2021 SCHEDULE
2021 BIRD BOOT CAMP – IT’S FREE!
ABOUT THE 2021 BIRD BOOT CAMP + MUSICAL SALUTE AT THE FOLLY THEATER
Bird Boot Camp has been a significant applied instrumental music program element that’s been part of the annual August spotlight celebration of Jazz celebrity, globally recognized musical icon, and Kansas native, Charlie “Bird” Parker, that takes place at venues throughout the greater KC metro since 2014. It’s going to be another all-day educational immersion into learning about the music and life of Mr. Parker on Saturday, August 21, 2021 at another historic Kansas City icon, The Folly Theater.
Our Bird Boot Camp 2021 “featured celebrity” artist is Ronald McFadden from the legendarily brilliant McFadden Brothers’ fame. Ronald will interact with the campers musically and lead the Musical Salute in the lobby of The Folly at the end of the event.
Bird Boot Camp 2021 features three combination group ensembles in breakout sessions as they study a particular Charlie Parker composition in detail with some of the foremost educators teaching jazz anywhere today: “Now’s The Time” by Charlie Parker (combo directed by Prof. Clarence Smith – Kansas City Jazz Academy and Metropolitan Community College Music) for the newest jazz musicians; “Yardbird Suite” by Charlie Parker (combo directed by Dr. Todd Wilkinson – Ottawa University Music) for the intermediate jazz musicians; and, “Donna Lee” by Charlie Parker (combo directed by Dr. Michael Parkinson – Conn-Selmer Artist and MidAmerica Nazarene University Jazz) for the more experienced jazz musicians at the day camp.
Each of the combos will enjoy three scheduled clinics with their directors engaged in detailed study of the music, and one of the sessions will be on the main stage of The Folly performing with and all-star jazz rhythm section comprised of: Gerald Spaits (bass – Jay McShann, Westport Art Ensemble, UMKC Adjunct Professor); Will Matthews (guitar – The World Famous Count Basie Orchestra, Grammy Winner); Dr. Justin Binek (piano – Midnight Blue Jazz Quartet and Assistant Professor of Music, Kansas City Kansas Community College Jazz Studies); and Doug Auwarter (drums – the Sons of Brasil). Students will also be able to interact with these jazz celebrities and living master musicians in person.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS AND SPECIAL FULL CAMP JAZZ CLINIC
Bird Boot Camp 2021 is going to be great. We’ll also have leading “Charlie Parker” historian and author, Chuck Haddixgive a 20-minute keynote about Bird; and, Greg Carroll will give the campers the interactive jazz clinic that he does with Midnight Blue Jazz LLC each year in Las Vegas. And a few surprise guests…
EVENT HISTORY
Bird Boot Camp began in 2014 as part of the orignial Charlie Parker celebration initiated by the Jazz catalyst nonprofit organization, Kansas City Jazz ALIVE. The originator of the Bird Boot Camp program was Greg Carroll who successfully modeled the one-day event after the premier jazz camps and other educational programming he’d developed. Spotlighting the life and musical contributions of Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955). In 2019 Burnett Music Foundation was asked to take over the program and has assumed the role of artistic director and administrator, handling every detail of Bird Boot Camp from the itinerary schedule for the day, booking artists and clinicians, organizing a coherent program, and funding the entire event through sponsorships, donations, and grants. In 2020 Burnett Music Foundation was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for Bird Boot Camp.
Visit BurnettMusicFoundation.org
2021 PRESS RELEASES
2021 CALL FOR AUDITIONS
