The ICMA Host Committee invites you to visit the Greater Kansas City Region, for the 102nd Annual Conference, September 25-28, 2016. Why Kansas City? Because Kansas City is where Jazz came of age!!!
Kansas City jazz is a style of jazz that developed during the 1930s and marked the transition from structured big band style to the musical improvisation style of Bebop. The hard-swinging, bluesy transition style is bracketed by Count Basie who in 1929 signed with the Bennie Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra and Kansas City native Charlie Parker who was to usher in the Bebop style in the 1940s. According to a Kansas City website, “While New Orleans was the birthplace of jazz, America’s music grew up in Kansas City”.
The American Jazz Museum, located in the 18th and Vine Neighborhood, has a mission of celebrating Kansas City’s jazz heritage. The museum features exhibits on Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and others. Items on display include a saxophone owned by Charlie Parker and various Down Beat awards. The Blue Room at the museum is a fully functioning jazz club with weekly events.
Why Kansas City? Because Kansas City Jazz is Swinging!!!
