Kansas city jazz club cracked#

This further contributed to the loose, spontaneous Kansas City sound. The KC big bands often played by memory, composing and arranging the music collectively, rather than sight-reading as other big bands of the time did. It was not uncommon for one 'song' to be performed for several hours, with the best musicians often soloing for dozens of choruses at a time. Fueled by the non-stop nightlife under political boss Tom Pendergast, Kansas City jam sessions continued until later than sunrise, fostering a highly competitive atmosphere and a unique jazz culture in which the goal was to 'say something' with one's instrument, rather than simply show off one's technique. This gave Kansas City jazz a more relaxed, fluid sound than previous jazz styles.

A preference for a 4 feel (walking) over the 2 beat feel found in other jazz styles of the time.

Kansas City jazz is distinguished by the following musical elements:

Kansas city jazz club cracked#

Pendergast was convicted of income tax fraud in 1940 and the city cracked down on the clubs effectively ending the era. Kansas City influence overtly transferred to the national scene in 1936 when record producer John Hammond discovered Count Basie on his car radio. Ĭlubs were scattered throughout city but the most fertile area was the inner city neighborhood of 18th Street and Vine.Īmong the clubs were the Amos 'n' Andy, Boulevard Lounge, Cherry Blossom, Chesterfield Club, Chocolate Bar, Dante's Inferno, Elk's Rest, Hawaiian Gardens, Hell's Kitchen, the Hi Hat, the Hey Hay Club, Lone Star, Old Kentucky Bar-B-Que, Paseo Ballroom, Pla-Mor Ballroom, Reno Club, Spinning Wheel, Street's Blue Room, Subway, and Sunsetx. playing the wrong thing, we'd straighten you out. Kansas City was different from all other places because we'd be jamming all night. They knew it up North and they knew it down South.'Ĭlaude 'Fiddler' Williams described the scene: 'You'd hear some cat play, and somebody would say 'This cat, he sounds like he is from Kansas City.' It was Kansas City Style. Jay McShann told the Associated Press in 2003: Often members of the big bands would perform at regular venues earlier in the evening and go to the jazz clubs later to jam for the rest of the night. Most of the jazz musicians associated with the style were born in other places but got caught up in the friendly musical competitions among performers that could keep a single song being performed in variations for an entire night.

Kansas City was a wide open town with liquor laws and hours totally ignored and was called the new Storyville.

The era marked the zenith of power of political boss Tom Pendergast. Transcontinental trips at the time, whether by plane or train, often necessitated a stop in the city. Kansas City in the 1930s was very much the crossroads of the United States resulting in a mix of cultures. However, the Kansas City jazz school is identified with the black bands of the 1920s and 1930s, including those led by Bennie Moten, Andy Kirk, Harlan Leonard, George E.

The first band from Kansas City to acquire a national reputation was the Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra, a white group which broadcast nationally in the 1920s.