Archive for kansas city jazz

Take Five Coffee + Bar

Posted in Food, Music, Travel with tags , , , , , on May 7, 2015 by David McInerny
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The Huntertones, 5/7/15

Overland Park, Kansas is giving the KC jazz music scene a welcome addition with the advent of the Take Five Coffee + Bar. Named after Dave Brubeck’s 5/4 time-signatured classic, Take Five is already gaining a reputation of hosting the better local bands, as well as bringing in acts from the coasts. This week alone boasts the Brooklyn band Huntertones (formerly the Dan White sextet) as well as Kansas City’s own phenom Steve Lambert. Cover charges typically range from gratis to $10, with a jazz brunch on Sundays.

Not only will Take Five quickly join the ranks of classic KC venues as the Green Lady, Majestic, and Phoenix with its fantastic acoustics and comfortable atmosphere, but it also has a full bar with its complete coffee and tea selections. The food menu is extensive and fairly priced, making this a not-for-long hidden gem for jazz lovers and foodies alike.

Take Five, being minutes from my home, has already become a regular haunt for me. I love the quality art on the walls depicting Miles, Billie, Dave and Charlie. I love that the baristas don’t panic when I request four shots in my latte. I love that the owners step out from behind the bar and frequently swing with the music. Give Take Five a visit and let them know their project is welcome here in Overland Park!

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Bird – The Life and Music of Charlie Parker

Posted in Books with tags , , , , , , , , , on November 9, 2014 by David McInerny

IMG_4362Chuck Haddix, music archivist for the University of Missouri at Kansas City, has written a fresh and well-researched biography of local jazz legend, Charlie “Bird” Parker. It’s a short but thorough read about the Kansas City, KS native that transformed the alto saxophone into a juggernaut for musical change. The narrative covers Parker’s formative years in Mayor Pendergast’s rough and raucous Kansas City, MO during the Depression and Prohibition.

Here we learn of the young musician’s fascination for the jazz scene on 18th and Vine streets, his tenacity in breaking into the local scene, and how he honed his skills on the sax through long nights of playing with the regional greats in jazz. It was also on 18th and Vine where Bird discovered drugs and alcohol, habits which would dog him his entire career and end his life in its prime.

Charlie was tutored under the guidance of the Jay McShann Orchestra, where he learned to play swing standards and blues-based KC jazz. Quickly, he was wowing audiences with his quick and crisp 32nd notes, and capturing the attention of future national great Count Basie. But it was a trumpet player, Dizzy Gillespie, that was magnetized by Parker’s style, and together they launched what was known at the time as the “moderns,” who eventually developed the next evolution in jazz style, Be-Bop.

The influence Parker had on jazz within his lifetime and beyond is profound. His stardom took him around the continent and ultimately to New York, where his star soared. His protege’s were numerous, but none more faithful than another young trumpet player by the name of Miles Davis. Davis continued to blaze the trail forged by Bird until he in turn introduced the next phase in jazz styles – Cool Jazz.

This is an essential book for the music lover about a Kansas City icon, written by a local author who interviewed extensively those who played and lived with Charlie Parker, and uncovered history about him that is in print for the first time. Chuck Haddix was kind enough to personalize my copy of his book with the following greeting: “To David, I hope you enjoy this study in ornithology. Bird lives! Chuck Haddix, August 16, 2014.” I enjoyed the study tremendously.

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