Kansas City Jazz History

The roots of Kansas City jazz history run deep. Kansas City’s jazz scene began in the 1920s, but really took off during Prohibition in the 1930s. During that time, the city was run primarily by Tom Pendergast, the Jackson County Democratic boss. Under Pendergast, the city was an economic oasis in the heart of the country, a mecca for musicians looking for work. It was the wildest city in America at the time, full of brothels, bars, and gambling dens.

Prohibition simply never existed in this city. Notorious mobsters like Pretty boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson roamed their nightclubs carefree. Johnny Lanzia, Pendergast’s silent ally, “Kansas City’s Al Capone,” sized up all potential candidates for the police force, looking for anyone who seemed above reproach. Policemen could be seen all day rolling dice alongside civilian patrons at the betting shops that lined 12th Street.

The musicians who came to identify with the Kansas City style of jazz came from far and wide to work and enjoy the freedom the city provided. Bill “Count” Basie came from Red Bank, New Jersey. Mary Lou Williams was born in Georgia and grew up in Pittsburgh. Jay McShann came from Muskogee, Oklahoma. What they had in common was a distinctly Southwestern way of dealing with the blues.

Kansas City jazz featured a joyous, irresistible groove, syncopated conversations between the reed and brass sections reminiscent of the old call and response of the Hallowed Church, and an abiding fondness for the saxophone. Unlike much of the commercial swing of the day, this jazz was built primarily from lead arrangements. Musical ideas or riffs were rarely written down, but they provided the basis for jazz musicians to improvise.

The competition between the KC musicians was very deep. Claude “Fiddler” Williams recalled, “For some reason this town was different from all the others because we played all night. If you came here and played badly, we’d fix you.” “Regardless of how much they played or where they were from, when they came here they realized how little they played,” said Mary Lou Williams. Trumpeter Buck Clayton compared KC musicians to gunmen. He recalled that Lips Page used to slip notes under the hotel room door of visiting trumpet players saying, “Meet me tonight at such and such a club.”

Pendergast’s political machine collapsed after Tom Pendergast was indicted for tax evasion, reformist elements took over, and cabarets and nightclubs closed. Jobs for the musicians eventually dried up and the bands hit the road. By 1942, with the advent of World War II, many of the musicians had been drafted into the army. Finally, in 1944, the great Kansas City jazz age had slowed down, but it did not die out completely. Jazz still thrives in the city today.