However, while he praises Owsley's book, the reviewer hits what many St. Louis jazz fans will hear as a sour note with the very beginning of the piece:
"Sure, St. Louis can show Kansas City a thing or two about building a pennant-winning team. But these days its once-mighty jazz scene pales next to Kansas City’s."Now, I'll grant you that Mr. Klopus has every right to be bummed about the continued ineptitude of the Kansas City Royals, especially when compared to our World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. But all kidding aside, I'm not buying his contention that that KC scene is clearly superior to ours, at least not without some evidence, and so I've emailed him:
Hello, Mr. Klopus -I enjoyed reading your review of Dennis Owsley’s book City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis 1895 –1973. However, I must take exception to the notion that the present-day jazz scene in St. Louis “pales” in comparison to that of Kansas City.
Yes, KC has a few things St. Louis doesn’t – for example, our daily newspaper doesn’t have a designated jazz columnist, though there is some coverage from the pop critic and others. The American Jazz Museum certainly looks like a nice asset to the community, and the KC Jazz Ambassadors seem to be a worthy organization, with a good- looking magazine and Web site.
Yet, looking through that Web site, as well your own paper’s entertainment listings and various other information available on the Web, I’m not seeing evidence of the sort of clear superiority that your phraseology implies. Both St. Louis and Kansas City have clubs, concert venues, and universities with active jazz programs. Both seem to have an ample supply of local musicians, and both have produced musicians who have had success on a national or international level. And both cities have a big jazz outdoor festival and several smaller ones.
Moreover, the St. Louis area does have some things Kansas City seems to lack, like a 24-hour jazz radio station (WSIE) and independent jazz labels (Maxjazz and Mel Bay Records) with diverse talent rosters and international distribution. And while KC’s Blue Room sounds like a swell joint, it doesn’t appear to offer the quantity or variety of touring jazz talent heard at St. Louis venues Jazz at the Bistro and Finale Music and Dining.
This should not be interpreted as a slam on Kansas City or its music scene. It’s a good town, and I’ve enjoyed my occasional visits and/or gigs there. And I’m certainly not claiming the St. Louis jazz scene is above reproach, or anywhere close to it. But if you’re going to claim superiority for Kansas City, please provide some evidence. Arguing by assertion, or assumption, just doesn’t cut it, and if I'm missing out on something with regard to the KC scene, I'd like to know about it.
Sincerely,
Dean Minderman
St. Louis Jazz Notes (http://stljazznotes.blogspot.com)
StLJN will let you know, O valued readers, if and when there's a response from Mr. Klopus. If you'd like to express your own opinion, you can call him at (816) 234-4751; send e-mail to jklopus@kcstar.com; or write 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64108. (This information is published at the bottom of his column, so I'm taking that as an invitation for reader feedback. But please, do try to be civil and coherent.)
And in the meantime, feel free to use the comments here to expound on this topic. Is Kansas City's jazz scene clearly better than what we have in St. Louis? Is STL better than KC? Or are the two about the same, with some good points and some drawbacks? What do you think?
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