./~ Club Kaycee: Kansas City Jazz History -- Jazz Bibliography

Jazz Bibliography:
Suggested Readings & Viewing Material
on the History of Kansas City Jazz

Barnes, Harper.: Blue Monday.. St. Louis: Patrice Press, 1991.

A lively mystery spun around the unusual circumstances surrounding the death of Bennie Moten in 1935. Barnes populates his book with characters who played key roles in the development of Kansas City jazz (Lester Young, Count Basie, Big Joe Turner, Pete Johnson, Piney Brown, and a young Charlie Parker) and he paints a vivid portrait of Kansas City at that time, including its color line and the influence of Tom Pendergast's political machine. Credited sources for the novel include Milton Morris and Dave E. Dexter, Jr.
Basie, Count: Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie as Told to Albert Murrary. New York: Random House, 1985.

Count Basie's autobiography includes a detailed account of his association with the Blue Devils and the Moten Band. Basie's observations on his contemporaries and life in the 18th and Vine area provide insight into the musical environment of Kansas City during the 1920s and 1930s.
Blesh, Rudi, and Harriet Janis.: They All Played Ragtime: The True Story of an American Music. New York: Grove Press, 1959.

An informative history of ragtime with good coverage of Kansas City ragtime artists and publishers.
Chilton, John.: Who's Who of Jazz. Philadelphia: Time-Life Records Special Edition, 1972.

An anthology of biographies of over 1,000 musicians. The biographical sketches are brief, well drawn and inclusive.
Clayton, Buck.: Buck Clayton's Jazz World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.

Buck's reminisces of the early days of the Basie Band and Kansas City are rich with anecdotes.
Dance, Stanley.: The World of Count Basie. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1980.

Contains interviews with Basie sidemen and associates. Great source for first hand information about the Basie band and Kansas City jazz.
Dexter, "Dex" (Dave E., Jr.): Jazz Cavalcade. New York: Criterion, 1946.
and
Dexter, Dave E., Jr.: The Jazz Story, From the '90s to the '60s. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1964.

Dave E. Dexter, Jr., a Kansas City native and noted authority on Kansas City jazz, gave his collection of records, photographs, books, periodicals and manuscripts to the Miller Nichols Library in 1988. This Collection is held jointly by Special Collections and the Sound Archives and contains a wealth of information about Kansas City jazz.
Driggs, Frank.: Black Beauty, White Heat: A Pictorial History of Classic Jazz, 1920-1950. New York: W. Morrow, 1982.

Richly illustrated with photos from the collection of Frank Driggs.
Hammond, John.: John Hammond on Record. New York: Ridge Press- Summit Books, 1977.

Hammond's autobiography includes a chronicle of Basie's journey from the Reno Club to New York.
Hentoff, Nat and Albert J. McCarthy.: Jazz: New Perspectives on the History of Jazz by Twelve of the World's Foremost Jazz Critics and Scholars. New York: Rinehart & Company, 1959.

This compilation features a chapter by Frank Driggs that provides an overview of early Kansas City jazz.
Hester, Mary Lee.: Going to Kansas City. Sherman, Texas: Early Bird Press, 1980.

This work is comprised of portraits of the musicians who defined Kansas City jazz style. An interesting feature is a map of the legendary Kansas City clubs.
Jasen, David A.: Rags and Ragtime: A Musical History. New York: Seabury Press, 1978.

A survey of ragtime composers including those that lived and were published in Kansas City.
Jones, Max.: Talking Jazz. New York: W.W. Norton, 1988.

This collection of interviews includes Mary Lou Williams reminiscing about Kansas City's golden age of jazz.
"Kansas City Jazz.": The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. London: Macmillan Press, 1988.

Contains biographical, bibliographic and discographic information on Kansas City jazz artists.
Kirk, Andy.: Twenty Years on Wheels. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1989.

First hand account of the development of the T. Holder and Kirk bands. Includes a narrative of the clubs and ballrooms in Kansas City during the 1920s and 1930s.
McCarthy, Albert.: Big Band Jazz. New York: Exeter Books, 1974.

