CELEBRATING KANSAS CITY’S JAZZ HERITAGE

Kansas City was the birth of the Bebop movement. When you’re staying at Kansas City hotels, dive into the world of jazz by attending some celebratory events.

THE BIRTH OF BEBOP

Before Bebop, jazz was mostly comprised of big band-style pieces. However, Count Basie began to change things up when he joined the Bennie Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra. With his piano skills, he heralded in a new age of bluesy swing to the orchestral scene.

The genre was further changed by the emergence of Charlie Parker, who truly started the wave of Bebop. Instead of playing a prearranged solo during a musical piece, instead, he played at random, using the 12 semitones of the chromatic scale.

This style of playing was more exciting than previous jazz, as it utilized a faster tempo and numerous key changes to keep things fresh.

TODAY’S KANSAS CITY JAZZ

Over time, Kansas City jazz has evolved even further. Today, it’s often a more relaxed feel than other types of jazz due to the four-beat feel. Solos also play a bigger role in Kansas City jazz, as well as music played by memory rather than by reading sheet music. Different sections of the jazz band also use riffs in their music to help add more excitement and swing to a particular song.

KANSAS CITY JAZZ AND HERITAGE FESTIVAL

The spirit of Kansas City Jazz is kept alive today by the Jazz and Heritage Festival. This annual event features a number of local musicians in a number of genres, including standard jazz, blues, and soul.