Beth L Barnett
RED NICHOLS AND HIS FIVE PENNIES
“Actually, I believe that music, like every other art form, must change with the times.”
That was the philosophy of bandleader Red Nichols. Born in 1905, his father taught him to play coronet and trumpet. By age four, Red… Continue reading
THE SAXOPHONE
More than 150 years ago, Antoine-Joseph Sax combined the body of a brass horn to the mouthpiece of a woodwind thereby inventing an instrument he named after himself, the saxophone.
Fletcher Henderson, called the Colored King of Jazz, brought… Continue reading
American Jazz Museum—A Kansas City Jewel
Our American Jazz Museum at 18th 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… Continue reading
Jazz in Early Kansas City The Reno Club
In 1935, The Reno Club was a speakeasy off Twelfth Street with a bar, a bandstand, and chorus girls who might have doubled as prostitutes.
Marijuana cigarettes cost 5 cents apiece
Domestic scotch—10 cents
Imported scotch and other liquors—15… Continue reading
OLD TIME JAZZ AND KANSAS CITY
After my novel, JAZZ TOWN, was published, readers wrote requesting additional information about the early days of jazz in Kansas City. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be telling some more of the interesting facts I discovered.… Continue reading
