and well supported by the community. This would not happen without Coda’s many gracious sponsors. A toast to you too! Look for some really special things from Coda in ‘07. ROAST: Rusty Tucker. Gee man, you checked out way too soon for us and we miss you a lot. Rusty left us with the good times rolling. TOAST: To Karrin Allyson (and the whole Footprints team) for Footprints. At the end of the third quarter of ‘06, Footprints was the second most played jazz album of the year according to JazzWeek. TOAST: To KCJA Board Treasurer Beverly Mann! Beverly has stepped up to the plate to take over the organization’s Presidency when nobody else would. She’s doing a super job and has the full respect of the other board members. Thank you Beverly!! Along with toasting Beverly, there are a number of new board members who are attacking their jobs with professionalism and excitement. KCJA will definitely be a growth organization in ‘07. ROAST: Perhaps the biggest roast I’ve ever written goes to the City of Kansas City, MO, for not paying Gill Construction Company $400,000 when they had the chance to do what was right. Instead, many years later, the price tag ended up at $3 million via a lawsuit in federal court. Add to that, the amount of time and expense the City used in trying to avoid paying for Gill’s services. Just think of all the AJM billboards that $2.6 million extra could have bought. TOAST: To the whole JAM staff for producing six great issues of this magazine. Great content, coollooking, and the premier jazz society magazine in the USA. Keep up the good work! Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night—of live KC jazz!! RETURN TO DECEMBER 2006/JANUARY 2007 MAIN INDEX © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2005. All rights reserved.