Special Collections
The Mutual Musicians Foundation
Photograph Collection
The Photo Collection | AFM Local 627 History | Local 627 Web Exhibit Project
The Mutual Musicians Foundation Photograph Collection chronicles the history of the Kansas City, Missouri Musicians Protective Union Local 627 (American Federation of Musicians), from its establishment in 1917 to the present day. The 700 piece collection includes signed portraits of members of Local 627, coverage of union functions and social events, as well as group photos of the legendary bands of Andy Kirk, Harlan Leonard, Jay McShann, Bennie Moten, Count Basie, George E. Lee, the Blue Devils and other bands that created the internationally recognized Kansas City style of jazz. The photos include 8" x 10" glossy black and white shots, oversize images and color snapshots. The collection is housed in eleven boxes and is held in the Department of Special Collections. Three hundred photos from the collection have been identified and digitized, with photographic negatives of each created and housed in archival sleeves along with the original prints. The preservation of the remaining photographs is currently in process.
Musicians Protective Union Local 627, American Federation of Musicians
Established in 1917, Local 627, then known as the “Colored Musicians Union,” initially included 25 members and sponsored a 14-piece orchestra for social events, promenades and theaters. The union, founded by musicians who played music primarily as an avocation, quickly grew into an organization of professionals. By 1919, Local 627 fielded three concert bands for a Labor Day parade. The next year members established an official headquarters on 18th Street. The union operated as a social center, a clearinghouse for engagements, and as a vehicle for grievances against unfair practices by booking agents and band leaders. Affiliated with the national American Federation of Musicians, members touring the country enjoyed the same considerations as their white counterparts. The jazz style pioneered by the members of Local 627 developed along original lines influenced by, yet unique from, the traditions of New Orleans, Chicago and New York.
Kansas City, ripe with plum jobs and immoderate nightlife, became a favored stop on the territorial band circuit. Walter Page’s Blue Devils and the legion of other bands from the Southwest were known as territorial bands after the vast areas they toured across the western United States. Bennie Moten and George E. Lee, eager to establish their own circuit, readily swapped territories with Walter Page, Andy Kirk and other band leaders from the Southwest. This free flow of bands and musicians from the Southwest strengthened and enhanced Kansas City’s jazz tradition. The ranks of the Musicians Protective Union Local 627 swelled from 87 members in 1927 to 347 by 1930. By 1929, the union members outgrew their modest headquarters in the Rialto Building at 18th and Vine. The increased membership and the strong leadership of newly elected President, William Shaw, enabled the union to buy a building (shown left) for its new headquarters, fulfilling a long-time dream of members.
Elected President in 1928, Shaw (shown right) transformed the union, instilling pride, discipline and professionalism in its ranks. Under Shaw’s stewardship, the union bought a plain brick, two-story apartment building (above left) and small house at 1823-25 Highland for its headquarters. Sketching out their dream, the musicians drafted plans for studios, a Conservatory of Music and Dance and a dance hall on the second floor of their new headquarters. Taking the lead, Shaw raised the money to convert the apartment building into a proper headquarters with a mammoth benefit dance at Paseo Hall in early December, 1929. The resounding financial success of the ball bankrolled the remodeling of the new headquarters.
The union dedicated its new home on Sunday, May 4, 1930 during National Music Week, an annual event sponsored by the American Federation of Musicians. A panoramic group photo (below) of members proudly lined up in front of their new union hall commemorated the event. The celebration began promptly at 4:00 p.m., with a parade by the membership, led by a 50-piece marching band.
The festivities continued the next evening with a battle of the bands at Paseo Hall, pitting eight bands in a battle royal: Paul Banks’ 10 Rhythm Aces versus Bill Little and His Little Bills, Elmer Payne’s Music Masters against Julius Banks’ Red Devils, Andy Kirk’s 12 Clouds of Joy opposing Jasper Allen’s Southern Troubadours, and Bennie Moten and His 14 Victor Artists battling George E. Lee and His Brunswick Recorders. The battle commenced at 9:00 p.m. and continued until daybreak with the combatants exchanging musical volleys from the bandstands on either side of the Hall. Once established, the building remained the union’s headquarters until 1970 when Local 627 merged with the white Local 34.
-- Excerpted from Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime To Bebop by Chuck Haddix
Mutual Musicians Foundation History Web Exhibit Documenting Kansas City’s Protective Union Local 627
The William T. Kemper Foundation awarded $10,000 to the UMKC University Libraries to create an Internet Web exhibit on the history of Kansas City's Local 627, the African-American Musicians Union, founded in 1917, and now known as the Mutual Musicians Foundation. The Web exhibit, Musicians Local No. 627 and the Mutual Musicians Foundation: The Cradle of Kansas City Jazz, is accessible to anyone around the world interested in the history of jazz in America. The Mutual Musicians Foundation building is a national historic landmark located at 1823 Highland Avenue in the Historic 18th and Vine Jazz District.
