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Clef Notes
Clef Notes

Clint Ashlock
Feb 27, 20232 min read
Celebrating Mary Lou's Legacy
There’s so much going on in the world of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra: concerts, recordings, parties, airports, and thankfully much...
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Clint Ashlock
Oct 19, 20222 min read
And We're Off!
The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra's 20th Anniversary Season started with a bang with what has been my favorite concert during my time with...
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Clint Ashlock
Jul 29, 20223 min read
Celebrating 20 Years
For 20 years, the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra has been in existence, and that’s pretty incredible. If you think about things that have...
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Clint Ashlock
Apr 18, 20223 min read
KCJO Presents Roaring KC
In the 1920s, Kansas City brought about a few developments that would eventually change the landscape of popular music in the world,...
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Nina Cherry
Apr 15, 20221 min read
KCJO Launches New Educational Programming, Jazz Café
Last month, KCJO successfully launched a new educational offering entitled Jazz Café as a part of our education program, JazzWorks. Jazz...
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Clint Ashlock
Jan 19, 20223 min read
Onward and Upward
“Onward and upward.” This is something the great Bobby Watson used to say when leaving a conversation or a rehearsal. The mindset of...
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Clint Ashlock
Oct 21, 20212 min read
Bird Lives! JazzWorks Recap
Photographs by Clint Ashlock An increasingly important component of The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra is our dedication to educational...
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Clint Ashlock
Oct 20, 20214 min read
Bird Lives Retrospective
Photographs by Suzanne Frisse One of the things about jazz that has always deeply moved me is the heritage; the cultural inheritance...
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Clint Ashlock
May 20, 20213 min read
Sound After Silence
By nature, I’m a pretty effusive person. I enjoy seeing positivity in the world, and I like expressing my reaction to it verbally....
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KC Jazz Orchestra
Feb 1, 20215 min read
Mamba Mentality
Mamba Mentality: To be on a constant quest to try to be the best version of yourself.
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KC Jazz Orchestra
Nov 13, 20204 min read
The Jazz Way
Bobby Watson would tell his students at UMKC about “the jazz way” of things. He’d relate proverbs from the legendary Art Blakey, like...
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KC Jazz Orchestra
Sep 4, 20203 min read
(Re)Taking the Stage
It goes without saying that 2020 has been challenging, in all regards. The music and arts world has felt the struggle something fierce,...
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KC Jazz Orchestra
Aug 13, 20202 min read
Fall Concert Updates
Hey, jazz fans! As you are aware, the current health crisis has brought live music performances to a halt in around the nation in recent...
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KC Jazz Orchestra
Jun 12, 20203 min read
Kansas City, Here We Come!
Hi folks! It's been a heck of a spring, for sure. On behalf of the band, I just want to say that we can't wait to get back onstage and...
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KC Jazz Orchestra
May 1, 20203 min read
KCJO @ Home
Hi, I’m Clint Ashlock, and I’m the artistic director of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra. As you maybe know, we usually put on concerts at...
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KC Jazz Orchestra
Mar 3, 20201 min read
Guest Artist Spotlight: Havana to Ipanema
If you don't already know them, allow me to introduce you to our two phenomenal guest artists for our Havana to Ipanema: KCJO Plays Latin...
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KC Jazz Orchestra
Feb 26, 20203 min read
Latin Jazz: A Match Made in Heaven
by guest writer Stanton Kessler Latin music has always been around us. Every Latin American country has its own special brand to...
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KC Jazz Orchestra
Jan 13, 20202 min read
Happy New Year!
Greetings from the Big Easy! I’ve been at the Jazz Education Network conference in New Orleans this week, and it has been a fantastic...
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KC Jazz Orchestra
Nov 4, 20192 min read
KC All Star Holidays
It’s already November! As we near the holiday season, we here at the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra would like to extend joy and love and, of...
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KC Jazz Orchestra
Sep 6, 20192 min read
The Cotton Club & the Harlem Renaissance
Cab Calloway. Bessie Smith. Lena Horne. Duke Ellington. For a couple decades starting in the 1920s, these legendary performers put on some
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