Kansas City Jazz

2 profiles tagged Kansas City Jazz, A-Z.

Kansas City jazz flourished during the 1930s in Kansas City, Missouri, a wide-open nightlife hub under a permissive political machine that supported all-night jam sessions and a thriving club scene. It is marked by blues-saturated, riff-based head arrangements, a relaxed but driving 4/4 swing feel, and an emphasis on hard-swinging solo improvisation developed through legendary cutting contests. Bandleaders Count Basie and Bennie Moten, along with pianist Jay McShann (in whose band a young Charlie Parker got his start), defined the style.