American Jazz Museum—A Kansas City Jewel

Our American Jazz Museum at 18^th and Vine is in financial trouble. We mustn’t let anything happen to this premier site. It is a big, colorful building full of history, exhibits, learning, and live music. Plan to visit Twenty Years of the Museum, As the Legacy Lives On, from the opening reception on June 24^th to June 30^th, days filled with Venues and performances dedicated to the advancement of the art form and growing the jazz audience.

Kansas City history lives on through the Singing Bartender, Big ( 6′ 2″, 300 pound) Joe Turner. Born in Kansas City in 1911, he managed to survive a difficult childhood by singing in the streets for pennies. He got a job cooking and later bartending and singing in the K.C. jazz district where he became known as a blues shouter, someone who’s voice could be heard over a band without a microphone. Early in his career, he and a pianist named Pete Johnson entertained at The Sunset and the Kingfish Club. The Sunset was noted for “separate but equal” facilities for white patrons. Known as The Singing Bartenter, Joe wrote Piney Brown Blues to honor his friend who managed The Sunset. Years later he famously recorded the Rock’ n’ Roll favorite,  “Shake, Rattle, & Roll.”