Prez Sez Summer 2002 Spring 2002

Prez Sez Fall 2002 By Butch Berman Jazz and happiness make for sweet life By Butch Berman I'm a fairly twisted guy-so when film critic Roger Ebert (who co-penned "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls") was asked what his favorite movie of all time was, it didn't surprise me when he proclaimed it to be Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita," my all-time fave flick, too. Ah, yes, "La Dolce Vita" ("The Sweet Life") just has to be the mood behind this latest jazz rag from me to you. Besides this summer being a very jazzy time for the BMF and our followers, I've never been happier. On June 25, my beloved Grace's birthday (my late mother's, too-go figure) we became engaged to be married May 30, 2003. I knew Grace was the one almost immediately after our first encounter last Dec. 12. So much so, I recently purchased a second home for Grace, myself and her two teenage sons, Bahji and Janom. I still maintain my first home, the BMF museum. Anyway, you read it here first, and whether you like it or not, you will be a part of it in some way. I'm a very lucky and happy fellow. Now-oh, yeah-jazz. First, we brought two new friends into our foundation as consultants in the last few months. Ironically, not only are they both from K.C., but are stone's-throw neighbors as well. I'm speaking of Steve Irwin and Gerald Spaits. Their jazz history through the years has been impressive. Gerald Spaits Gerald, as one of the best and busiest bassists and arrangers around, has worked with everybody. He brought to our tables the opportunity to executive produce both Never Let Me Go by the Russ Long Trio and the upcoming release with his Westport Art Ensemble. Our friendship and interest in keeping the jazz torch well lit made him an obvious choice to represent K.C. and work as a valuable liaison here. The Westport Art Ensemble will do a CD release party at P.O. Pears in Lincoln Oct. 10. Don't miss it. Steve Irwin, as mentioned many times in past issues, put on the short, very, very sweet Kansas City International Jazz Festival with his wife, Jo Boehr, and partner John Jessup, turned me onto the Coda foundation (see the story in this issue), got me involved in the Scamps project (see the story in this issue) and, like Gerald, seems to be the perfect, logical choice, making the sum of the parts even richer. Welcome, guys. Norman Hedman, another dear friend, composer and one of the best percussionists in the biz-with or without his band Tropique-visited the BMF recently. We plan to help put out his new work-in-progress entitled Because I Can. New label info is still under wraps, but expect more vocals and a different array of top-flight musicians on tap. One song, "Angel in the Night," was inspired by Grace and my relationship, hence the song was born. Stay tuned for the rest of this story. Butch Berman Not wanting to waste space and step on Tom's fine piece on this year's Jazz in June series, I'll be brief. Musically, I'm as proud as a new papa being able to pull off a coast-to-coast, first-class trio of my choice of artists who performed and, most importantly, my friends. Paul Mehling's Hot Club of San Francisco, Stan Kessler with the Sons of Brasil from Kansas City, and without a doubt the main event, the George Cables Trio, with longtime associate Victor Lewis and new acquaintance Cameron Brown. Hopefully, meetings with the Nebraska Art Association and the media will straighten out some of this year's glitches. Nonetheless, the weather and the crowd were great and the music was sensational. Special kudos go out to the sound crew, led by Steve Watts (we may need larger gear next year, guys, if the turnout continues to swell), Doris Abbott of Travel and Transport-who handled all the travel arrangements-and Martha Florence for really working her ass off in the trenches. We're hoping to find a venue to bring in the marvelous duo of Cameron Brown and jazz songstress extraordinaire Sheila Jordan. Keep your fingers crossed on this one. Also, don't miss our three ultra-cool shows at P.O. Pears to round out the 2002 season (See Tom's previews for more details.). Watch for Belgian jazz pianist Ivan Paduart on Sept. 12, backed by Karrin Allyson's first-call rhythm section of Bob Bowman and Todd Strait. Drummer Strait is moving to Portland, Ore., so catch him while you can. The aforementioned Westport Art Ensemble performs Oct 10 and, lastly, we're bringing back K.C.'s Doug Talley Quartet, who may augment music from his last CD, "Kansas City Suite," with a slide show reviewing K.C.ís history on Dec. 5. Gotta split. I am so glad I heard Rosie Clooney at the now-defunct Rainbow Room in New York City a few years ago and heard and met Ray Brown at Topeka last year. Time is precious, so to quote Richard Alpert (Baba Ram Dass), "Be Here Now" rings more true today than ever before. Peace. The Butch Meister     Norman Hedman

BMFMain - Mission - Contact BMF - Happenings - Prez Sez - Articles - CD Reviews - Artists - Links