Question and Answer

Do you think the heyday of Kansas City jazz can ever be recaptured, and if so, what would it take to do that?

Unfortunately, no. It's 1995 and the cultural landscape is now very different. My choice is to look at the possibilities that present themselves now and that are unique to this time rather than to cry about a time that has passed. To me, this is more of a "jazz" way of going through life. Nostalgia is a dangerous thing that usually results in a passive and often unrealistic reaction to actual change. "Jazz" -- and I think of the word as more of a "process" than a "thing" -- is at its essence about action... and especially about being in the moment that you are in while you are in it. Not to say we shouldn't all hold high the standards of life and music as defined by the great musicians and people who have preceded us. But the same way those guys had barriers and difficulties that they had to transcend that were very particular to their time, so do we have now. The trick is to accurately identify things that are true, musically and otherwise, in the middle of the confusion, and hopefully manifest them into ideas and sounds that will inspire and enlighten people.