Rooster_Ties Posted January 8, 2007 Report Posted January 8, 2007 (edited) Hey all, Well, that jazz series I was talkin' about producing myself (here), is finally getting off the ground!!! The first concert is THIS Saturday, with 2/3rds of the ticket price going straight to the musicians. All you Kansas City folks, come on out, and tell all your friends!! Jazz & Beyond New concert series, kicks off with... The Jake Blanton Quartet Saturday, Jan. 13th at 7:30 PM Tickets only $10.00 All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church 4501 Walnut Kansas City, MO 64111 Jake Blanton - Guitar Roger Wilder - Piano Craig Akin - Bass Tim Cambron - Drums http://www.allsoulskc.org http://www.allsoulskc.org/jazz107.pdf Jazz & Beyond: All Souls' new "fire-breathing, no-holds-barred" jazz series!! Edited January 9, 2007 by Rooster_Ties Quote
Spontooneous Posted January 8, 2007 Report Posted January 8, 2007 Photo ID: From left, that's Roger Wilder, piano; Tim Cambron, drums; Jake Blanton, guitar; Craig Akin, bass. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted January 9, 2007 Author Report Posted January 9, 2007 (edited) Hoping for the weather NOT to be ice and snow (or at least not too bad) on Saturday. I think the congregation alone (just church members) will turn out at least 50 to 75 people, as long as the weather is not bad, driving-wise. Hopefully another 40 (or 50?) will turn out from the general public. My goal is to have 100 paying customers in the house, and we'll still do OK even if we only get 75. (And 125 would be GREAT!!) Keep your fingers crossed!! (Edit: They're predicting a "Wintery Mix" for Saturday, as of Tuesday. This far out, that means nothing -- but I'm still keeping my eyes on the forcast each day.) Edited January 10, 2007 by Rooster_Ties Quote
Spontooneous Posted January 9, 2007 Report Posted January 9, 2007 Features the hit single "Tom's Groove (Winter Remix)"! Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted January 11, 2007 Author Report Posted January 11, 2007 (edited) Got a nice plug in the Kansas City Star last Saturday, in the "Faith" section (of all places). Much to my great surprise, they even ran a BIG three-column-wide picture(!) of the guitarist leading the group on our first concert (and they pulled the pic out of their own archives, totally of their own accord). I was also surprised to find the same pic in the on-line version of the same calendar section... The Jazz and Beyond Concert Series at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 4501 Walnut, will feature Jake Blanton and his quartet at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 13. and elsewhere in the same calendar... JAZZ AND BEYOND CONCERT SERIES: Jake Blanton Quartet. 7:30 p.m. Jan. 13, All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 4501 Walnut. www.allsoulskc.org (816-931-6415) (original on-line context) Edited January 11, 2007 by Rooster_Ties Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted January 11, 2007 Author Report Posted January 11, 2007 (edited) Nice write-up in the Kansas City Star's regular weekly jazz column today too. Two for the future: Logan Richardson, Jake Blanton represent where jazz is going Still got my fingers crossed about the weather. Not looking as bad as it could be, but still maybe kinda dicy. Edit: Sometimes I'm getting a login-required screen from the link above, so here's the content (as much for my own future reference as anything, since it's only available on-line for one week)... AZZ TOWN | Up and coming to Kansas City Two for the future: Logan Richardson, Jake Blanton represent where jazz is going By JOE KLOPUS The Kansas City Star Let’s swing into the new year by embracing the new in music. Two events this weekend celebrate Kansas City jazz by looking into its future, not its past. Alto saxophonist Logan Richardson brings his group to the Blue Room on Saturday to celebrate the release of his first CD as leader, “Cerebral Flow,” on the internationally distributed Fresh Sound New Talent label. Meanwhile, a Saturday concert by the Jake Blanton Quartet, one of the city’s most vital bands, kicks off a new concert series that promises to highlight the forward-looking face of jazz. Both weekend concerts are bound to be emotionally charged. For Richardson, it’s the emotions of a homecoming. And for Blanton, it’s the emotions of a chapter closing: It’s the quartet’s last scheduled performance, because he’s moving to Los Angeles in a few weeks. Richardson, 26, a rising star who learned his stuff here in Kansas City, features his horn and his compositions on the CD. The music, energetic and thoughtful at the same time, shows Richardson moving fearlessly into new territory. But no matter how outrageous the sounds get, his horn never loses its affecting tone, which has that element of the “cry” that goes clear back to the beginnings of jazz. Richardson decamped from Kansas City to New York a few years back, to live the dream of a young jazz man. This CD shows that the dream is happening. Guitarist Blanton’s quartet has been levitating bandstands around the Kansas City area for a couple of years. It’s a cohesive, focused unit that sets the leader’s spare guitar lines against the perceptive piano of Roger Wilder, tough bass lines from Craig Akin and polished drumming from Tim Cambron. The quartet’s music takes much of its character from the intriguing compositions of Blanton and Wilder, subtle and challenging pieces that can be hard to get out of your head. Blanton’s performance Saturday is the first show in the Jazz and Beyond concert series at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church. (A second installment in the series, featuring the Jazz Disciples, is planned for March 24.) The series is the brainchild of Tom Buck, a passionate jazz fan who says he envisioned the jazz series to complement a classical concert series, Classical Grapes, that’s been going on at All Souls for several