KANSAS CITY'S BEST KEPT JAZZ SECRET: MILLIE EDWARDS
Okay, so we’re not really good at keeping secrets… but, we didn't get a chance to blog about this back when it happened: Blue Ridge was pleased to host jazz soloist, Millie Edwards this past September, and seeing as it is Black History Month and we have a display on Jazz right now, we'll tell you all about it! Accompanying Ms. Edwards during this visit was Caleb Aldrich on saxophone, Marc Caplan on drums, and Greg Meise on keyboard - and they all did wonderfully.
Millie Edwards is known as the tiny woman with the big voice. She has become a Kansas City staple thanks to that voice, wide range, and kind heart. As a regular on the local Jazz and Blues circuit, she often does performances as a soloist or as part of The Wild Women of Kansas City. A legitimate vocalist with a mature sound, she is certainly one of the city’s best kept secrets!
So come sit back, relax, and let Millie’s melodies move you!
April is Jazz Appreciation Month: Highlighting Millie Edwards
It’s the 10th year of The Smithsonian’s Jazz Appreciation Month(JAM). JAM was launched by the National Museum of American History in 2001 to recognize jazz as America’s original music. Jazz is both a living and historical national treasure of the United States. The range of emotions varies greatly within different jazz expressions. From sheer joy to pain, to the range of familiar emotions between the two, each jazz musician makes what is sung or played uniquely theirs.
Coming Soon To the Excelsior Springs Branch: KC's Best Kept Jazz Secret!!!
In honor of Jazz Appreciation Month, we have a special treat for you. The talented jazz musician Millie Edwards will be at the library with some fellow musicians. She is considered one of Kansas City's best kept jazz secrets, and this will be her third performance at the Excelsior Springs Branch. This program promises to be a warm and fun experience for people of all ages.
As someone who has lived most of his life in the Raytown area, I have always been a booster of the Raytown community. While I like the Raytown community, I have to admit, when people in the metropolitan area think of entertainment, we’re not real high on the list. I’ve never really been able to promote one of Kansas City’s best entertainers at the Raytown Branch for an evening of entertainment. Well, now I can.
I’ll leave up to you to decide, I don’t want to start a top billing fight here. Luckily for us, the music company did this work for us. The Duke Ellington & John Coltrane recording is fantastic! I didn’t even know it existed until I saw the movie Love Jones. It was recorded on September 16, 1962 and released in February 1963.
When I was 17 years old my best friend snuck me into my first jazz club, and that was all it took. Not exactly love at first sight – more like at first sound, but it was love just the same. With the choice to love jazz came another to spurn the more en vogue selections of the day. At that, I was officially a weird teenager. Okay, maybe there may have been some inherent strangeness prior to that, but jazz over grunge did not help me blend.
A friend is visiting from out of country, and I've been trying to introduce him to a bit of our fine city's culture. We've been to the Nelson-Atkins. We've walked around the Plaza. We've spent a few evenings in Westport and explored the Independence Square. But last night, he really got a taste of what Kansas City has to offer. We went down to 18th and Vine to enjoy a little night-life, complete with some local jazz!
I’ll leave up to you to decide, I don’t want to start a top billing fight here. Luckily for us, the music company did this work for us. The Duke Ellington & John Coltrane recording is fantastic! I didn’t even know it existed until I saw the movie Love Jones. It was recorded on September 16, 1962 and released in February 1963.
