Marillac Center, Kansas City, MO

Matt’s trip to Kansas City is one he will always remember with extra special fondness.  There were SO many things he enjoyed about it.  The Marillac Center in KC brought him out to perform at the gorgeous Folly Theater.

The anticipation of the trip actually started before we even left New England.  Matt did a phone-in radio interview with Bill O’Connor, an extremely nice guy and the host of a show on KKFI-FM in KC.  Bill is a very nice man, who gave Matt a copy of Chick Corea’s CD, “The Leprechaun” when we finally met Bill in person in KC.  He’s also become a friend and supporter of Matt’s and now plays Matt’s music regularly on his radio show.

Our flight to KC arrived late, but Steve Irwin (from the Marillac Center) and his wife, Jo Boehr, took us out to dinner when we arrived.  Steve and Jo have been longtime supporters of the jazz community (along with their support for the Marillac Center!) and they know all of the jazz history and the musicians and places to go in the area.  They made the jazz part of KC come alive for us.

We went to The Majestic, a great steakhouse near the hotel at which we were staying, and a longtime KC landmark.  After a great meal, we went downstairs, where Joe Cartwright and Bob Bowman were performing for the evening.  Joe Cartwright is a phenomenal jazz pianist.  He’s performed with Grammy nominated Karrin Allyson, Eddie Harris, Mel Torme, and Tiger Okoshi, to name just a few people.  Matt watched Joe’s hands intently and was completely absorbed in his music.  Bob Bowman is Karrin Allyson’s bass player of choice.  He was great.  Matt’s drummer, Steve joined the duo, as there was a drum set sitting there (with no cymbals or drumsticks, just brushes!!!).  Still, the guys sounded great.  And then Matt sat in for a couple of songs.  It was a lot of fun, and good for Matt to hear topnotch live jazz.  Unfortunately, we were all tired, so we didn’t have as much time to listen to Joe and to Bob as we would have liked.

The next morning, we went to The American Jazz Museum at 18^th and Vine.  You can just feel the history of the area all around you and imagine the greats performing at nearby venues… We got a great tour around the museum, which was both informational and fun.  And then we walked around the corner to see the statue of Charlie Parker.

After lunch and a rest, we walked to The Folly Theater, which was next door to the hotel for a scheduled sound check and rehearsal.  Normally, the band doesn’t rehearse; they just do a quick sound check before the performance.  But, this gig was different.  The Matt Savage Trio was only a duo on this trip.  Matt and his drummer went to Kansas City to perform for The Marillac Center, but their usual bass player couldn’t make it.  So, we “drafted” a bass player from KC to fill in for the night.

The bassist of choice was Gerald Spaits.  He is a talented musician, with a style that is different from Matt’s usual bassist.  Matt loved the way his songs took on a unique sound and a new life just by having them performed by a different bass player.  Gerald has performed with Karrin Allyson, for those of you who are thinking, “Where have I heard Gerald’s name before?”  We made sure to put Gerald’s abilities to the test by not presenting him with Matt’s handwritten original music charts until the sound check/rehearsal.  Matt just assumed that Gerald would be able to learn his tunes immediately…and though Gerald needed a bit of help deciphering Matt’s messy handwriting, he picked up the music right away.  It’s funny, Matt has always played with the best musicians, and the best musicians can be given new music five minutes before a performance and then perform it in front of hundreds of people.  Matt assumes everyone can do this because HE can.  But, we have been told that this is a very difficult thing to do, and not every musician can do it.  So, it was a good thing Gerald is an excellent bass player!  We definitely need to put Matt’s compositions on a computer and print them so they are legible, however, if Matt is to perform with other musicians in the future.  Handwritten music just doesn’t cut it!  Plus, we’ll make sure to send Matt’s charts to musicians in advance next time! ;-)

Bobby Watson with Matt

There was one other reason that an advance rehearsal was needed.  Bobby Watson (Yes, THE Bobby Watson of Art Blakey fame) was to join the trio and make it into a quartet for most of the second set and the encore.  He, too, was given Matt’s original tunes at the rehearsal.  And he, too, made everything look easy. After all, he HAS played as sideman for the likes of Art Blakey, Sam Rivers, George Coleman, Lou Rawls, Rufus & Chaka Khan, Maynard Ferguson, Carmen Lundy, Bob Belden, John Hicks, Joe Williams and Wynton Marsalis as well as released 26 of his own CDs.  You know just from this that he’s one of the best sax players around!!!!  But, even having heard his music on CDs, I was floored by how phenomenally he plays in real life.  He is able to “bend” notes like I have never heard; and Matt is STILL ecstatic that Bobby could play two C’s above middle C on the sax to accommodate one of Matt’s tunes.  That was amazing.

Bobby and Gerald were accepting and wonderful with Matt, asking him details about his tunes and requesting clarification just as they would an adult musician.  And Matt answered them in kind.  It was not great musicians playing with a kid, it was musicians joining together to make the most beautiful music they could.  It was all teamwork and friendship and communication and laughs.  It was mutual respect.

John Jessup was the MC for the performance at the Folly Theater that evening.  John Jessup is a founding member of "VOICES &"  - a group of professional actors and commercial "voice-over" & "on-camera" talent.  John is president of the local chapter of A.F.T.R.A. - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists & has been involved in all aspects of TV & Radio Production in his 30-year career.  John was also the co-producer (along with Steve Irwin and Jo Boehr) of the Kansas City International Jazz Festival from 1996-1999.  In honor of Matt, who always wears his blue sneakers when he performs (even when he wears his tuxedo), John wore purple sneakers and a colorful tie and cumber bund with HIS tuxedo.  Matt got a good laugh out of that.

(l-r) Bobby Watson, Gerald Spaits, Matt Savage, Steve Silverstein, John Jessup

The concert itself was nothing short of memorable that evening.  The crowd was incredibly supportive and demonstrated their pleasure via loud cheers and clapping.  Matt had a wonderful time.  The first few songs of the first set were kind of warming up for the “new” trio, but by the third song they had their act together.  Matt said it felt great.  And the trio SOUNDED great from the audience’s perspective.  But, the second set was unreal!  The band and the audience both came alive when Bobby Watson came out onto the stage.  Matt and Bobby were totally musically connected, and traded off like they were longtime partners.  The few time there were lapses in communication due to Matt’s not being used to a quartet, the musicians (including Matt) recovered instantaneously.  I realized that I was one of only a few people in the audience who even noticed any lapses.  I was aware of every nuance onstage, but everyone else was just listening to the music that was being played.  There were big smiles of admiration and appreciation on ALL of the musicians’ faces.  And the crowd was going wild.  I became enthralled.  I couldn’t believe that the little boy on stage, jamming with Bobby Watson, was my son.  I’ve never felt like I was watching Matt the way other people see him before.  I was as excited and amazed and appreciative of Matt’s talent and comedic banter with the audience as everyone else.  It was a neat feeling.  I kept shaking my head in disbelief.  The evening was fun for absolutely everyone in attendance that evening.   And Bobby and Gerald have become Matt’s friends.  Matt learned SO much that evening…from how to perform with a quartet to how to listen and respond to the improvisations of his “guest” band members.  And, honestly, he learned much more from these gentlemen.  He saw adult jazz musicians whose love for the music was as alive as his own love for it.  He met kind, caring adults who epitomize the “good” in jazz.

I would like to thank Bobby Watson and Gerald Spaits very, very much for giving Matt a special memory and for teaching Matt new ways to look at his music.  And more thanks than I can ever give go out to The Marillac Center and Steve and Jo and the board at Marillac for giving Matt this wonderful and educational opportunity.  We’ll definitely return to KC!