Kansas-City-Jazz

With the Kansas City jazz was created in a short period of 1926-1938 a playing style of swing, there called Stomp. She is very blue based and rhythmic. There are on the repetitive chord progressions and the haunting riffs of the blower.

This in Kansas City, Missouri, resulting play is first made ​​famous by the orchestra of Bennie Moten. The music of the bands of Jay McShann and Count Basie is representative of the style. This swing orchestra played with a drier tone and in a fixed - pounding ( stomp -down) and danceable style than the bands of the east coast of the United States. Mostly used the pieces simple riffs and head arrangements. The swing and bebop took over musical ideas out of this style.

Especially Count Basie made ​​this Kansas City - style nationwide in the U.S. and soon became known on an international level.

On the basis of this simple Blue style could contribute to the Rhythm & Blues, Julia Lee and other musicians at an early stage.

Migration and urban blues

Around the early 1920s, played for the particular form of jazz in Kansas City a few facts Meaning: The country 's population emigrated, first propagated in the city on how it was typical for Chicago or Detroit; the rural blues, she brought, changed. He took on urban issues and combined with the music of the city, such as the ragtime stride. Ragtime was in Kansas City still popular (for example hangover Street Rag, 1925), as well as the early jazz. Instrumentalists and singers sat down with their mutual stylistic devices for the benefit of both apart. The Ragtime Stride took over vocal phrasing. Each style of jazz could be heard in Kansas City. There, an exchange between the primitive, raw and pure blues and ragtime stride took place.

The blues singer reminds the audience not only nostalgically to " the good old ( rural ) times" ( down home ), but had to settle for a modern current expression of the people and their attitudes deal to the city. First, the ragtime piano player began to accompany the blues singer, what their style advanced, because they have had to adapt them to reorient and vocal. Often, however, the singer had a rhythmic concept that does not fit together with the companion; but all that prevented both not to play with each other and record it.

The resulting Urban Blues expressed the city life, industrialization, dance music, party music and personal pleasure. The music continued to evolve and asked to collective actions with a social function. The original sound of the blues was often preserved and incorporated into the new styles. In Kansas City, the instrumental Blues was formed in an orchestral style that took blues riffs, breaks and other inventions, pianists such as Mary Lou Williams, Benny Moten, Count Basie, Pete Johnson and Jay McShann from Boogie Woogie, other blues styles Ragtime Stride and the burgeoning swing style developed, and began to exercise great influence in the following years.

Locally there were in Kansas City music groups that included 8-10 people and were accordingly Eigth -piece band, Ten -piece band called etc.. Even before the emergence of jazz came out of the military bands out large-scale African-American concert bands, the Kansas City talked with a mixed program: Classical concert music, marches, Popular, plantation songs and spirituals. One of her teachers, Major N. Clark Smith, made ​​these groups with military drill in basic music theory and performance practice, and another teacher, Professor Charles T. Watts founded a private music institute, where he taught students. It was founded in 1917, the club Musicians' Protective Union, Local No.. 627 ( short Musicians Local No. 627 ) with his long-time respected leader, President William Shaw. The Musicians Local obliged the members to participate in an annual parade, put minimum wages and a kind of collective agreement for members and incurred so at a time union duties were often still excluded from unions than African-Americans.

In general, depth of the Great Depression, with the prohibition, with the longing for sweet music at the expense of the blues and with a policy of the New Deal, put the popularity of the new jazz in Kansas City and parts of the Southwest hopeful signs. While across the country joined the Speak Easy's, Rough and Ready Taverns ( boards taverns ), the Blues remained popular in Kansas City and in the southwestern United States.

Kansas City's " economy"

Kansas City, Missouri, was a trading center and a rich city. From 1911 to 1938, there the abstinent, but corrupt businessman and politician Tom Pendergast the tone. He controlled the smuggling of alcohol and night clubs as well as urban institutions such as the police. His own cement factory, he took advantage of a large subsidized "social " jobs program and earned it. He also had his party (Democrat ) in Jackson County firmly in hand. The government was controlled by him socially, though for either technical reasons, and glided towards the end in the crime from.

Daily studied hundreds of dealers - agricultural goods - in Kansas City to the business the pleasure that was offered in the black neighborhood corner 18th and Vine. In the area around the corner of 18th and Vine Street and 12th Street in the most clubs and theaters were located. This made ​​for the cultural life of a complete viable entity, similar to the Basin Street in New Orleans or 52nd Street in New York bebop. Kansas City was one at that time half a million inhabitants; of which 10 to 15% of African Americans. 1939 Pendergast was tax dollars put into prison for half a million. This amount represented by Arrigo Polillo not the actual taxable amount that could have been higher, because his legal businesses already brought billions in sales. Pendergast was also with the local Mafia, Johnny Lazia, a. Even electoral fraud was made ​​out to be.