years. “We have lots of local musicians who are deserving of some wider recognition and attention,” Buck says. “And they don’t get to play concert gigs very much. … They can play here without some of the distractions that clubs occasionally have. And we also have an incredible performance space with wonderful acoustics and a fantastic piano.” Buck intends the series to showcase “younger players and established folks who deserve to be heard in a concert setting.” And when the series is more established, he hopes “to occasionally bring in someone from beyond Kansas City.” “We hope to shake things up occasionally,” he says. He adds that most of the proceeds from the ticket sales go to the musicians. “We’re not trying to make a mint on this. It’s an artistic and cultural endeavor.” (Any funds left over after the band is paid, Buck says, go to buy new equipment for the church’s handbell choir, which he leads. It currently is using borrowed bells.) Noteworthy •Ella Fitzgerald is now featured on a U.S. postage stamp. It’s the 30th in the Black Heritage stamp series. •Singer Ida McBeth performs at 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Blue Room; cover is $5. She also performs from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday at Jardine’s, 4536 Main St. •Pianist Ben Markley, another rising artist, brings his group to Jardine’s this weekend. They’ll perform from 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday. •The Blue Room also features singer Pat Wilson at 7 tonight; it’s free. Alto saxophonist Dennis Winslett leads the Monday jam session, at 7 p.m.; that’s free, too. saturday ===== •The Logan Richardson Quartet performs at 8:30 p.m. at the Blue Room, 1600 E. 18th St. Cover is $10. •The Jake Blanton Quartet opens the Jazz and Beyond concert series at 7:30 p.m. at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 4501 Walnut St.; tickets cost $10. To reach Joe Klopus with comments or news of jazz events, call (816) 234-4751; send e-mail to jklopus at kcstar.com; or write 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64108. Edited January 11, 2007 by Rooster_Ties Quote
Dan Gould Posted January 12, 2007 Report Posted January 12, 2007 Hoping for the weather NOT to be ice and snow (or at least not too bad) on Saturday. I think the congregation alone (just church members) will turn out at least 50 to 75 people, as long as the weather is not bad, driving-wise. Hopefully another 40 (or 50?) will turn out from the general public. My goal is to have 100 paying customers in the house, and we'll still do OK even if we only get 75. (And 125 would be GREAT!!) Keep your fingers crossed!! (Edit: They're predicting a "Wintery Mix" for Saturday, as of Tuesday. This far out, that means nothing -- but I'm still keeping my eyes on the forcast each day.) It does not look good Rooster: Weather.com: As rain and thunderstorms increase across southern and eastern Missouri and the Ohio Valley Friday, freezing rain will begin several days of icing from southeast Kansas to south-central Illinois. Over the weekend, heavy rain will bring flooding to southern Missouri and the Ohio Valley. Freezing rain coverage will expand over Kansas, Missouri and Illinois and become increasingly destructive to power lines and trees resulting in major power outages. Travel will also become a problem as bridges, overpasses and some less traveled roads glaze over. The freezing rain may be mixed with sleet at times. Later Sunday, freezing rain will shift eastward across northern Indiana, southernmost Michigan and northern Ohio as an area of moderate to heavy snow moves across the central Plains and the lower Missouri Valley and into the southern Great Lakes. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted January 12, 2007 Author Report Posted January 12, 2007 (edited) It does not look good Rooster: Yes, and no. Kansas City appears to be right on the line between simple snow (an inch or two, maybe three), and freezing rain and such. Tomorrow (Friday) will not be very good, especially in the afternoon and early Saturday morning. But things may well be quite a bit better by Saturday afternoon and evening. (Or maybe not. ) Things could be much better than they're predicting, or much worse -- or about the same. Only time will tell for sure. The good news is that even if as few as only 50 people show up, we can still pay the band about $325, and net about $250 for the church (all going towards the bell choir fund). I was hoping for more like 100 people (or even 120!), but even 50 will still make for an "OK" night -- and certainly not a complete washout. Edit: But yeah, I sure am still worried about it. Edited January 12, 2007 by Rooster_Ties Quote
Eric Posted January 12, 2007 Report Posted January 12, 2007 Tom, I am going to try and make it, but regardless, congratulations!!! Very cool!!! Eric Quote
Hot Ptah Posted January 12, 2007 Report Posted January 12, 2007 Tom, How can we buy advance tickets? I would like to support the concert even if it turns out that I can't attend in person. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted January 12, 2007 Author Report Posted January 12, 2007 Tom, How can we buy advance tickets? I would like to support the concert even if it turns out that I can't attend in person. Donations for the All Souls Bell Choir fund would always be welcome, and we can certainly figure out a way to make that easy to do. We're not selling advance tickets. It's something we've not had much luck with for our classical concerts. People from the church realize that there's no price-break for buying early (or any other benefit to them), so most just show up and buy at the concert (but they are very good about showing up) -- and there's never been an effective method for advance ticket sales for the general public. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted January 13, 2007 Author Report Posted January 13, 2007 Good news!! - the weather looks to be "not so bad" today, at least here in the city. A little bit of sleet this afternoon, but nothing even half as bad as yesterday. Some snow is predicted for tomorrow (Sunday), but nothing really for tonight. (Got my fingers crossed!!) If I was a betting man, I'm guessing we'll hit 60 paying customers tonight, and maybe 80? Quote
