Join us as we celebrate the life,
the music, and the iconic legacy
of Kansas City’s own:
Charlie “Yardbird” Parker!
Join pianist Dan Sturdevant and vocalist Millie Edwards
On Sunday, August 21st from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Celebrating their 6th Year at The Phoenix Jazz Club
Liz Goodwin writing in the Pitch July 2022 issue about The Phoenix brunch:
“Millie Edwards with Dan Sturdevant…people come because they love music.”
You’ll like this popular Kansas City Sunday food and live music and scene.
302 W 8th St. Kansas City, MO 64105 | ThePhoenixKC.com | 816-221-5299
SPOTLIGHT: CHARLIE PARKER EVENT
It Takes a Village – CD Release Performance featuring Morgan Faw and The Flame
With a special edition of the famous “Blue Monday Jam Session” co-hosted by Houston Smith and Morgan Faw. (*Special Guest Appearance by: Bobby Watson) @ The Blue Room
Aug 22 @ 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm
First Set: “It Takes a Village” CD Release Concert Featuring: Morgan Faw and The Flame
Morgan Faw, saxophone
Alonzo Demetrius, trumpet
Miles Lennox, piano
Isaac Coyle, bass
Christian Napoleon, drumset
Morgan Faw was raised musically in Kansas City. This album release performance is his first of many expressions of gratitude to the greater KC community of artists, musicians, teachers, friends, and family who helped shape and raise him.
Recorded in April 2022, his debut album, “It Takes a Village” (ARC-8777), Artists Recording Collective – ARC Records, was completed on two separate days. The recording features all original music by Faw collaborating with trumpeter Will Mallard and one composition written by Pamela Watson.
“This is my first step and attempt in truly giving back to those who taught me,” says Faw. “I want to celebrate this album with everyone who helped me. And to be able to release this project in The Blue Room at 18th and Vine is a dream come true. The historic Jazz District had been my musical home and arts family growing up. There is nowhere else I would want to celebrate this achievement.”
The community is invited to this celebratory event and open jam session to follow, “It Takes a Village.”
With a special edition of the famous “Blue Monday Jam Session” co-hosted by Houston Smith and Morgan Faw.
EVENT SCHEDULE
5:30 pm: Reception
- 2022 Kansas City Area Youth Jazz Fellows Trio: Ari Staggs (piano), Isaac Pieters (bass), Maurice Butler (drums).
- Food and beverage provided
6:00 pm: Charlie Parker’s Kansas City
- Moderator: Chuck Haddix
- Panelists: Lisa Henry and Clarence Smith
- Introducing: 2o22 Spotlight Charlie Parker Artists In Residence, Houston Smith and Morgan Faw
Longing for a bit of civilized seduction? If live Jazz doesn’t do it, our expertly crafted cocktails will. Poured with precision, and served alongside the stylish rhythms of locally and nationally acclaimed musicians, a drink can easily turn into an exceptional evening. Getting comfortable happens quickly here. In fact, that’s the reason we call it a lounge.
Join us at KC Bier Co. for a night of jazz on August 25th featuring live performances by Bram Wijnands, and Spotlight: Charlie Parker Artists-In-Residence Morgan Faw & Houston Smith! Every August, KC Jazz ALIVE celebrates the life and legacy of Charlie Parker, the pioneering jazz saxophonist who called Kansas City home. Outdoor communal seating, tables seat 8 to 10 people.
FRIDAY, August 26 from 8:30 pm to 10:00 pm is “Ode 2 Bird” showcasing the 2022 Spotlight: Charlie Parker “Artists in Residence” – Morgan Faw and Houston Smith, and featuring Faw’s band “The Flame.” @ The Blue Room
The Blue Room at the American Jazz Museum, Spotlight: Charlie Parker, and the Kansas City community welcome the return of natives, Houston Smith, and Morgan Faw, (also known as “The Blue Room Babies”) with their “Ode 2 Bird” concert, a Celebration of Charlie Parker and his Music and Legacy.
This performance will also feature the members of Faw’s working band, “The Flame.”
Conceived by the two alto saxophonists in 2020, “Ode 2 Bird” came from their idea of “pushing the envelope open” through expanding and raising the standard of music coming from a younger generation…a rather Hungry Generation. This concert also realizes the hopes of Charlie Parker himself, who stated as much in a 1954 interview with his contemporary fellow saxophonist, Paul Desmond.
