Kansas City

Kansas City, Missouri is the home of KC swing, jazz, gospel and the blues. The City’s rich historical legacy of music includes a transformational chapter in the history of American jazz and swing music. Based in Kansas City, Missouri a number of bands developed a unique sound that radically transformed the traditional jazz genre of New Orleans into a modern musical idiom. The Kansas City swing sound is based in the blues, rooted in a 4/4 rhythm, and connected to the city’s tradition of competitive creative innovation through all night “jam sessions” and battles of the bands. This tradition of swing laid the foundation for the rise of Kansas City natives, Ben Webster and Charlie Parker, Jr – who transformed American jazz music and invented the new genre of Bebop.

The city’s historical legacy of jazz is rooted in the Negro Music Association and Local 627, the “colored” musicians’ chapter of the American Federation of Musicians (A.F. of M). Visitors to Kansas City today can tour the 18^thand Vine Jazz District and the “oldest jazz house” in the United States at 1823 Highland Avenue – a National Historic Landmark. Additional local destinations include the American Jazz Museum, the Gem Theater, the Black Archives of Mid America, and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

Beyond 18^thand Vine, the city has a diversity of musical venues, university and music education programs, including the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, and a vibrant music scene. The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts provides a landmark for the city’s Crossroads Arts District, which is also the home to Folk Alliance International, an organization dedicated to the presentation of folk music globally. Visitors can experience a broad range of local heritage – and living traditions at The Museum of Kansas City. 

Kansas City has employed creativity in the revitalization of neighborhoods across the region. The area is home to a concentration of architecture, design and engineering firms that shape the city’s local employment and creative economy. Recent efforts to integrate technology into the city’s transportation networks and downtown area highlight the role of the media arts. Gastronomy is alive and well in the city with a vibrant farm to market movement, creative leadership from local chefs, and a growing community food movement, not to mention the gastronomy of KC BBQ known around the world.

Kansas City has deep roots in international cooperation as the headquarters of People to People – founded in 1961 to foster “citizen diplomacy” around the world, an active Sister Cities program, and the local organization Global Ties – which all keep the city connected with the world. Kansas City has active sister city relationships with 14 sister cities, including Seville, Spain, Guadalajara, Mexico, Hannover Germany, Morelia, Mexico, and Metz, France – each of which is a UCCN member city. 

Mission of the Kansas City UNESCO City of Music

As a Creative City of Music, Kansas City is working to:

• promote jazz heritage as a driver for sustainable development through city-adopted policies for neighborhoods, with jazz music being the principal component;
• implement cultural planning according to the universal values carried by Local 627 African American jazz musicians union, to honor and valorize the historic and existing culture of the 18th and Vine Historic District, and local neighborhoods;
• build an economic development plan in the city’s urban core and cultural tourism sites which will include a strong international component and connect to countries with an interest in jazz and Black American Music; and
• engage other Creative Cities through musical collaborations including the Voyage of the Drum, aimed to foster inter-cultural understanding, tolerance and mutual respect through music.
• supporting the UNESCO Creative Cities Network at regional, national and international levels through creative leadership, advocacy and solidarity.