Dan Gould Posted January 13, 2007 Report Posted January 13, 2007 Are you completely out of the ice zone? Because anyone who ventures on the road during/immediately after an ice storm is taking their life in their hands. Quote
brownie Posted January 13, 2007 Report Posted January 13, 2007 Rooting for Rooster too! Weather permitting, should be a success story Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted January 14, 2007 Author Report Posted January 14, 2007 (edited) Well, the weather certainly put a dent in the attendance tonight. There were a TON of closings tonight. (Hell, the Kansas City Symphony even cancelled their performance tonight.) But my wife and I still didn't think the driving was all that bad out -- a little slick, but nothing to shut the entire city down for. (She HATES driving in bad weather, and she drove in it two or three times today, without much trouble at all.) Anyway, we had 43 paying customers tonight, plus about 8 or 10 comps for the band, plus another 10 or so worker bees helping put on the event. So there were close to sixty people in the audience (in a room that seats 220 normally), and even with just 43 paid at the door, we were still able to pay the band $300. Not too shabby, I suppose. Not even close to what I was hoping for, but the weather really did us in. I think 75% of the people there were from the general public, actually. Almost ALL of the older people in the church who would have normally attended, didn't get out because of the ice and sleet which was nearly all from the previous day. (Even Barnes & Noble was closed tonight - a mile from the church -- and I've almost never known them to close. ) Not a grand success, but still a nice night -- and the music was great. We learned some things about how a band like that sounds in the room (and some things to learn from before the next concert). And the band told me after that it was still a whole bunch better for them (artistically speaking) than most bar gigs ever are for them. Edited January 14, 2007 by Rooster_Ties Quote
Eric Posted January 14, 2007 Report Posted January 14, 2007 Congrats - I could not make it, but will look for these in the future. It sounded like an interesting group. Too bad about the weather, but I think it is great that you took this from concept to reality!!! Quote
JSngry Posted January 14, 2007 Report Posted January 14, 2007 we were still able to pay the band $300. Not too shabby, I suppose...And the band told me after that it was still a whole bunch better for them (artistically speaking) than most bar gigs ever are for them. Dude, if you can pay $300.00 (or up) and provide a good vibe for a local band that's not playing the same old same old, you're going to be swamped with requests to play your series! Quote
Dan Gould Posted January 14, 2007 Report Posted January 14, 2007 Better luck next time, Tom. I'm sure you'll do well in the absence of bad weather, but I kinda had a feeling, from what the Weather Channel was saying, that your confidence had an air of "whistling past the graveyard". Quote
Spontooneous Posted January 14, 2007 Report Posted January 14, 2007 Tom, you got EXACTLY what you wanted except a bigger crowd. Great playing. Original music, and lots of it. (Only one "cover" all evening, and that was an unconventional one.) A crowd that really LISTENED. And, yeah, lots of good vibes. No reason not to keep going! Quote
Johnny E Posted January 14, 2007 Report Posted January 14, 2007 Tom, Sounds like a not-to-shabby maiden voyage. With better weather and the passage of time and word, you should be able to sustain it nicely. Good luck. -john Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted January 15, 2007 Author Report Posted January 15, 2007 (edited) Dude, if you can pay $300.00 (or up) and provide a good vibe for a local band that's not playing the same old same old, you're going to be swamped with requests to play your series! Ain't that the truth!! And what's funny is that several very, very well-meaning church members have offered that "their brother-in-law's uncle" who used to be "a bass player in this one blues band" or "play drums behind this one singer 10 or 12 years ago" and "they probably still knows some other musicians around the city"... ...you know, if I have any trouble finding musicians who would want to play on this new series. The truth of the matter is that we really CAN provide a fantastic venue, with great acoustics, and damn near the best piano that most of these jazz players will play in any given year -- and we can probably routinely turn out at least 50 people (paying customers) from the church to every concert (weather permitting), plus another 30 to 70 more from the public (depending on who's booked). And when the weather's good, we ought to be able to pay almost every band $600(!!) -- not just the $300 we paid last night when the city was pretty much closed down cuz of ice and sleet. Hell yeah, musicians are gonna be knockin' on our door. (And they've already started.) I swear, there's real potential here to develop easily one of THE best local jazz series in the entire city -- and that's on real artistic terms, not just attendance for what sells the most. Inside, outside (well, some outside), grease, a little "outside grease" ( ), some 'traditional' every once in a while, a vocalist now and then... And MOST of it with a focus on original material. The only criteria is GREAT music. Edited January 15, 2007 by Rooster_Ties Quote
Johnny E Posted January 15, 2007 Report Posted January 15, 2007 Yeah, you can bring in touring bands occasionally. Quote
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