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Title: Good overview
Review: This book provides a good overview of the early Kansas City jazz scene. I had forgotten how many great players came from, or passed through, KC. The names are all familiar, but I now have a better understanding of how the names fit in the development of KC jazz. Personally, I appreciated the pages dedicated to the history of KC and the information that explains how and why the town was "wide open." Had the city not been this way early on, the music scene certainly would have turned out different. I also like the inclusion (p. 201) of early Down Beat writer Dave Dexter's explanation on how KC style jazz (or Southwester jazz) was different than New Orleans and Chicago jazz. Several years ago I got to visit the American Jazz and Negro Leagues Baseball Museums in the 18th and Vine neighborhood; I wish I had read this book before I made the visit. I feel a road trip coming on . . . "I'm going to Kansas City. Kansas City hear I come . . ."
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