NY Times on a KC jazz legend

[brownie]

The New York Times has a nice story in their Saturdayedition about a Kansas City jazz legend. No, not our Rooster Ties! But the ever young Jay McShann.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/03/arts/mus...print&position=

Edited January 3, 2004 by brownie

[Dan Gould]

You beat me to this, Brownie, but for those who haven't signed up for the Times Online, here's the article:

January 3, 2004

A Jazz Legend Rekindles Kansas City's Musical Past

By STEPHEN KINZER

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Jay McShann approached his piano to begin a concert at the Folly Theater here on a recent evening, he was emerging not just from backstage but from jazz history.

Mr. McShann told the audience that he would spend the evening trying "to see how high the moon is," and then settled down to business. His performance showed that he still embodies the swinging, bluesy sound this city made famous.

He played dozens of songs, most of them four-minute classics, gently and lovingly. "Hootie's Blues," his hit from 1941, sounded as fresh as if he had just written it. His few vocal numbers, including "One Woman's Man" and "Georgia on My Mind," showed that at 87 he can still coax pathos out of even the most familiar lyrics. Mr. McShann made no concessions to modernity. He never raised his voice or wandered into extended improvisations but played with the elegance and self-assurance of an old master.

Duke Ellington, Count Basie and other leaders of the big bands that electrified audiences during the 1930's and 40's are long gone. So are most of the musical visionaries who, more than half a century ago, turned Kansas City into one of the world's most vibrant musical centers. After a long lifetime of achievement, Mr. McShann now finds himself in a new role, that of the great survivor.

"Time went by, and I didn't realize I was as old as I am," he said after the show. "All of a sudden I stopped and said: `Oh, wow. Wait a minute. I've got to slow down.' Then I had to slow down, because I got diabetes and the old arthritis creeping in. But I still play around, enough to keep the bear from the door. That old bear, he's always around, outside the back door when you don't know it."

The sound that wafts from Mr. McShann's piano is unlike that of any of the other old piano masters who are still active. He is less experimental than Dave Brubeck, closer to blues than Marian McPartland but not a pure blues player like Pinetop Perkins.

These days Mr. McShann is enjoying a new wave of recognition. His latest album, "Goin' to Kansas City," which features Duke Robillard on guitar and includes a vocal turn by Maria Muldaur, is selling well and has been nominated for a Grammy. He was featured on the recent PBS series "The Blues," on which he played a blazing duet that led his partner, Mr. Brubeck, to rear back with a broad grin and tell him admiringly, "You still got it."

Although the musical scene that produced Mr. McShann faded long ago, Kansas City still has more than two dozen clubs where jazz is played regularly, making it one of the country's leading jazz centers. Musicians here are caught in the perpetual bind of whether to respect the city's tradition by playing in the classic style that Mr. McShann helped develop or to embrace bebop, free jazz and other more modern approaches.

The tension between these poles is a creative force that fuels the music scene here and keeps Kansas City on the jazz map.

"The city doesn't know how to market itself as a musical destination, but there's still a very strong scene here," said Charles Haddix, a weekend disc jockey on KCUR-FM and director of the Marr Sound Archives at the University of Missouri. "It's really a very well-kept secret."

Several musicians who created the dazzlingly innovative bebop style learned their trade in Kansas City, among them Charlie Parker, who played in Mr. McShann's big band before moving to New York. Bebop changed jazz forever, much as Abstract Expressionist painting, which also emerged in New York in the years after World War II, radically reshaped American art. Kansas City is one of the few cities where it is possible to listen to bands that play as if the bebop revolution never happened.

Perhaps the most famous of these is the Scamps, who have been playing jazz since 1945. New members are initiated whenever a musician dies or retires, and today the Scamps range in age from 70 to 83. One, Art Jackson, played with Parker in the Lincoln High School band here during the 1930's.

The Scamps played to a full house recently at one of the city's most elegant clubs, Plaza III. There were a fair number of graying heads in the audience but also more than a few younger people. Many got up to dance, some in exuberant styles that recalled the Lindy Hop of bygone days. It was a sight that would have horrified bebop pioneers, who considered their music appropriate only for quiet listening.