Insightful examination of evolution of the big band tradition with several chapters devoted to southwest and Kansas City jazz styles.
Milligan, Maurice.: Missouri Waltz. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948.

Memoir of Maurice Milligan, former District Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. An interesting portrait of the rise and fall of the Pendergast machine by the self-described "man who smashed it." Milligan's indignation colors the history, but it does contain some useful information and vignettes.
Murray, Albert.: Stomping the Blues. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1976.

An overview of the evolution of the blues with several chapters devoted to the development of Kansas City's 4/4 style of jump blues.
Ostransky, Leroy.: Jazz City: The Impact of Our Cities on the Development of Jazz. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1978.

Explores the symbiotic relationship between various municipalities and the development of jazz.
Pearson, Nathan.: Goin' to Kansas City. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987.

This slim volume contains selections from oral histories of Kansas City jazz artists from a project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1976.
Reddig, William.: Tom's Town: Kansas City and the Pendergast Legend. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1986.

An affectionate portrait of Kansas City politics encompassing the years 1890 to 1940.
Reisner, Robert George.: Bird: The Legend of Charlie Parker. New York, Citadel Press, 1962.

This work is comprised of interviews with individuals who met or knew Charlie Parker. The interviews encompass his entire career and include glimpses of Parker as a man and musician.
Russell, Ross.: Bird Lives: The High Life and hard Times of Charlie (Yardbird) Parker. New York: Charterhouse, 1973

The early chapters in this biography of Charlie Parker examine parker's apprentice with the great jazz men in Kansas City.
Russell, Ross.: Jazz Style in Kansas City and the Southwest. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1971.

The definitive work on the evolution of Kansas City jazz.
Schuller, Gunther.: Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968.

The chapter "The Southwest" includes an historical overview of the evolution of early Kansas City jazz as well as an analysis of representative pieces.

Videos

Born to Swing.: Dir. by John Jeremy. New York: Rhapsody Films, 1986

Documentary tracing development of swing from its roots in the mid-west terriotorial bands and Kansas City, particularly the Count Basie Band. It includes vintage fottage of "jitterbug" dancers and interviews with Andy Kirk and John Hammond.
Confessin' the Blues: The Music of Jay McShann.: Prod. by W. Stinson McClendon. Kansas City, MO: MT Productions, 1986

Charming documentary on the life and career of Jay McShann features McShann talking about his career and performing his own compositions.
Count Basie: Swingin' the Blues.: Prod. by Toby Byron and Richard Saylor. Byron/Multiprises in association with Taurus Film, Munich and Video Arts Japan. New York, N.Y.: BMG Video, 1993.

This profile of the Count Basie band features interviews with Basie and sidemen who were featured with him during his long career. The vintage footage of the Basie band dates from the late 1930s.
Fiddler's Dream.: Prod. by W. Stinson McClendon. Kansas City, MO: MT Productions, 1985.

Documentary on the life and work of Claude "Fiddler" Williams includes short interviews with Andy Kirk, Big Joe Turner, Jay McShann, Milton Morris, and Stephane Grappelli. Also featured are segments of Williams teaching and performing.
The Last of the Blue Devils.: Dir. by Bruce Ricker; Prod. by John Kelly, Bruce Ricker, Edward Beyer. New York, N.Y.:Rhapsody Films, 1990

A documentary featuring musicians associated with Kansas City in the 1930s including Count Basie and his orchestra, Joe Turner, and Jay McShann. Filmed in Kansas City at the Mutual Musicians Foundation, the former headquaters of the black musicians union, Musicians Protective Union Local 627.

Telephone reference for the music collections at UMKC's Miller Nichols Library during regular library hours at (816) 235-1675. You may also contact

Chuck Haddix by email:
   haddixc@umkc.edu
by phone:
   (816) 235-2798
or by surface mail:
   Sound Archives
   Miller Nichols Library
   University of Missouri-Kansas City
   5100 Rockhill Road    Kansas City, Missouri 64110

to return to your previous page, use the "back" button on your web browser