If you’re lucky enough to snag a coveted seat at Green Lady, Haghirian recommends checking out the basement, where you’ll find one of Kansas City’s best-kept secrets: the Orion Room. Green Lady is open daily with up to four acts per evening, while the Black Dolphin is typically only open on weekends. Two of the most popular clubs, says Haghirian, are conveniently located next door to each other in the Crossroads Art District- Green Lady Lounge and the Black Dolphin. There are more than 40 venues in KC with regular jazz performances, both in the 18th & Vine historic jazz district and beyond. Read on for his picks for the best jazz clubs, blues bars, concert venues, and more. If anyone knows the city’s music scene, it’s him, so we asked him for some tips on where to see a show. “The music played every night around KC tells our story.”Ī native Missourian, Haghirian has lived in Kansas City since 1999 and helped found the Middle of the Map Fest, a music-and-film festival held every June. “Kansas City is blessed with many venues and I’ve been to all of them,” says Chris Haghirian, host of radio show Eight One Sixty, which celebrates new music from local musicians and bands. So much so, in fact, that visitors in search of authentic KC culture would be remiss not to catch some live music when in town. Today, Kansas City continues to be a breeding ground for musicians of all genres, from jazz to indie rock, hip-hop, and more. Drawn by the promise of a captive audience, jazz legends like Count Basie, Joe Turner, and Kansas City’s own Charlie Parker graced stages on 12th Street and the now-historic 18th & Vine jazz district, earning the city a reputation for the blues and the nickname the “Paris of the Plains.” KC’s association with the genre goes all the way back to Prohibition, when the city flouted restrictions and continued to serve alcohol in bars-especially those with live music. The Horseshoe Lounge was demolished in the latter half of the 20th century, but the legacy of her influence continued in the generations of Kansas City musicians that followed.While New Orleans may be the country’s best city for jazz, Kansas City is a close second. Bettye also mentored youth and supported musical education through her support of the Charlie Parker Memorial Foundation until she passed away in 1977 after an extended battle with cancer. Her vocals and piano skills paired with Milt's bass skills led to sold-out performances throughout Kansas City as well as national performances. The duo, who would later be married, took the Kansas City music scene by storm. Bettye Miller met Milt Abel at the Horseshoe Lounge, which was located at 3243 Troost Avenue, and the pair formed a professional partnership that grew the Kansas City sound. Jazz musicians in Kansas City shaped the genre in the 1920s and 1930s, and area artists like Bettye Wilson Miller contributed to the "modern jazz" movement from the 1950s to the 1970s. Bettye Wilson Miller, The Horseshoe Lounge (Demolished) in 1971 the site was demolished and replaced by a car dealership. 4ġ5. The popularity of the Pla-Mor ballroom declined in the 1940s as suburbanization drew populations out of the city and ballroom entertainment became less attractive. The ballroom permanently closed in 1951 with other attractions at the Pla-Mor complex following soon after. The legendary Kansas City venue opened on Thanksgiving 1927 to a crowd of 4,000 patrons who came out to dance to the sounds of the Jean Goldkette Orchestra.1 The Pla-Mor was home to more than music, and the complex claimed to be the largest indoor amusement center in the country in the 1920s, offering a bowling alley and billiards room underneath the ballroom and an ice hockey rink next door.4 In 1931 the Pla-Mor complex added the largest swimming pool west of the Mississippi.4 During its heyday the Ballroom welcomed jazz greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Claude "Fiddler" Williams, Louis Armstrong, and Frank Sinatra. The Pla-Mor Ballroom was a popular jazz venue and entertainment complex that operated from 1927 to 1951.
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