I’m goin’ to Kansas City,
Kansas City here I come
They got a crazy way of lovin’ there,
and I’m gonna get me some
I’m gonna be standing on the corner,
of Twelfth Street and Vine
With my Kansas City baby,
and a bottle of Kansas City wine…
Twelfth Street and Vine doesn’t seem to be there anymore, but 18th and Vine is where you go now to hear the music and learn about the history of jazz. We spent some time at the wonderful American Jazz Museum, right in the heart of the area where the jazz clubs created that special Kansas City sound.
What goes with the music? Why, Kansas City BBQ, ribs, ‘burnt ends’ and all the fixings. And the place to go – judging from the fact that every single presidential candidate makes sure to eat there – is famous Arthur Bryant’s. It may not look like much, but boy, is it good!
Don’t worry – we got some art in too, at the Nelson-Atkins Museum and the Kemper Contemporary Art Center. The modern part of the NA is – like all of today’s newer museum spaces – a bit in competition with the contents. Very nice, and very high quality. We saw some great Wayne Thiebaud works, local boy Thomas Hart Benton’s ink drawings, Donald Judd of Marfa fame, and others you will probably recognize.
