No More Racist City in the US Than Kansas City, Missouri

Lonnie McFadden asks an excellent very legitimate question on the PBS program, "Bird: Not Out of Nowhere."

Who had more to do with Kansas City-- Bird, Charlie Parker or Winston Churchill? But who has a statue on the Plaza? A city divided. Literally divided. Badly, badly divided. We need to fix that.

Charlie Parker, On This Day

On this day, April 30, 1941, Kansas City's own Charlie Parker solos for the first time on Decca Records.

      Charlie Parker solos on Decca recordings

As a member of Jay McShann's orchestra, Charlie Parker has his first commercial recording session in Dallas, TX for Decca Records. Playing the alto sax, he solos on 'Swingmatism' and 'Hootie Blues.' He also earns his famous nickname 'Bird' around this time.

Links:

Charlie Parker

Jay McShann

Charlie Parker - Songwriter, Saxophonist - Biography

Charlie Parker

http://charlieparkermusic.com

Good Article on Kansas City, Charlie Parker, Count Basie and More in NYT Today

Interesting article in Sunday's New York Times about Kansas City, Charlie Parker, Count Basie, New York and a whole lot more today.

Count Basie, right, playing baseball in 1947. CreditAfro American Newspapers/Gado, via Getty Images

The Mets, the Royals and Charlie Parker, 

Linked by Autumn

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After the Mets and the Royals had secured spots in the World Series, observers searched for connections between the teams. There seemed to be few.

But as the Series shifted from Kansas City to New York, it followed a well-trodden path, forged decades ago with the migration of some of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.

Just as Kansas City once effectively served as a feeder system of ballplayers to New York, Kansas City’s hopping nightclub scene was the fertile ground that produced some of New York’s top musical acts, and baseball was a cherished pastime for many of them....

It goes on.

...jazz, baseball, Kansas City and New York are closely intertwined in American culture.

“There was a time when everybody went to Kansas City,” said Phil Schaap, a prominent jazz historian and archivist. “Many of them eventually moved on to New York and made it there. But Kansas City, along with New York, Chicago and New Orleans, is one of the citadels of jazz. And during the swing era, all the bands had teams.”

Great stuff. Interesting article. You might want to check it out.

There's certainly more here than just our Royals to get attention from the Big Apple and world.

Kansas City on Yahoo's "10 Most Underrated Cities"

Yeehaw!

Check out what they had to say:

You may not know that Kansas City is teeming with fountains and fresh off a downtown renovation.

With downtown's multi-billion dollar face-lift, pedestrian-friendly boulevards, and claim to having the most fountains of any city outside of Rome, Kansas City is definitely deserving of buzz. Plus, history buffs can learn about the underrated city's pioneer roots at the Arabia Steamboat Museum, while sports fans can visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, a tribute to the excellent athletes forced to play in segregated leagues. Blues and jazz clubs also abound in this city where musicians like Count Basie and Charlie Parker got their start, particularly in the historic 18th and Vine District, where the American Jazz Museum is located. For some summertime family fun, head to mega-water park Schlitterbahn Vacation Village, which debuted in July 2009 as the brand’s first venture outside of Texas. Once you've worked up an appetite, you're also in for a treat, as this Midwestern city also boasts some of the country's best barbecue.

And they didn't even say anything about the world class Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

So anyone bitching about how it sucks to live here, check it out. (Tony?)

And this is before we add the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

I guess I have to change my response to "Yahoo!"

Have a great weekend, y'all.

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