A blogger in Omaha shared their American Jazz Walk of Fame weekend and reported a thoroughly wonderful cultural and entertaining experience. VisitKC’s (Convention & Visitors Bureau) partnership expanded our reach to include their members and partners in the region. We received public service announcements on radio station KKFI and cable television station 2 – the City of Kansas City, Missouri public access station. KPRS was also on-site broadcasting live from the VIP reception. Radio ads were placed on Carter Broadcasting (KPRS) 103.3. Print ads have been placed in the Kansas City Call, Globe and JAM Magazine. Building upon our internet and social media experience last year, we sent email blasts and Facebook posts to a growing audience. Our marketing campaigns have included mounting billboards strategically placed to be viewed by the widest cross section of highway travelers. Since then, we have hosted free fireworks celebration on July 3, celebrating Independence Day in the Jazz District. The free concerts, occurring on the North side of the Museums on 18 th &Vine, welcomed hundreds who brought lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy a variety of musical entertainment during hot summer nights in the Jay McShann Pavilion. Portions of this video were provided courtesy of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.Īn added feature of the 2015 American Jazz Walk of Fame was a free summer concert series held every Sunday evening from July 4 through August 30, 2015. Over the past six years, concert headliners have included the Count Basie Orchestra, Bobby Watson, Regina Belle, Paula Saunders, Kevin Mahogany, Norman Brown, Queen Bey, Al Jarreau, Ellis Marsalis, Ramsey Lewis, Ida McBeth, Marilyn Maye, David Sanborn, Raheem DeVaughn and Oleta Adams.ĭuring the concert, a video, acknowledging the role Kansas City and specifically 18 th& Vine played in the evolution of jazz and the development of jazz artists in history, is presented to an audience of 500 in the Gem Theater. Visitors have the benefit of enjoying this history and culture for many years.įollowing the induction, a concert, featuring top shelf entertainment, has been presented to a sold-out crowd of 500 at the Gem Theater in the 18th & Vine District. The bronze medallions are a permanent feature that is not tied to the annual event date. For the past six years and for the next year, the induction activities will take place on 18th street between Paseo and Woodland in Kansas City, Missouri. The names of the inductees are unveiled on bronze medallions before a large audience including representatives of the honorees who are presented replicas of the medallions. John Bluford, retired CEO of Truman Medical Center, chaired the 2014 & 2015 Walk of Fame Selection committee and Darwin Curls, chaired the 2016, 2017, 20 Walk of Fame Selection committee. The Induction Ceremony takes place outside in front of the medallion installation location. The annual event includes a reception for sponsors followed by the induction ceremony which is free and open to the public. Ella Fitzgerald, Oliver Todd, Ben Kynard, Ida McBeth, Sonny Kenner, Jery Leiber & Mike Stoller, Marilyn Maye, David Sanborn, Oleta Adams, Harry Belefonte, Leon Brady, Dr. Those artists included: Bennie Moten, Claude Fiddler Williams, Coleman Randolph Hawkins, Myra Taylor, Lester Young, Everette DeVan, Melba Liston, Ben Webster, Queen Bey, Louis Armstrong, George Benson, Nina Simone, Luqman Hamza, Thelonious Monk, Ramsey Lewis. Subsequent years have honored twenty-eight additional artists and their medallions were placed in front of the Gem Theater and near the Blue Room. Their medallions were placed in front of the American Jazz Museum. For the inaugural event, the inductees were: William “Count” Basie, “Charlie” Parker, Jr., Mary Lou Williams, Jay McShann, Pat Metheny and Bobby Watson. Since 2014, The American Jazz Walk of Fame has commemorated the legends who have contributed to the jazz culture of Kansas City and the world by immortalizing their names in 30-inch bronze medallions installed in the sidewalks on 18th Street.
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