Jazz musicians had in Kansas City by Tom Pendergast initially no need to worry and had good earning potential. For example, Moten was able to keep his 1922 two -man rhythm section, three winds. Moten sat at the piano and formed a drummer with the rhythm section. The horn section consisted of trumpet, cornet and saxophone or clarinet. It resided there many musicians for completed touring on and were looking for new work. The number of 627 organized in Local musicians rose 1927-1930 from 87 to 347 members. As of 1933, the depression itself was in Kansas City a problem for the musicians, and especially the great bands who could no longer earn enough after unsuccessful underpaid tours in Kansas City. Often the musicians left their bands without commitment, or a band had to be resolved completely, as the Blue Devils.

As the best places were the Sunset and the Subway Club, both of which were led by the African American Piney Brown, the great jazz musician liked. Reno was the most important club; he had a small gallery, where you could hear the band well and nothing could inhale the marijuana smoke freely musicians. The Reno Club was divided and separated the dance floor, the bar and the restaurant, it was for white and for black visitors. Radio transmissions were sent from the Reno Club, there were jam sessions instead. The bands of Moten, McShann with Dee Stuart and Basie had there engagement. The club was closed in late 1938 because of tax evasion.

The bands from Kansas City were initially unknown to the rest of the U.S., as the record industry rarely sent mobile recording teams in the south and to Kansas City. Bennie Moten Only the Orchestra was known nationwide. On Moten's early recordings you can hear the strong blues tradition (for example Crawdad Blues, Blues Tulsa ) in Kansas City. Although he had success with his style in New York, he did not build it further out, but changed it in the direction of the swing stylistic variant of the band of Fletcher Henderson.

The bands and the style

The bands from Kansas City had a rougher style than those in New York and a little over -stressed public. Count Basie brought in the Moten orchestra bluesy into the arrangement modeled after the Blue Devils a ( "Once a Blue Devil always a Blue Devil. " ) The requirements of the shows and the music industry were in Kansas City not as strong as in New York, where exotic emotions in the jungle noises were sought. The audience in Kansas City wanted to have fun, dance and antrinken something. The musicians were able to play as they wanted, although a sense of music from bands that were known outside the city as the Moten orchestra, has been shown and the style did not remain provincial. The requirements for music was to express something, frustration, anger, joy or sadness; succeeded not her, she had to be modified or discarded.

For the transition from the arrangements by heart played Head to the written down arrangements in the period 1926-1929 there is to report specific incidents. Mary Lou Williams was involved through their arrangements are essential to the success of Andy Kirk's band. Jesse Stones band struck in 1926 in a "battle " Moten and Lee, whereupon Lee soon took him into his band as an arranger. After losing "battle " Lee ( with Stones arrangements ) against Moten 1929, let Moten Basie and Eddie Durham arrange for his band.

Bennie Moten's Orchestra in the riffs between the brass and woodwinds were alternately blow by blow bouncing back and forth and increased with precision to a climax, which was first of all submit to the rhythmically driving requirements. For this, the guitar came into the orchestra and the bass began to run. The saxophonist preferred a dry clay and had a slower vibrato than those on the east coast.

The riffs were rhythmically and melodically distinctive two - or four-bar measure cycle motifs (control codes ), which added at various stages over the harmonies of the chorus, of brass and rhythm section over whole sections out - often in response game or counterpart to Solo - were repeated incessantly. ( A chorus corresponds to one pass through the song form of the piece being played. )

The blues shouter

The Blue song of the city called itself Blues Shout, the singers were Blue Schreier or caller, the blues shouter. The tradition is similar to the Jubilee and Sermon sermons, with a powerful sound, and is more cheerful than the moody, profound and depressed rural blues.

Big Joe Turner, the "Blues Boss" and stood on the street next to a blind blues guitarist and began to sing. He persuaded the pianist Pete Johnson, to play with him in a duo and was quite successful with the Blues Shout. Turner was later rhythm-and - blues hits, among others: "Chains of Love", "chill is on", " Corrine, Corrina " and " Shake, Rattle and Roll ", which a short time later by Bill Haley and Elvis Presley was covered.

Likewise, the boogie tradition is clearly from the Chicago. Ragtime was popular in Kansas City, for example, by Blind Boone (* 1864, † 1927), a concert pianist who played a simple ragtime and taught, and the composer James Scott, who conducted the Eblon and Lincoln Theatre bands. In this way, own just syncopation in Kansas City began to be formed. Johnson played stride piano, piano Shout and rural styles from " skiffle ", to the lively Boogie Woogie. Basie admired him and took his role model. In his early years played Basie aggressive and lay down on Competitions with many artists at. This engagement with other artists was a good premise for his work in Kansas City. His economical style he later developed. The rhythmic discipline of Boogie and Stride strengthened Basie's concept of jazz rhythm, when he took up the blues in the orchestral arrangements. All about Basie beyond development freed the Blues from the impression that he was inferior to other styles. The expression of the Blues extended during this time greatly, by the example of many musicians, many blues styles were picked up, expanded and processed.

