Zoo Bar to feature jamming jazz session
Jazz elder Claude “Fiddler” Williams will perform at the Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th St., Nov. 29-30.
By Robert Richardson
Senior Reporter_
On Friday, four musicians are
planning a jam session at the Zoo Bar.
The group members have played
together in the past, but are not part of
a regular band. And the sound they’ll
bring is pure Kansas City jazz.
Claude “Fiddler” Williams, swing
fiddle; Frank Smith, piano and vo
cals; Bryan Hicks, acoustic bass and
vocals and Omahan Gayland Prince
on drums will attempt to make beau
tiful music together.
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Smith, a Kansas City native who
now resides in Overland Park, Kan.,
sti 11 occasional ly plays w i th W i 11 iams
and Hicks. Professional musicians,
he said, can play with anybody, any
time.
“Good musicians don’t worry about
that,” Smith said. “We have acquired
a certain amount of skill, dexterity
and knowledge on the instrument. So
when we get together with some guy
that’s equally as proficient we don’t
have any problems.”
Smith may be talking about Wil
liams. An, 83-year-old Muskogee,
Okla., native, Williams moved to
Kansas City in 1928. He’s been making
his living with music ever since.
As a young guitarist, one of the
first gigs he played was with the origi
nal Count Basie Band in the 1930s.
But the versatile Williams also had
stints playing the mandolin, cello and
ukulele. And now the fiddle, which
makes up his nickname, is his weapon
of choice.
But those who don’t follow jazz
music or history might not have heard
of Williams who is somewhat of a
legend in his own day. But Smith said
that’snot unusual and that he’s disap
pointed that jazz isn’t as hot as it was
in the past.
“I was raised in this area and cer
tainly music was here and prevalent,”
Smith said.
“So 1 had the chance to hear all the
good players and be inspired by them.
This has certainly been a nuo ior goou
music for many years, but it’s changed
over the last 20 years. It’s certainly
not what it used to be.”
But Smith, who has played all over
the world and says he still gets nerv
ous before he plays, said the music he
plays isn’t appreciated as much on
the home front either.
“The thing that’s very sickening
and frustrating to me is that Europe
and Japan and some of the other
countries appreciate jazz much more
than Americans,” Smith said. “In other
words, the people in this country just
take it for granted.”
However, the music thathas given
Smith a comfortable living is some
thing that he feels can make a come
back, if people just have a chance to
hear it. This is one of the reasons
Smith plays for groups made up of
school children, in a project called
“Young Audience.”
“This is primarily for school chil
dren,” Smith said. “It’s just amazing
how much the kids really appreciate
what we play. They never really get a
chance to hear this kind of thing.
They can get all the rap and heavy
metal and all the other stuff and so
what we play is really refreshing for
them. And I think that would be the
same thing with John Q. Public.”
Playing music for any group is
important to Smith. He likes to show
case his talents, which aren’t limited
to just piano and vocals. Smith also
composes his own tunes. This, he
said, is another thing he’s happy to be
able to do, and just might give him an
edge on other musicians.
“Well, it gives you more of an
outlet for various things,” Smith said.
“You see, if I was just a player then
I’d be playing other people’s compo
sitions, which is fine. But this gives
me an opportunity to express myself
even more so because I can write
what I feel. And I write in various
styles. I don’t just write in one style.
In fact, I don’t really like to be called
a jazz player because I play lots of
different styles.”
Smith and the others will play at
the Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th street Friday
and Saturday. The cover is $4.
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