“Ode 2 Bird” features special renditions of compositions by Charlie Parker and Kansas City natives such as Bobby Watson along with the original works of Smith and Faw and more!
Personnel:
- Morgan Faw + Houston Smith – Alto Saxophones
- Christian Napoleon – Drums
- Isaac Coyle – Bass
- Alonzo Demetrius – Trumpet
- Miles Lennox – Piano
About this event
Get your tickets TODAY for a walking tour of one of Kansas City’s most historic neighborhoods; 18th & Vine Jazz District! August 29, 2022 is the 102nd birthday of Kansas City jazz legend, Charlie Parker. Celebrate early by touring Bird’s old stomping grounds and feel his tunes run through you!
Tour Guides:
Chuck Haddix – Director of UMKC Marr Sound Archives, host of KCUR 89.3 “Fish Fry” on Friday and Saturday nights, author of “Bird – The Life and Music of Charlie Parker” and “Kansas City Jazz – From Ragtime to Bebop”.
Attendees will meet on the sidewalk outside of The Blue Room (1600 E 18th St, Kansas City, MO 64108) at 9:45 am to check in for the walking tour. Bottled water will be provided. Please bring your tickets with you.
About the Tour:
During the days of public segregation, Kansas City’s 18th and Vine area developed into a self-contained community. The intersection of 18th and Vine served as the hub of a bustling business and entertainment district–the heart and soul of an African-American community, bounded by Independence Avenue on the north, Troost Avenue on the west, 27th Street on the south and Benton Boulevard to the east.
Just after the turn of the 19th century, an African-American preacher and his wife, the Reverend and Mrs. Sweeney, operated a truck farm in the 18th and Vine area. By the late 1800s, thousands of African-Americans settled in the area, then known as the “Bowery.” In November 1909, the first moving picture show for African-Americans, the Star, opened in a wood-frame building at the northeast corner of 18th and Vine, forming the cornerstone of the new business district.
The area grew quickly and by 1915 dry goods stores, laundries, fish shops, bakeries, barbers, cobblers, tailors, restaurants, nightclubs and all the businesses and services denied the community downtown packed 18th Street east of Paseo Boulevard. Apartments and headquarters for social clubs perched on the second floor above the bustle of commerce below. The fragrant aroma of hickory smoke from Henry Perry’s Barbeque pit at 19th and Highland wafted over the community. Street cars rattled down the center of 18th Street connecting the community to the rest of the city and jobs in packing plants, the railroads and homes of the wealthy. Once established, the community grew swiftly and prospered.
Young Charlie Parker came of age as a man and musician in the 18th and Vine area. After Charlie’s parents separated in 1930, he and his mother Addie moved to a two-story brick house at 1516 Olive Street just blocks away from 18th and Vine. Addie worked nights and after she left for work, Charlie began his nightly rounds of the night clubs dotting 12th and 18th streets. While on tour later in his career, Charlie often stopped off in Kansas City to visit Addie, play gigs in the clubs on 18th street and renew old acquaintances.
In the Yard is back this year with two days of music and more! Mark your calendars and join us at the American Jazz Museum as we continue celebrating our 25-year legacy at 18th and Vine. Film screenings at the Gem Theater featuring classic jazz movies, local filmmakers, and the John H. Baker Film Collection.
Annual Musical Salute to Charlie Parker
Burnett Music Foundation was able to establish a strategic partnership in 2022 with the American Jazz Museum brings and its Bird Boot Camp’s “Musical Salute to Bird” finale to the Charlie Parker Memorial Plaza in the Historic 18th & Vine District.
The memorial is located directly behind the American Jazz Museum.
The Musical Salute will also act in synergy as a prelude to the AJM’s “In The Yard” concert at 5 pm.
The 2022 musical salute will be led by Artists in Residence, Houston Smith and Morgan Faw who anticipate being joined by jazz great Bobby Watson.
BRING YOUR INSTRUMENT AND PLAY ALONG
All musicians are welcome to participate in this brief performance tribute to Charlie Parker.
The Musical Salute traditionally symbolized the conclusion of Kansas City’s festive “Spotlight: Charlie Parker” week of celebration.
