8/12/2023 0 Comments Live jazz music kansas city![]() “The pandemic shut everything down, and I lost a gig that Sunday,” she said. Jackie Myers, a pianist and singer for 10 years, began hosting livestreamed performances from her home early in March. In fact, nearly half of all musicians surveyed by JazzFuel have performed a livestream concert since lockdown. In the absence of in-person gatherings, livestreaming has become a popular alternative for musicians looking to make up for lost gigs. Using technology to reach Kansas City audiences Of the 700 applicants, 25% were musicians and dancers, Boutros said. The fund’s first two cycles received 700 applications, according to Christine Boutros, the grants and awards programs manager at Charlotte Street. The first and second cycles of the fund, launched in 2020, distributed $210,000 in emergency grants to 210 local artists within 80 miles of Kansas City, Missouri. The Charlotte Street Foundation, a local arts organization, has been issuing grants to artists by way of their Rocket Relief Fund. Kansas City’s 18th & Vine District, famous for its jazz. “We took the approach that if you’re missing a gig, you’re missing 150 bucks,” he said. The organization also tapped its own treasury for about $18,000 that it had raised over the years, administering a total of $28,000 in gig grants in 2020. ![]() So far, they’ve received about $10,000 in contributions, according to Edelman. KC Jazz Ambassadors set up a virtual tip jar for people to donate to the group’s Musicians Assistance Fund. In order to compensate for the sudden loss in income, many musicians have turned to grants and other external resources. And it’s hard to do when suddenly 90% of that work disappeared.” Helping Kansas City jazz musicians make ends meet “They might get $150 a night here, 75 bucks to play a restaurant there, maybe they’re lucky and they get a wedding and they get $200, but you have to add all that up every week. Theirs is the original gig economy,” said Mark Edelman, the president of the KC Jazz Ambassadors, an organization that works to preserve the cultural heritage of jazz in Kansas City by supporting and promoting musicians, students, businesses and fans of the jazz community. “You hear people talk about working for Uber or freelancing, but musicians have always had to do that. Of the musicians surveyed, 61% said their 2020 income would be at least 50% lower than in 2019, with 30% saying their income would be more than 75% less. The average jazz musician had 35.5 gigs cancelled in 2020, according to a survey conducted by JazzFuel, a site that provides industry insight to independent jazz musicians. “Money had actually come to a screeching halt for at least two to three months,” said Tyree Johnson, a professional drummer of 15 years. ![]() “I’ve been making most of my income from gigs for the last few years, and for it to all just go away and not know when it was going to get back was a bit devastating,” said Aryana Nemati, who has played the saxophone for jazz bands for nearly a decade.Īfter the stay-at-home order in March requiring all nonessential businesses and services to close down, jazz artists in Kansas City suddenly found themselves without a major source of income: live gigs. It’s still unclear how many will survive the pandemic. The result? Many jazz clubs stopped live performances or closed indefinitely, ending gigs for many local jazz musicians. Event spaces had to submit a waiver to be granted a 50-person maximum. 19, the City Council limited indoor gatherings to a maximum of 10 people in response to COVID-19. Since then, it’s become a cultural pillar of the city, with more than 40 venues regularly hosting jazz music - at least before the pandemic.īefore loosening some restrictions on Feb. The genre originated among the Black community of New Orleans in the early 20th century before becoming popular among the African American community of Kansas City in the 1920s. Kansas City, while famous for football and barbecue, is arguably most known for its contributions to jazz. ![]()
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