The American Jazz Museum

The heart of the Kansas City jazz scene's history. Find the latest artist interviews, blogs, videos, and events at the American Jazz Museum here.

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Jazz Poetry Jam Schedule!

Jazz Poetry Jam will be postponed for the summer season but will continue in the fall. Relax & enjoy this summer "hiatus" and come back and join us in the fall for some awesome poetry!  

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The American Jazz Museum is proud to support the One ArtsKC Regional Cultural Plan. Check out this link for more info on this great opportunity for Kansas City!

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Happy 73rd birthday, Chick Corea

Check out a live performance at the  2012 Tibilisi Jazz Festival.

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The Blue Room... Experience where great jazz lives in Kansas City... "18th and Vine!" 

June 2014 

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Everett DeVan in the Blue Room

Everette DeVan CD Release Party

Friday, June 27, 8:30 p.m. 

Indigo Hour starting at 5:00 p.m. Gray Matter

Blue Room, $10 

Everette DeVan and his Hammond B-3 organ have been a mainstay in the Kansas City jazz scene for many years... and there is a reason for that. His soulful and sinful riffs, combined with rich chords and sensuous base lines have entranced audiences from Tokyo to Italy to Africa and points in between. Come and check this legend out!  

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Happy Birthday, Oscar Peterson

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Flamenco’s Brew  - Jason Shawn Alexander

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Invisible Borders is a social intervention by a select number of African artists who believe that building “a trans-African highway of the mind” and encouraging cross-cultural exchange is the key to maximizing the unexplored potentials of the people of ‪Africa‬.

The Accra Project furthers the aims of fostering trans-African dialogue and discussion by encouraging creative collaboration between participating Ghanaian and Nigerian artists and creating tangible artistic interventions in the city of Accra, Ghana.

LEARN MORE: http://www.invisible-borders.com/

SEE MORE: http://facebook.com/invisiblebordersproject

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George Duke, Jazz Virtuoso, Dies at Age 67

It has been reported veteran jazz, R&B, funk and fusion keyboard virtuoso George Duke has died aged 67. This news comes after a difficult period for the acclaimed keyboardist and composer whose wife Corine passed away just over a year ago.

The Radio Facts website states that Duke died on 5 August but no other details have yet been confirmed as to the cause of his death, which comes while he had just launched his latest album, Dreamweaver, which he’d dedicated to his wife’s memory.

Duke’s career spanned jazz, funk and fusion beginning with his modern own jazz group in the 1960s backing the likes of Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon, but he was soon moving into the fusion terrain that would define much of his career as he began a longstanding musical partnership with violinist Jean-Luc Ponty in the early 1970s.

The American Jazz Museum Staff and Board of Directors send deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the esteemed Mr. Duke during this time of enormous loss. Mr. Duke was slated to be our headliner for Kansas City’s 18th & Vine Jazz and Blues Festival on October 12. With the advent of this news, our festival management team is in the process of adjusting our 2013 talent lineup accordingly. A festival talent line up update will be announced as soon as possible. Thank you for your kind consideration.

The latest jazz festival news will be posted on the event website.  Source article on Mr. Duke's passing here.

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#Check out my article on thriving local band Making Movies! 

http://news.allaboutjazz.com/news.php?id=105581#.UgJywRxrbww

They'll be at the Gem Theater September 29 for "Music Y Cine", as a part of the American Jazz Museum's public programming to compliment the Smithsonian traveling exhibition American Sabor! 

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Billie Holiday singing Fine and Mellow (1957)

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!973 Hank Mobley Feature in Down Beat

This 1973 Down Beat feature on Hank Mobley is one of the best. Hank is in a great mood and talking up a storm, especially about less well known parts of his career like his years in Europe. The very last paragraph is one of the things that inspired me to push harder to get into the Blue Note vaults and get at the unreleased sessions. By the way, the session Hank is talking about did come out in 1979 as “A Slice Of The Top” and Hank was delighted.

-Michael Cuscuna

Read Article… Follow: Mosaic Records Facebook Tumblr Twitter

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A look behind the scenes!

The process of setting up the American Sabor exhibit and prepping for the opening was pretty amazing--truly a team effort.  The exhibition is free to the public, with numerous free public programs occurring throughout the exhibition's time at the museum.  For a complete list of events, visit the exhibition site.

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Catch American Sabor: Latinos in Popular Music at the American Jazz Museum from today until October 27! 

American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music will open in the Changing Gallery on August 1, 2013. Beginning with an opening Festival of Tributes concert featuring four local Latin jazz bands who will be competing for the ¡El Ritmo! Best Latin Jazz Band title, the American Jazz Museum will host an exciting array of free public programs.  For more information about the exhibition, visit AmericanSabor.org and AmericanJazzMuseum.org.

The exhibition was created by Experience Music Project (EMP) and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). American Sabor, its national tour, and related programs are made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund. 

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Jazz music is an intensified feeling of nonchalance.

Samuel Berrit Olam (via jazzrelatedstuff)

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American Sabor is almost here!

This traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institute will open with a public reception at the AJM this Thursday, August 1st from 6-9 pm.  Come out for a night to celebrate festive Latino culture in the community full of fun, high-energy bands and dancing! Performances will showcase a fusion of Latin music, Jazz, hip-hop, and beyond. Renowned artists include Trio Aztlan, Marimba Sol de Chiapas, Makusa, and Miguel “Mambo” Deleon. This kicks off the band contest that culminates with the awarding of a champion during the ¡El Ritmo! dance off.

Visit the exhibition site here for a complete list of events.

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Zuhal Arslan