ESTABLISHED 2013
AUGUST 19-26, 2023
10 YEARS – SPOTLIGHT: CHARLIE PARKER IS BACK!
“Spotlight: Charlie Parker” is an annual Kansas City-wide celebration of the life and music of Kansas City’s native son, Charlie “Bird” Parker in August.
It’s a weeklong party centered around Mr. Parker’s birthday on August 29th!
Did you know…?
Your donation for KC Jazz ALIVE supports Spotlight: Charlie Parker, the annual multi-day festival focused on honoring Kansas City’s legendary Charlie “Yardbird” Parker and promoting many performances by the great generations creating the music on the scene today.
Donate Now to help bring in a featured Artist-in-Residence for a wrap-up concert event!
CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW
Who We Serve
Kansas City Jazz ALIVE, and its Spotlight Charlie Parker initiative, serves five subgroups within the Kansas City jazz sector base, including artists, students, educators, venue owners, and enthusiasts.
The primary purpose of the initiative is to…
Celebrate the genius of Charlie “Yardbird” Parker and the current generation of musicians through educational and performance related events,
Increase awareness of Kansas City and its vibrant jazz scene,
Support venue owners by driving audience business traffic to performances through focused marketing and strategic promotions,
Drive tangible economic impact to benefit KC, our artists and our venues,
Build collaborative partnerships across the world,
Support the jazz education of young musicians through applicable programming.
About S:CP 2022
In 2022alone, Spotlight Charlie Parker presented and highlighted a total of 24 events throughout Kansas City. A list of specific events and participant statistics are provided in this summary document. Of the 24 events held in 2022, statistics were collected at 16 events. The aggregate of these events includes the following statistical and demographic results…. Click here for the full report.
KC Jazz ALIVE, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the American Jazz Museum, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Mutual Musicians Foundation, the Bruce Watkins Cultural Center, the Burnett Music Foundation, and numerous other cultural and civic organizations have hosted jam sessions, tours, lectures, exhibits, panel discussions, poetry slams, workshops, and concerts celebrating Bird’s legacy while also spotlighting the contemporary musicians and venues in the Kansas City metropolitan area that perpetuate the style today.
KC Jazz ALIVE “Spotlights Charlie Parker” each August.
Supporting and elevating Jazz all year in the greater KC community aligns with the five pillars of our mission — Awareness, Listening, Ideas, Voice, and Exposure while being a nonaffiliated catalyst organization. Since 2014 KC Jazz ALIVE has been supporting artists, enthusiasts, and venue owners by raising the tides that lift all Jazz boats and increasing tangible engagement with the American Jazz aesthetic. As a catalyst organization, KC Jazz ALIVE builds Awareness of Kansas City’s vibrant Jazz scene. KC Jazz ALIVE is happily motivated to provide expanded promotion and publicity with an international reach for the KC’s annual Spotlight: Charlie Parker celebration.
To learn more about KC Jazz ALIVE, visit OUR WEBSITE + Get INVOLVED!
Also, visit the official Charlie Parker website at CharlieParkerMusic.com.