Last Friday was pretty much the perfect Classic Kansas City night for your pal the Wayward Son. I started off hanging with the hippies, getting kicked out of El Torreon and going over to the Tower Tavern for drinks. Brewer and Shipley were there. The Royals were winning. After a couple of hours and several cocktails, I see my neighbor, Rogers, truckin' down the sidewalk. I rush out and grab him, and Rogers tells me he's headed to a new jazz club on Troost. A jazz club on Troost!? Phase two of the night had just been launched.
Approaching midnight, I found myself installed within a cozy, narrow storefront joint at 3226 Troost. Name: Gi Gi's Jazz Inn and Art Gallery. It was BYOB that night, so Rogers and I had stopped by the gas station on Linwood and Gillham for beers. The crowd was sparse, older and finely appointed. African-American couples in their 40s and 50s dressed to the nines occupied a few of the tables in front of the small, mid-room stage, on which the Horace Washington Quartet (you won't find 'em online) dished out a blend of jazz standards, funk and a little fusion.
Gi Gi's is a family place. It's named for Sharon "Gi Gi" Hill and is run by her daughter, Neecy Michel (who is one of the sweetest people I've ever met, and I really really hope I didn't misspell her name, but, alas, I probably did). Adding the art into the equation, the walls are bedecked with the paintings of paterfamilias Gene Garland, Sharon's husband and Neecy's father, and, man, I had never seen art like this. I spent more time looking at the paintings -- Gene's son, Mike, was kind enough to give my drunk eyeballs an art tour -- than anything else.
Garland covers his canvases with nightlife scenes real and imagined, swirling with gorgeous dames, dapper-dressed men and swinging musicians. Though most of the paintings on display at Gi Gi's were completed within the past few years, many of them feature recreations of famous Kansas City clubs, like Bobby's Hangout. Others imagine the '20s and '30s in Paris and New Orleans. As a student in the late '60s, Garland spent several months in Paris. He began his career at KCAI but got kicked out because he didn't believe in grades ("How can you grade art!?" he says).
Much of his art is inspired by his love of jazz.
Figures like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Stitt, Dexter Gordon (whom Garland calls "the most photogenic" of the bop-era musicians), Eric Dolphy, Louis Armstrong, and so forth, jostle in Garland's paintings.
But they're not all jazz. Even though Garland doesn't care for rap, this one is a salute to hip-hop culture. See the figure in the lower-right corner -- the young man in the blue jacket? That's Gene, cooling out in Harlem alongside LL Cool J, Biggie and Diddy.
Meanwhile, Horace W. and his band invited a couple of youngins to sit in, a singer and a drummer, who performed a simmering take on "Summertime." A young lady named Day, who has played in bands with Rogers, a bassist, got up and belted out a lovely version of "God Bless the Child." Shortly thereafter, I realized I was thoroughly tight and needed to retreat to the campsite.
I returned the next day during Troost Fest and met up with friends Nicole and Carolyn. I took them back to the place, and Mr. Garland showed us to his workshop, where some two dozen or so paintings were finished or still being worked on. The one he's holding up here, "The Kit Kat Club," is a good example of one of his wilder tableaux.
That's when I learned about Gene's background in KC -- his time at the Art Institute and at other places, like the College of Commercial Arts that used to be in the building Westport High's in now. In grade school, his Spanish teacher was the sister of William "Buffalo Bill" Cody. We talked a little about jazz, too. "If you know Chet Baker," he said, "you know jazz."
Check it out for yourself, the sights and the sounds -- and get to know the whole super-awesome Gi Gi's family -- this weekend.
The entertainment schedule:
Friday: A Touch of Class featuring Donald Cox
Saturday: The Allen Monroe Quartet featuring Dwight Foster
And, next weekend, on May 29 and 30, woodwind man Horace Washington returns for a two-night stand.
Call 816-352-4753 for info, and wear your fedora jaunty.
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Wanted to say Thanks to Gi Gi's this past weekend. Not from the area and just in visitin for the weekend but stopped by this bar off Troost and had the best Wings and Fries. And the Cabana Club was just perfect!! Thanks again for a great weekend! Oh ya if ya check this joint out make sure and get a taste of the Bar-Rita (just ask for it at the bar and they will know exactly what your wantin)
Nisi -
I can not locate the myspace page. Will you please e-mail me a link. Congrants on your opening!
Shelly
I had a wonderful time being apart of the Opening Night at Gi Gi's. Mr. and Mrs. Garland it was truly an honor to share that historic moment. The Horace Washington Quartet was truly something to see and hear. The Painting's speak for themselves and the ARTIST. It is a wonderful place to come to and hear the wonderful music. And the people are so welcoming. Thank you all for such a great time. And yes I will be back I love jazz and my children love jazz.
And I come from a family of musicians and singers. I am a Artist as well. Good day to eveyone. I have a son name Louis Armstrong. And yes his Dad is a Musician.
go on my space and login
gigijazz@ymail.com
temporary web-site until we can afford better.
Art & entertainers exhibited
Nisi Michel
You guys should have came out Saturday night. I guarantee you would have been blown away with the live jazz. Allen Monroe
Quartet featuring tenor saxist and very special guest "The World's Greatest Flutist", Marvin Hollinshed. The Audience
were mesmerized.
See you next weekend for The Horace Washington Sessions.
Gene Garland
"For real" as in "thanks for the report, I didn't know anything about this exciting development." And also "for real" as in the exasperation I share with PJ.
Is this a "for real?" as in "does the place really exist?"
Yes.
Or is this a "for real?" as in, "are you serious?"
Happy, have you ever known me to be anything but?
Truthfully, I was blown away by Gene's paintings and the place in general. I really hope the jazz community embraces Gi Gi's and that it becomes part of the pro circuit in town.
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