The Web exhibit is an exciting venue to present historic information, including photos and sound recordings, on this important Kansas City institution for today's audiences. The award was granted on May 14, 2004. The project estimated cost is $14,500. The project was completed April 30, 2005 in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Musicians Association Building, which was originally dedicated on May 4, 1930 (see photo above).
This community project partners the Mutual Musicians Foundation, the William T. Kemper Foundation, Mrs. Betty Crow, and the UMKC University Libraries. The Mutual Musicians Foundation history Website project documents the vibrant and diverse cultural life of Kansas City, demonstrating that UMKC and the UMKC University Libraries are “an essential community partner and resource.”
Mrs. Betty Crow, board member of the Mutual Musicians Foundation (MMF), approached the UMKC University Libraries with a bold plan to preserve the heritage of Local 627 and the MMF, a vitally important institution in the history of Kansas City and the history of jazz in America. Mrs. Crow and the MMF Board envision the need for a strong MMF presence in the Kansas City community, which will actively promote jazz history, the history of the African-American musicians in Local 627, and actively partner with the exciting developments of the jazz district at 18th and Vine. To this purpose, the MMF Board transferred its collection of nearly 700 photographs to the UMKC University Libraries and Mrs. Crow gave a generous personal contribution of $10,000 as seed funding to start the photographic preservation work (September 2003).
The Mutual Musicians Foundation Photograph Collection includes signed portraits of members of the African-American Protective Union Local 627, Kansas City, coverage of union functions and social events, as well as group photos of the legendary bands of Andy Kirk, Harlan Leonard, Jay McShann, Bennie Moten, Count Basie, George E. Lee, the Blue Devils and other bands that created the internationally recognized Kansas City style of jazz. Most of the collection has been processed and is held in the Kenneth J. LaBudde Special Collections Department in the UMKC Miller Nichols Library.
The UMKC University Libraries partnered successfully with the MMF Board and Mrs. Crow on MMF projects in 2003, including creating temporary wall displays for the 25th October 2003 celebrations for the re-dedication of the Foundation building site at 1823 Highland Avenue as a National Park Service Historic Landmark.
Based on enthusiastic support from the UMKC University Libraries and the MMF Board, Mrs. Crow proposed that the University Libraries ask for project support from the William T. Kemper Foundation on behalf of the Mutual Musicians Foundation. Dr. Ted P. Sheldon, Dean and Director of the UMKC University Libraries, now retired, submitted a proposal for the project in December 2003.
Mrs. Crow and the MMF Board think the UMKC University Libraries are a logical choice for the Local 627-Mutual Musicians Foundation Web exhibit because of the strength of its holdings in Kansas City history from the LaBudde Special Collections Department and the Marr Sound Archives. The University Libraries have a proven track record in creating innovative local history websites. The digital projects include: “Club Kaycee: The History of Kansas City Jazz” (an initial partnership with the KC Star newspaper); “Kansas City – Paris of the Plains: The Jazz Age in Kansas City, 1920-1940”; and “Voices of World War II: Experiences From the Front and at Home – KMBC Radio,” featuring speeches, contemporary news broadcasts, and popular music in a partnership with the Truman Presidential Museum and Library and the Missouri State Library/LSTA federal grant. All three of the digital projects include full-length audio recordings, graphics, and text. The sound recordings for these projects are from the collections of the Marr Sound Archives in the Miller Nichols Library. All of these digital library projects can be accessed from the University Libraries Website address at library.umkc.edu.
UMKC University Libraries staff working on the Local 627-Mutual Musicians Foundation Web exhibit project include (in alphabetical order): Marilyn Carbonell, Assistant Director for Collection Development; Chuck Haddix, Marr Sound Archives Specialist; and Robert C. Ray, Special Collections Librarian. Dr. Joan FitzPatrick Dean, Curators' Distinguished Teaching Professor, UMKC Department of English, is the Interim Dean of the University Libraries.
Click below to visit the Web exhibit
Musicians Local No. 627 and the Mutual Musicians Foundation: The Cradle of Kansas City Jazz
Special Collections is a non-circulating and non-browsing resource center. The Special Collections Reading Room is open to researchers Monday through Friday during the academic year. Public service hours for the current semester are listed at http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col/index.html#hours but researchers are encouraged to call ahead for verification of hours due to University intersessions and other events. Special Collections is located on the fourth floor of the Miller Nichols Library at 5100 Rockhill Road in Kansas City, Missouri. All inquiries concerning access to the collections should be addressed to Special Collections Library Information Specialists Teresa Gipson or Kelly McEniry.
| Teresa Gipson Special Collections Library Information Specialist Miller Nichols Library 5100 Rockhill Rd Kansas City, MO 64110 (816) 235-1532 Teresa Gipson Fax (816) 333-5584 |
Kelly McEniry Special Collections Library Information Specialist Miller Nichols Library 5100 Rockhill Rd Kansas City, MO 64110 (816) 235-1532 Kelly McEniry Fax (816) 333-5584 |
