Question and Answer

Hey Pat:

Did you have any contact with, or influence from trumpet player Harry "Sweets" Edison? He died yesterday (7-27-99), and had a rich history in St. Louis for a time, (way before your days in KC!) How about your brother, Mike?

Was there much interplay between the musicians in St. Louis and KC, or were they two separate scenes?

Hope we'll see you in Asheville, NC soon!!

JW

hi john,

i knew him a little, but had never played with him. but he was one of my favorite trumpet players and a real improvisor - someone who really made stuff up when he played and pulled it off.

the kc and stl scenes don't really have much contact with each other, or at least they didn't back when i lived in mo. in many ways, the country "breaks" in the middle of missouri - st. louis always felt to me like the first "east coast"-y kind of town as you head east. kc always felt like the first "west coast"-y kind of town as you head west. for that reason i always thought that st. louis and chicago were more alike than stl and kc - while kc was more like omaha, wichita or okla. ciy, etc. the local scenes seemed to reflect this too.