Pete Johnson plays the boogie blues stride bass in tenths with intervening fifths (or without them) and has completely different rhythmically organized bass figures for the Boogie, as they are conventional and well known in Chicago. On Boogie compilations along with the Chicagoern Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis, you can hear that. Part sounds an introduction by him as pure classical music that effortlessly finds the transition to Turner's Blue song, without intervening slipping into boogie rhetoric.

Mary Lou Williams was a living example of this summary of styles. She dominated boogie woogie, blues, swing, bebop and other styles. Her experience put them in a brief history of jazz even once before U.S. President Jimmy Carter; they influenced some bebop musicians and arranged for Duke Ellington, who estimated.

Territory bands

Kansas City was a center that was visited by the regional " territory bands " of the Southwestern United States. These bands were located in small towns and traveled in One Nightern (jobs for one night) to this output places around, often several hundred kilometers submitted per day between performances. The band leader jealously defended their territory. If a band leader wanted to play in the sphere of influence of another musician, he had to ask his permission. These bands often had for gigs and jobs in the "province" a kind of monopoly; it accelerated the development of the Kansas City - style by hard competition. In the late twenties came more and more territory bands to Kansas City; the spheres of influence of the bands overlapped, the selection of musicians and the replacement of the musicians was larger. Decisions about the popularity and effectiveness of a band were searched for in the " battles " in public.

Sunday, April 18, 1929, for example, stabbed George Ewing Lee's band Bennie Moten in a " battle of the bands " in St. Joseph, Missouri, in 4000 visitors in their favor, because he hatte.Das the better arrangements of Jesse Stone led to that Moten Bill Basie and Eddie Durham recorded in the band in order to improve the arrangements and better organize the band. With the Moten band had a pianist, why Basie to come as " arranger " in the band, Durham had played something on the piano, which should then arrange.

Territory bands were, for example, the Alphonso Trent's band in Texas and that of Troy Floyd to San Antonio, which made only a few recordings, but Floyd's band were not fair. The Blue Devils came around in the area around Oklahoma: Walter Page had in his band musicians such as Jimmy Rushing, Count Basie, Buster Smith and Hot Lips Page. Other bands were George Ewing Lee and His Novelty Singing Orchestra, Kansas City, and then played the 1927 a year in Oklahoma City in the southwest, Harlan Leonard and his Rockets in Kansas City, Lloyd Hunter in Omaha, and Don Albert in San Antonio. Andy Kirk and the Twelve Clouds of Joy came from Oklahoma City ( Dallas ), the George Morrison Orchestra from Denver, Jesse Stone and His Blues Serenaders from Atchison (Kansas).

The Union Local 627 held an annual ball musician and 1929 a benefit concert with six bands Territory, to raise money (50 cents admission) for the new union building. Six bands played in the overcrowded Paseo Hall in front of around 2,200 people from early evening to early morning. The audience inspired the band to new heights. In addition to the known bands of George E. Lee, Bennie Moten, Andy Kirk and Walter Page played Paul Bank 's Rhythm Aces and George Wilkerson and his musical magnet.

Jam sessions

Important jam sessions 1933-1936, where the musicians were able to develop without being burned by producers were. The best musicians in the city, all black, felt obliged to participate and put reputation and ambition on the line to compete with other musicians and newcomers and improvise.

Kansas City was the end point of many TOBA vaudeville tours for an exclusively African- American audience, where jazz bands were involved. One of the most famous jam sessions, some of which is to be reminded that as Coleman Hawkins, who was with the band in the city by traveling Fletcher Henderson, took from 1934 to Lester Young, Ben Webster and Herschel Evans and lost. He rose so into it that he missed the departure of the Fletcher Henderson band and in the chase behind wrecked her his new Cadillac. Count Basie played the drama of this session; it was after all have been something special that Hawkins had brought his saxophone and played along, what he had never done before.

Just the rhythm section of the jam sessions showed as they played continuously fatigue. So Mary Lou Williams was knocked out of the above-mentioned jam session by four clock at night to fill in again. Sammy Price explained how he, after he had gone to change clothes by 22 clock home by 1 clock when he came to the session again, noted that they played the same piece like three hours earlier and had played throughout.

The jam sessions were held, of course, with constantly changing winds, which is why there the heart played riffs and Head arrangements were used. Only in the further course of development arrangements were written. The jam sessions in dealing with national jazz greats were one reason why the Kansas City - style did not remain local.