In the 1930's Kansas City was one of the most wide-open towns in the United States. Under the rule of Thomas Pendergast's political machine, jazz flourished along with prostitution, gambling and a host of other licit and illicit entertainments. The city was known as Sin City and the Paris of the Plains, and it thrived while the rest of the country was mired in Depression. Today the American Jazz Museum, at the historic corner of 18th and Vine, tells the story of those days.

Political reform and the rule of law finally took hold in Kansas City, and the jazz scene declined. "It had quite a dip," said Lucky Wesley, the 76-year-old leader of the Scamps. "By the 1970's most places that used to feature live music were switched over to jukeboxes, or else gone altogether. Now the demand is for hip-hop or progressive jazz, which is O.K. for those who like it. We're among the last of those who came up through the old days, and we've lived to see our music come back into demand." Kansas City musicians still gather at the Mutual Musicians Foundation for late-night jam sessions. The foundation, a former union hall for black musicians, was once at the center of an active musical district where more than 100 clubs offered live music around the clock. Now it is surrounded by abandoned buildings and vacant lots.

Inside, however, the jazz spirit thrives. As it approached 3 a.m. one recent Sunday, musicians were just arriving. With many of the city's star musicians away on holiday tours, the stage was open for younger players like Andy McGhie, an 18-year-old saxophonist.

When a patron remarked that the Kansas City jazz scene seemed frozen in time, Mr. McGhie replied: "That's true, even though there's also new music coming out of here. When you live here, you can't help but absorb the tradition. It's all around you. You can't escape it, and that's not a bad thing. The younger cats coming up here dream mostly about making a name for themselves, moving out to Chicago or New York, and then maybe coming back here to join the tradition when they're older."

The tradition seems likely to survive for a long time to come. "I've tried booking national acts here," said Joe Wilcox, manager of the Plaza III, "but whenever I do, people come up to me and say, `Where's the Kansas City stuff?" '

***********************

The album that's referenced is highly, highly recommended. Jay is truly amazing.

[Rooster_Ties]

A certain someone I know on this board, has interviewed Mr. McShann on at least one or two occasions -- and probably more like half-a-dozen times, if my guess is right. When he sees this thread, perhaps he can share his thoughts...

[Chuck Nessa]

Sorry to be a wet blanket but I was bummed by the piece. Seems more like an article for the KC chamber of commerce newsletter.

I've worked with Jay and he's much more interesting as is the whole KC history/current scene.

Not worthy of my aspirations for the NY Times.

[Dan Gould]

I agree, Chuck, that it doesn't cover Jay enough and segues into the swing scene of KC. Maybe I'm just generally happy when someone I've come to hold in such high esteem gets noticed by the "Paper of Record" without having died first.

[Rooster_Ties]

Political reform and the rule of law finally took hold in Kansas City, and the jazz scene declined. "It had quite a dip," said Lucky Wesley, the 76-year-old leader of the Scamps. "By the 1970's most places that used to feature live music were switched over to jukeboxes, or else gone altogether. Now the demand is for hip-hop or progressive jazz, which is O.K. for those who like it. We're among the last of those who came up through the old days, and we've lived to see our music come back into demand."

Oh yeah... Kansas City sure is a 'hotbed' for "progressive jazz".

Edited January 4, 2004 by Rooster_Ties

[Spontooneous]

The NYT piece is disappointing if you approach it as a portrait of McShann.

And it's disappointing from a Chamber of Commerce angle too.

But the writer does give you an idea of how factionalized the scene is -- the stylistic conflicts between musicians, and the conflicts between the conservative and open-minded audience groups.

And because we're so factionalized, we don't work together to publicize ourselves as a jazz city, we don't work together to build audiences, we don't work together to keep a jazz festival alive.

Sad to say, the NYT got it right. (They may have erred on the side of politeness. But so have some other media outlets I can think of.)