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Fall 2002
I'm a fairly twisted guy-so when film critic Roger Ebert (who
co-penned "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls") was asked what his
favorite movie of all time was, it didn't surprise me when he proclaimed
it to be Federico Fellini's "La Dolce
Vita," my all-time fave flick, too. Ah,
yes, "La Dolce Vita" ("The Sweet Life") just has to
be the mood behind this latest jazz rag from me to you.
Besides this summer being a very jazzy
time for the BMF and our followers, I've never been happier. On June 25,
my beloved Grace's birthday (my late mother's, too-go figure) we became
engaged to be married May 30, 2003. I knew Grace was the one almost
immediately after our first encounter last Dec. 12. So much so, I
recently purchased a second home for Grace, myself and her two teenage
sons, Bahji and Janom.
I still maintain my first home, the BMF museum. Anyway, you read it here first, and whether you like it or not, you will be a
part of it in some way. I'm a very lucky and happy fellow.
Now-oh, yeah-jazz.
First, we brought two new friends into
our foundation as consultants in the last few months. Ironically, not
only are they both from K.C., but are stone's-throw neighbors as well.
I'm speaking of Steve Irwin and Gerald Spaits. Their jazz history through
the years has been impressive.
Gerald, as one of the best and busiest
bassists and arrangers around, has worked with everybody. He brought to
our tables the opportunity to executive produce both Never Let Me Go by
the Russ Long Trio and the upcoming release with his Westport Art
Ensemble. Our friendship and interest in keeping the jazz torch well lit
made him an obvious choice to represent K.C. and work as a valuable
liaison here. The Westport Art Ensemble will do a CD release party at
P.O. Pears in Lincoln
Oct. 10. Don't miss it.
Steve Irwin, as mentioned many times
in past issues, put on the short, very, very sweet Kansas City
International Jazz Festival with his wife, Jo Boehr,
and partner John Jessup, turned me onto the Coda foundation (see the
story in this issue), got me involved in the Scamps project (see the
story in this issue) and, like Gerald, seems to be the perfect, logical
choice, making the sum of the parts even richer. Welcome, guys.
Norman Hedman, another dear friend,
composer and one of the best percussionists in the biz-with or without
his band Tropique-visited the BMF recently. We plan to help put out his
new work-in-progress entitled Because I Can. New label info is still
under wraps, but expect more vocals and a
different array of top-flight musicians on tap. One song, "Angel in
the Night," was inspired by Grace and my relationship, hence the
song was born. Stay tuned for the rest of this story.
Not wanting to waste space and step on
Tom's fine piece on this year's Jazz in June series, I'll be brief.
Musically, I'm as proud as a new papa being able to pull off a
coast-to-coast, first-class trio of my choice of artists who performed
and, most importantly, my friends. Paul Mehling's
Hot Club of San Francisco, Stan Kessler with the Sons of Brasil from Kansas City, and
without a doubt the main event, the George Cables Trio, with longtime
associate Victor Lewis and new acquaintance Cameron Brown.
Hopefully, meetings with the Nebraska
Art Association and the media will straighten out some of this year's
glitches. Nonetheless, the weather and the crowd were great and the music
was sensational. Special kudos go out to the sound crew, led by Steve
Watts (we may need larger gear next year, guys, if the turnout continues
to swell), Doris Abbott of Travel and Transport-who handled all the
travel arrangements-and Martha Florence for really working her ass off in
the trenches.
We're hoping to find a venue to bring
in the marvelous duo of Cameron Brown and jazz songstress extraordinaire
Sheila Jordan. Keep your fingers crossed on this one.
Also, don't miss our three ultra-cool
shows at P.O. Pears to round out the 2002 season (See Tom's previews for
more details.). Watch for Belgian jazz pianist Ivan Paduart on Sept. 12,
backed by Karrin Allyson's first-call rhythm section of Bob Bowman and Todd Strait. Drummer
Strait is moving to Portland, Ore.,
so catch him while you can. The aforementioned Westport Art Ensemble
performs Oct 10 and, lastly, we're bringing back K.C.'s
Doug Talley Quartet, who may augment music from his last CD, "Kansas
City Suite," with a slide show reviewing K.C.ís
history on Dec. 5.
Gotta split. I am so glad I heard Rosie Clooney at
the now-defunct Rainbow Room in New York City
a few years ago and heard and met Ray Brown at Topeka last year. Time is precious, so
to quote Richard Alpert (Baba Ram Dass),
"Be Here Now" rings more true today than ever before. Peace.
The
Butch Meister
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