HISTORY OF THE MUSICAL TRIBUTE
The late Eddie Baker conceived a “21 Sax Salute” at Charlie Parker’s gravesite in Lincoln Cemetery where all of the area saxophonists would congregate to pay musical tribute to “Bird.” The tradition was resumed by Ahmad Alaadeen in 2002 up until his passing. The salute was conducted sporadically until the cemetery owner restricted public access to the historic site. Bird Boot Camp took up the “Musical Salute” as part of our programming in 2019 when Burnett Music Foundation took over administration.
CHARLIE PARKER MEMORIAL – BIRD LIVES
Artist/Designer: Robert Graham
Dedicated: March 1999
Description: Large face of Charlie Parker. Green patina on face. Trapezoidal base with brown patina. “Bird Lives” inscription on the base. The face was not cast but was pieced together in a grid-like pattern.
This sculpture memorializes legendary jazz artist Charlie “Bird” Parker. He was a major part of the Kansas City jazz scene and culture. It is located in the middle of a plaza, also named after Parker, in the historic Jazz District and just west of the American Jazz Museum at 18th and Vine Streets.
Inscription:
Charlie “Bird” Parker Plaza
Mayor Emanuel Cleaver II
Board of Parks & Recreation Commissioners: Ollie W. Gates, President; Sheila Kemper Dietrich, Commissioner; Anne Garney, Commissioner; Terry R. Dopson, Director
City Council: Ed Ford, Teresa Loar, Jim Glover, Paul Danaher, Ronald E. Finley, Mary Williams-Neal, Evert Asjes III, Aggie Stackhaus, Ken Bacchus, Kelvin Simmons, George D. Blackwood, Judy Swope.
Robert Graham, Sculptor
In loving memory of Blanche Jones and Doris Jones-Stein. Given by the Jules and Doris Stein Foundation, the Oppenheimer Brothers Foundation, and Tony and Marti Oppenheimer.
History courtesy of KC Parks.
In the Yard ft. Jackiem Joyner and the Shedrick Mitchell Trio ft. Christie Dashiell
About this event
It’s the American Jazz Museum’s 25th Anniversary this year, and we’re bringing more live music to 18th and Vine! Join us for In the Yard, our annual backyard birthday bash for Charlie “Yardbird” Parker including family-friendly activities, food trucks, yard games, and live music!
SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY OFFER: Purchase a $25 membership and gain access to our VIP members-only area and special commemorative swag (includes air-conditioning, indoor bathroom, and private bar)
4 pm: Annual horn salute at Charlie Parker Memorial statue, gates open
5 pm: Live music begins on the Great Lawn ft.:
Jackiem Joyner
Shedrick Mitchell Trio ft. Christie Dashiell
Jackiem Joyner:
After more than 12 years as a recording artist, Jackiem Joyner continues to stand out with electrifying live performances and brilliant music productions. As a performer, he has toured over 30 countries and performed with the likes of the late George Duke, Marcus Miller, Keiko Matsui, Donnie McClurkin, Angela Bofill, Najee, Kirk Whalum, Peter White, and many, many more. Joyner’s radio success is widely known within the industry.
Jackiem has two number 1 hit songs, five top 10 billboard singles, and a number one debut album under his belt. Joyner is proud to stand front and center on the main stage most weekends around the country. A quick glance at Joyner’s track record makes it clear that he continues to beat the odds in a tough and competitive music industry. “I love what I do and I have passion”, Jackiem says. “I don’t care how hard things get, it’ll never stop me from doing what I love: playing the sax, writing music and stories, and performing live.” His love of writing novels came as a surprise to many of his fans. “I’m very excited to release my second novel soon after my album release,” Joyner says. “Writing stories is now a big part of my creative journey.”
Christie Dashiell
Shedrick Mitchell
Presented by The Folly Theater, Kansas City Jazz ALIVE, and Tom’s Town.
Enjoy a special night of jazz at Tom’s Town Distilling Company in the Rickenbacker Room. As part of Spotlight: Charlie Parker, the Dan Thomas Quintet featuring Bobby Watson will perform 2 sets, starting at 7:30pm. Guests are invited to arrive early for complimentary hors d’oeuvres and 1 complimentary cocktail. A cash bar will also be available.
The Dan Thomas Quartet features Dan Thomas, Brian Ward (keys and organ), Forest Stewart (bass), and Marty Morrison (drums).
Don’t miss this opportunity to listen to live jazz in an amazing setting at Tom’s Town Distilling Co!
Limited tickets available – GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!