Jazz Music: History of Jazz Music in Kansas City

From its beginnings as nothing more than a simple trading post on the banks of the Missouri river, to its raucous heyday in the 1920′s and 30′s, Kansas City has retained the independent spirit of its frontier beginnings. Even though an assortment of colorful characters, cowboys, paoliticians, criminals, and even wagon trains populate the history of Kansas City, you can forget everything you’ve ever heard about it being a “cow town.” Today, the outgrowth of that colorful history and frontier spirit radiates energetically throughout the city
and its populace.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Wedding Music FAQs

What type of music should I have for my wedding reception?

You can seleact a song for the bridal party’s entrance into the reception venue. It could be something uplifting to get the party started! Or you could have a separate song for the entrance of the bride and groom, a romantic song that is of special significance. For dinner music you need a type of music that is not too overpowering, as you want to build up the party atmosphere gradually. You might like a jazz trio that can perform acoustically (ie. Not amplified) to allow for talking and dinner conversation.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Classic Jazz Radio – Jazz Musicians

Jazz in it’s highest forms involves a certain amount of integrity; that you call upon your highest creative sources; that you be spontaneous and that you dare to be yourself.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

How to Learn Jazz Piano

When you have decided that you want to learn jazz piano, you will open a whole new world of music to you and your family. How to learn jazz piano goes along with the study of basic scales and chords that you have learn while practicing the piano. You will now begin a new phase of scales and chords. The work will be harder for you when you start practicing jazz on the piano, but it is worth it. The rewards will last a lifetime. Music is universal. Once you learn it, no one can take it away from you.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Buying a Good Jazz Guitar

If you are planning to learn how to play the guitar and really want to be good at it, I would suggest that you start out with learning Jazz. Jazz guitar playing does not have any actual base of music theory but instead, is a theory which is a collection of ideas which were passed on from musician to musician. Jazz players never really needed music theory to come up with their music, but instead, needed to thoroughly know the instruments enough to give a rhythm to accompany the other jazz musicians. Jazz playing changed over the years and now has become a base for many other genres of music.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Ready to Learn Your Jazz Guitar?

Do you have the same problems in finding your way to start learning jazz? Jazz guitar lessons need not to be costly or exclusive. Music is free and has the very characteristic of self expression and of course one’s art. It is said that jazz music is very complex to understand. Its notes and rhythms are very hard to get used to.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Learn Jazz Piano – Teaching Yourself Or Formal Lessons?

There are many self-taught jazz musicians out there. Jazz bass guitarist Dave Holland is one such artist who speaks of music as (quote) an expression of the human condition conveyed through the music they play. If you want to learn jazz piano, pick up a copy of one of his albums. This is jazz music at its finest.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

The Evolution of Jazz Guitar Part 1

The following series on the evolution of jazz guitar briefly describes each era in the development of this genre, however it omits the names of several important non- guitar musicians and likewise does not go into detail regarding several important contributions they made. Its main objective is to educate the reader as to the role the guitar played during each stage of the music’s history as well as introduce us to its most influential players.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Gypsy Jazz Guitar – A One-Man Genre

Gypsy jazz guitar is a genre based on the music of Django Reinhardt, a guitar player who overcame a severe disability to become a legend in jazz music. Most people have heard music by the Quintet du Hot Club de France or one of the gypsy jazz groups devoted to its style of music. Born in the 1930′s this group with Stephane Grapelli on violin, Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt and Roger Chaput on guitars and Louis Vola on bass, pioneered the concept of lead and rhythm guitar.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

What Are The Best Jazz Guitars?

In finding the best jazz guitars, it is important to look at some of the historical icons in the genre. The tone of any jazz instrument is of the utmost significance. Many famous jazz guitarists have developed signature sounds that have come to be viewed as standards in jazz music.

Continue reading

Leave a comment