

Situated in the Garment district, the hotel is on the National Historic Registry and the oldest building in Kansas City. The Phoenix is located in the heart of Kansas City on the first floor of the historical Phoenix Hotel. In this list, we’ll look at our top five. There are not quite as many jazz clubs today as there were in the 1930s but there are still more than 40 venues dotted around the city that feature regular live jazz. However, we can say that it solidified itself as an American phenomenon right here in Kansas City. It’s difficult to pin down the precise beginnings of jazz. Big names, such as Count Basie, flocked to the city where, at one time, there were more than 100 nightclubs dedicated to the genre. In the early 20th century, Kansas City was the epicentre of jazz in the US. During this era, the city birthed some of the greatest musicians in jazz, including Charlie Parker, Bennie Moten and Andy Kirk. The sub-genre developed out of the big band style of the 1920s and 30s and gave way for the groundbreaking sounds of bebop. Kansas City played such a vital role in the development of modern jazz that it has its own style named after it: ‘Kansas City jazz’.

In this article, we’ll look at the city’s best jazz clubs which are keeping its world-famous jazz scene alive and kicking.

From the 1920s through to today, jazz has been a huge part of Kansas City culture.
