Editor's Corner

by Roger Atkinson

happy new year!

Ah, Spring has arrived! There are the obvious signs… March Madness! Spring training! Convertibles! And there are the less obvious signs, also, just a change of spirit. I saw it a few nights ago at Jardine's, where a great Wednesday crowd had already thrown away the winter coats and a few remaining winter chills. Life renewed, it just seems to tell us it safe to get out again.

I don't know about you, but it seems that jazz starts to sound somehow different in the spring, better, somehow. It wears the season well.

I hope Spring finds you all in great health, and I look forward to seeing you out and about.

In this issue we continue on some themes that emerged in the February/March issue, and some new ones emerge. Actually, the theme of John Elliott's influence on a generation of Kansas City musicians is not a new one, but his name kept coming up as we prepared for this issue, as his former students Danny Embrey, Rod Fleeman, and Larry Williams quickly get to John as being a giant influence. The Q&A with Danny and Rod continues what has become an annual event of joint interviews, the interplay between the musicians in an interview is interesting, like their interplay on stage. It is a format that we'll keep in our playbook.

As you read this interview and CD reviews of the new Pat Metheny release and Ben Allison's Man Size Safe with Steve Cardenas, you might begin to wonder about what was in the water in Kansas City that resulted in so many world-class guitarists in a relatively short period. A piece of the puzzle just might be – you guessed it – John Elliott.

We also have the return of the Correspondence column in this issue, and look forward to its continuing into the future. Of course, this means we need correspondence for this to occur.

After Russ Long passed away it was noted how the jazz community has much in common with a church congregation. There is a spirit of camaraderie and helpfulness among the musicians and fans that reminds of a healthy congregation. It is at times of crisis that this comes out the most.

Many of you have heard bassist Dennis Irwin, who died on March 10 in New York City after a short battle with cancer of the spine. He was just 56 years old. Dennis has friends all over the world, including here in Kansas City : he was part of the great Jazz Messenger unit with Bobby Watson, played on Kerry Strayer's Jeru CD, and performed at the Folly and at the Kansas City International Jazz Festival. He was a first call bassist in New York City . He was the bassist in the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra for a couple of decades, and played frequently with Joe Lovano and John Scofield.

The New York jazz community rallied to raise money for Dennis' medical bills. There were big nights at the Village Vanguard and Lincoln Center (this was held on the evening after he passed away that afternoon). Of course, Dennis had no health insurance. So many musicians don't.

Given the current state of health care costs in this country, it falls back on us to help as we can. There are a few organizations that provide assistance, including the Musicians Emergency Assistance Fund that the Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors maintains locally.

We'll continue to have health care debates in this country. I suggest considering how the solutions that are thrown into the discussion would have responded to Dennis Irwin's needs. I'm thinking that if it wouldn't have worked for Dennis we might just have to look for better ideas.

It's a good thing that Dennis was part of a great congregation.

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