Jazz musicians in Kansas City shaped the genre in the 1920s and 1930s, and area artists like Bettye Wilson Miller contributed to the "modern jazz" movement from the 1950s to the 1970s. Bettye Wilson Miller, The Horseshoe Lounge (Demolished) in 1971 the site was demolished and replaced by a car dealership. 4ġ5. The popularity of the Pla-Mor ballroom declined in the 1940s as suburbanization drew populations out of the city and ballroom entertainment became less attractive. The ballroom permanently closed in 1951 with other attractions at the Pla-Mor complex following soon after. The legendary Kansas City venue opened on Thanksgiving 1927 to a crowd of 4,000 patrons who came out to dance to the sounds of the Jean Goldkette Orchestra.1 The Pla-Mor was home to more than music, and the complex claimed to be the largest indoor amusement center in the country in the 1920s, offering a bowling alley and billiards room underneath the ballroom and an ice hockey rink next door.4 In 1931 the Pla-Mor complex added the largest swimming pool west of the Mississippi.4 During its heyday the Ballroom welcomed jazz greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Claude "Fiddler" Williams, Louis Armstrong, and Frank Sinatra. We are proud to carry on this tradition and support the vibrant art form that is Kansas City jazz.The Pla-Mor Ballroom was a popular jazz venue and entertainment complex that operated from 1927 to 1951. The Majestic Restaurant features live Kansas City jazz nightly. Mixed in with these Kansas City jazz legends you will find many of the rising stars of the Kansas City jazz club scene. The Majestic Restaurant is proud to provide a venue to these incredible Kansas City jazz performers. Kansas City jazz is still alive and well with musicians like Bram Wijnands, Hermon Mehari, Peter Schlamb, Mark Lowrey, Matt Villanger, Ryan Lee and others. Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Jay McShann, and others played the nights away in Kansas City. Many great jazz musicians called Kansas City home. This type of free form music would later become world renowned as Kansas City jazz. This led to the birth of musical movements like “swing” and “bebop.” Jam sessions would start in the evening and often last until the sun rose. Kansas City jazz developed more of an improvisational sound. The arrival of so many talented musicians in Kansas City made this difficult. Previously, jazz had consisted of the “Big Band” style in which orchestras played well rehearsed songs for more reserved crowds. The influx of musicians from around the country sparked the creation of Kansas City jazz. This meant that musicians from around the Midwest knew that they could still find paying crowds in Kansas City. Pendergast kept the booze flowing in Kansas City during Prohibition and lessened the impact of the depression in Kansas City by creating “The 10 Year Plan.” This public works program kept Kansas Citians employed working on projects like the Downtown Airport, City Hall, Convention Center, and Municipal Courthouse. The forward thinking “Boss Tom” Pendergast had limited the impact of both in Kansas City. The Great Depression and Prohibition had limited the crowds and venues they played around the country. The late twenties and early thirties were difficult times for jazz musicians. This legacy of jazz is proudly preserved at The Majestic Restaurant’s Kansas City Jazz Club. The new sound was unique to Kansas City that drew in some of the finest musicians from around the country. Legendary Kansas City jazz districts like 12th Street and 18th and Vine showcased this sound and raised the spirits of depression-era Kansas City residents. Kansas City jazz was a vibrant form of music that was fostered at a time when Kansas City was considered “The Paris of the Plains.” This rebellious form of jazz grew out of the speakeasies and eventually filled dancehalls throughout the town. While this may be correct, it was in Kansas City that jazz truly came of age. Most music historians consider New Orleans the cradle of jazz. The Majestic Restaurant proudly features Kansas City jazz seven nights a week.
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