9:30 p.m., Friday, April 2

“The life of an artist has never been easy. It demands great sacrifice and discipline. In addition, most jazz musicians have had to endure discrimination, poverty and life on the road. Throughout it all, musicians remain committed to their mission: to create the most sincere, meaningful and beautiful jazz possible.” These powerful words describing the plight of the jazz musician seem to jump right off a large plaque nestled in a back corner as I take my seat at a round table at the Blue Room, 1616 E. 18th St. I look around and observe the dimly lit interior, bathed in blue, orange and red hues, as the featured band—the Luqman Hamza Quartet—plays a traditional jazz number. Pleasant notes saunter through the air, causing heads to bob and sway with the changing rhythmic pulse of the song. On tables all around me are the remnants of martinis and mixed drinks in highball glasses. The diverse crowd is made up of white-collared 30-something professionals and 50-plus jazz hipsters adorned with wing-tip shoes and derby hats. They focus their attention on the band with a certain intensity that is rare among listeners of live music. Conversations are kept to a minimum and take a back seat to the main attraction of this club: the music.

At set break, which comes just a few minutes after I sit down, I head over to the bar, down a set of stairs from where I sit. I order a gin and tonic and strike up a conversation with bartender Carl Anderson, 49, from Kansas City, Mo., who introduces himself as the “first original master bartender” of The Blue Room, adding that he’s been at the The Blue Room since “day one.” Day one, he explains, came six years ago when it was resurrected from the decrepit remains of the once-famous 1930s and ‘40s jazz hot spot, the El Capitan Club. Anderson tells me that the building of The Blue Room came through the efforts of former Kansas City mayor and jazz enthusiast Emanuel Cleaver to breathe life back into this once-hopping district in downtown Kansas City. Anderson says the various clubs that once surrounded where The Blue Room now sits had a worldwide notoriety in the ‘20s and ‘30s. Famed jazz musicians, such as Charlie Parker, Fats Waller and Count Basie, came from all over to play in this area.

A quick history lesson and one gin and tonic down, I leave The Blue Room and head up the street to the Red Vine Cajun Restaurant and Jazz House, 1700 E 18th St. The Red Vine’s illuminated street sign bears the slogan, “a blend of Bourbon Street with a touch of Vine.” I walk in and immediately see the connection: red and orange tapestries adorning the walls are interspersed with ornate candelabras and large impressionistic paintings of jazz trumpeters, piano players and drummers, making me feel as though I’ve been transported to a back alley jazz hole on Bourbon Street. Sebrina McCrainey, owner of the club and KU alumna, tells me that the Red Vine, which is only a year old, is a “destination” restaurant because of its location in the historical 18th and Vine area. “People enjoy the history here, the culture and being on Vine,” McCrainey says.

After an hour and a half spent absorbing the ornate scenery at the Red Vine, I head back down to The Blue Room to catch the end of the Luqman Hamza Quartet’s set. Hamza, a piano player with an incredibly smooth, yet powerful voice that falls somewhere in between Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, finishes his set with an upbeat swing number. After the show, I strike up a quick conversation with Hamza while the rest of the band packs up their gear. A native of the Kansas City area, Hamza has been active on the KC jazz scene since the 1930s when he was a teenager. “This place has been a living room for me,” he says.

Hamza names Charlie Parker and Miles Davis as some of the greats he’s sat in with in his decades of playing in Kansas City.

At 12:30, the crowd is all but completely cleared out, save a few finishing their drinks, the band still packing up their gear and a man intently fiddling with the club’s soundboard. I walk over to him and strike up what is to be my last conversation of the night.

The man is Kansas City, Mo., native Karle Robinson, 47, a regular attendee at The Blue Room who works the soundboard on weekend nights. Robinson is a jazz enthusiast and has a week-day blues and jazz show called “Afternoon Jazz with KC” on the Kansas City community-run radio station 90.1 KKFI. Robinson says that the Kansas City jazz district has been neglected at the hands of politicians who “don’t care about music culture.”

“They haven’t finished what they started,” he says, referring to the revitalization process that began six years ago. “It’s made headway by building shops, restaurants and other attractions downtown, but it needs to continue along those lines.”

Nearing 1 a.m., The Blue Room closes and I make my way out the door. I reflect back on the night, the people, the sights and the sounds I’ve encountered, and I can’t help but feel as though I’m taking a piece of the jazz culture and history with me.

Contact writer at:

cbrown@kansan.com