At the sessions took Bennie Moten - musicians and musicians of Andy Kirk's Clouds of Joy, who became famous with the arrangements by Mary Lou Williams, in part. There were soloists in the territory bands, musicians regional bands of the Southwestern United States. You could simultaneously meet the young Charlie Parker, Sammy Price, Hot Lips Page, Jo Jones, Dick Wilson, Buster Smith, mentioned above, and Mary Lou Williams on such sessions. Some bassists pilgrimage with shouldered bass from the neighboring city of Kansas City, Kansas to the sessions.

However, the musicians earned no money on the jam sessions.

Venues

For dance bands and blues shouter, there were various possibilities occur.

In the 18th and Vine District, there were some great dance halls and large annual parades on Labor Day. The Labor Temple offered at dance events for 2000 men place. In such an environment, the " battles " took place between the bands. The Lincoln Theatre with African-American organization was a member of the TOBA, the booking Association of Theater Owners, and showed vaudeville and blues shouter. The Eblon Theatre opened in 1923 offered 1000 people place in 1928, the orchestra was replaced by an organ, played on the Basie. In 1933 it was rebuilt in the Cherry Blossom Club, a swanky nightclub. The 1928 open Pla -Mor Ballroom, was one of the first venues that made an African American band that Chauncy Downs and his Rinkey Dinks ( 1927-1929 ), "white" at a venue occur.

These large venues were particularly important for the big bands as a source of income.

Paseo Hall opened in 1924. Bennie Moten she managed with a program for African Americans. The Paseo Hall had a huge dance floor and seating for about 2000 people. Fletcher Henderson and Duke Ellington completed their tours there with performances on Monday nights from (and from the Kansas City bands their Arrangiertechnik was taken as a model ). Likewise, there was, for example, celebrated Carnival. In 1941 she was sold to a church and converted into an auditorium.

From 1931 to 1933 film and radio became increasingly important because of depression decreased in the recordings and the radio receivers were relatively inexpensive to purchase. For example, Lester Young, Count Basie and John Hammond heard on the radio, and Lester Young made ​​contact with him. However, many stations had only local scope; the musicians tried to play that were broadcast nationwide as possible to the transmitters.

Further, the TOBA constantly brought musicians through the city, blues shouter, comedians, dancers and special performances.

The blues, which was first played on street corners and front entrances found as Urban Blues first its way into the cabarets, restaurants, music halls and nightclubs. There was money in the clubs by serving alcohol during Prohibition (1919-1933), " tax relief " in the world economic crisis (1929 ), gambling and betting. These clubs were important for smaller bands as a source of income. Count Basie and Jimmy Rushing went there after work in the larger bands like on. While Rushing "officially" ballads sang, he sang the blues here.

And end effects

The operation in Kansas City waned until 1940. On the one hand was made in 1938 especially John Hammond numerous musicians under contract, who left Kansas City, as the Count Basie Orchestra. On the other hand, the Pendergast era came to an end in 1938 beendtete the new governor, the vice and corruption. The raids took the musicians out of work and good earning potential ceased. In 1938 a wave of musicians to New York, a little later in a second thrust Charlie Christian and Charlie Parker, influenced no longer the swing, but the Bebop.

The blues tradition brought after this time in the rhythm and blues one. The jazz tradition from Kansas City was unnoticed incorporated into the whole jazz. With Count Basie and Jay McShann, for example, can be heard in later recordings after 1940 the Kansas City style of earlier times still partly directly and unprocessed. At Mary Lou Williams and Charlie Parker you can not hear him, but both continue to work a lot with the blues.

The era Pendergast in Kansas City was legendary ( "If you want to know the sin forget Paris, go to Kansas City," wrote a journalist) and was filmed by Robert Altman in 1996 in the film Kansas City. He says that he knew the mood of his youth and tried, with great help of contemporary jazz musicians to capture. In his film, three storylines are intertwined: The Music, Pendergast and the Mafia, and a small gangster story with people studies, among others, to the environment of Charlie Parker. Revealing the scene of purchased for brandy and a few dollars false voters who are herbeigekarrt from the surrounding area with trucks to choose from. Facades that were built for the film to original places, stood up in the late 1990s.

Bruce Ricker turned the 1980 documentary The Last of the Blue Devils, in which many participants come from then to words.

In 1997 the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City was founded. There is still the union Kansas City 's Local 627, the African-American Musicians Union, which was established in 1917. She is now under the name Mutual Musicians Foundation known, but is like once in the historic 18th and Vine District Kansas City, Missouri, at the Highland Avenue 1823. On 25 August 2005, the music composed by Leiber / Stoller million seller Kansas City was the elected city Council as the official song of the city.