Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors Off The Vine- april/may 2008

Greetings Music Lovers -

April is upon us, and you know what that means – it's Jazz Appreciation Month!

We hope you will join us in celebrating one of America 's greatest gifts to the world – jazz – music that is appreciated, exhibited & enjoyed all across the globe. Moreover, whether you're a jazz novice or an expert enthusiast, it is our hope that you'll take time to learn about Kansas City 's own contributions to the history of jazz or take in a few performances and support our local musicians. These individuals work hard to preserve and perpetuate the strong musical foundation laid by the countless legendary musicians who went before – and should be applauded for their efforts!

To many, jazz can be intimidating or entirely too complex – but there are forms of jazz out there that speak to different types of music fans. Our April (and May) schedule offers a diverse range of artists and styles - what better time is there to try out some new tunes or check some live performances than Jazz Appreciation Month?

Below is a rundown of upcoming performances, events & education programs at the American Jazz Museum . I'd like to encourage you to help us work towards our initiatives in furthering this incredible form of music by participating in any of these events & activities:

MCC-Penn Valley 18 th & Vine Jazz Festival
We're pleased to announce that the MCC-Penn Valley 18 th & Vine Jazz Festival will take place April 18-19. This is a non-competitive event providing middle school, high school and collegiate level students with an opportunity for increased experience and understanding of American jazz, as well as opportunities to interact with internationally acclaimed jazz artists, local professional jazz musicians and distinguished educators.

Instrumental school jazz ensembles of all levels are invited to perform in the historic Gem Theater and the Blue Room jazz club. In addition to the performance, each group will receive feedback from festival clinicians onstage. Members of the Ray Brown Tribute Band – Christian McBride, Benny Green & Greg Hutchinson – will be presenting a master class on Friday, April 18 before they take the stage that evening to close out the Jammin' at the Gem series. Members of the Billy Hart Quintet – who are performing at the Blue Room on Saturday, April 19 – will also be presenting master classes during the festival. Discount tickets to these performances are available to participating schools/students.

For more information, contact education coordinator Dennis Winslett (816-474-8463, x241 or dwinslett@kcjazz.org ) or Clarence Smith at MCC-Penn Valley , 816-759-4456 or clarence.smith@mcckc.edu.

Jammin' at the Gem
The 2007-2008 Jammin' at the Gem season will conclude on Friday, April 18 with A Tribute to Ray Brown . Aside from his tenure as a member of the Oscar Peterson Trio from 1951-1966, Ray Brown played with Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, and several other jazz luminaries. Having influenced countless musicians worldwide until his passing in 2002, it seems fitting that a Ray Brown tribute features the outstanding trio of Christian McBride, Benny Green, and Greg Hutchinson – each of whom have worked and recorded with the iconic bassist.

Christian McBride is perhaps the top bassist in the world today, having worked with an impressive array of artists across multiple genres and winning a Grammy, among numerous other accolades.

Pianist Benny Green has performed with musicians such as Diana Krall and Bobby Watson, and drummer Greg Hutchinson has also performed with a numerous notable artists in multiple genres, ranging from Dianne Reeves & Branford Marsalis to Common and Steely Dan.

A special thanks to all of you who came out for this season's concerts; we're pleased that you were able to share in the sheer excitement & energy of the music at the Gem – and we look forward to hosting you again for the 2008-2009 series!

Stay tuned for more details at www.americanjazzmuseum.org...

Tickets range from $25 to $40. For more information call 816-474-8463 or visit www.americanjazzmuseum.org. To purchase tickets, call the American Jazz Museum Box Office at 816-474-6262 or Ticketmaster.

Blue Room
The Blue Room calendar is jam-packed with a variety of local and national acts across a spectrum of styles within jazz. Some highlights include:

Friday, April 4, 2008, 8:30pm
Joe Cartwright Trio w/Giacomo Gates
Saturday, April 12 & Saturday, May 10, 2008
8:00pm; 9:30pm ; 11:00pm
McFadden Brothers
Saturday, April 19, 2008, 8:30pm
Logan Richardson Quintet featuring Jazz Legend Billy Hart
Thursday, April 24, 2008, 7:30pm
Erin Bode
Saturday, April 26, 2008, 8:30pm
Kenny Werner Trio
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Angela Hagenbach w/special guest Greg Carroll
Friday, May 16, 2008, 8:30pm
Alto Madness w/Bobby Watson & Richie Cole
Friday, May 30 & Saturday, May 31, 2008, 8:30pm
Winard Harper Quintet

There are many other great acts lined up which we can't fit in here – but as always, the current Blue Room performance schedule is available online as well as the inside front cover ad of JAM.

Jazz Poetry Jams
Our Jazz Poetry Jams series continues to explore the dynamic relationship between jazz & the spoken word through stellar performances by talented poets and the accompanying jazz outfits. Upcoming sessions include HBO Def Jam poet Jon Goode on April 15 and Kynan “Yep” Ramsey on May 20. For more information, contact education coordinator Glenn North at 816-474-8463, x221 or gnorth@kcjazz.org .

Jazz Storytelling
Storyteller Brother John, vocalist Lisa Henry , bassist Tyrone Clark and drummer Mike Warren continue to promote jazz awareness & education with local children through their one-of-a-kind performances at our free Jazz Storytelling program. Upcoming sessions will be held on April 4 th , 11 th and 18 th as well as May 16 th & 30 th at 10:00am in the American Jazz Museum Atrium. For more information, contact education coordinator Dennis Winslett at 816-474-8463, x241 or dwinslett@kcjazz.org .

A full schedule of events for our programs is also available at www.americanjazzmuseum.org .

Look for updates on the website, including Changing Gallery exhibitions and a few other special events in the works. Thank you all for your wonderful support. We'll see you at 18 th & Vine!

Best wishes and deepest thanks,

Greg Carroll

Greg Carroll is the Executive Director of the American Jazz Museum .

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