Musicians Local 627 and the Mutual Musicians Foundation: The Cradle of Kansas City Jazz

University of Missouri – Kansas City

University Libraries

• Introduction: Roots of Kansas City Jazz Style
• 1917–1923: Local 627 and the Early Jazz Bands
  • The Dave Lewis Band
  • Benjamin “Bennie” Moten
  • George Ewing Lee
  • The Paul Banks Band
  • The Lincoln Theater
  • The Theater Owners Booking Association
• 1924–1928: President Shaw
• 1929–1935: Territorial Bands and a New Headquarters
• 1936–1941: 627 Stomp
• 1942–1950: War Years and the Aftermath
• 1950–1960: A New Generation and President
• 1960–1970: Merger – Local 34 and 627
• The Mutual Musicians Foundation: The Tradition Jams On
• About This Project

The Dave Lewis Band

 

Dave Lewis’ Jazz Boys

Circa 1917–1920. One of the earliest jazz bands, the Jazz Boys featured Leroy Maxey drums, Depriest Wheeler on trombone and Lewis on alto sax.

Saxophonist Dave Lewis led the Jazz Boys, one of Kansas City’s earliest jazz bands. Organized in 1917, the seven-piece band played for dancers at the McHugh Dancing Academy at 15^th and Troost. The Jazz Boys featured young musicians fresh out of Lincoln High School, including Walter Page (bass), Leroy Maxey (drums) and DePriest Wheeler ( trombone). Lewis disbanded after losing the steady engagement at the Dance Academy and returned to his hometown, Chicago.

Source

• Frank Driggs and Chuck Haddix. Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005)