Building as it appears today. From http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col/local627/photos/foundation.htm
Group photo from back in the day. http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col/local627/photos/foundation.htm
a band performing in a restaurant
black and white photos of musicians
a group of people sitting at tables
a man playing a trumpet
a group of people standing outside
Keeping it alive
Inside seating area on a Saturday night.
Geino Ä.
Sep 5, 2023
Favorite when I'm in Kansas City! You will have a great time. Check it out!!! Always fun.
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Robert S.
Jun 11, 2022
Friendly doorman. Once inside, if you're queer, expect to be stared at, mean-mugged, talked about (loudly), and generally made to feel completely unwelcome. Meanwhile, enjoy amazing music and mediocre drinks. Canned soft drinks are served room temperature while cocktails are served in tiny plastic cups. Obviously you're not going for the drinks.
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Kenny C.
Apr 11, 2018
Y'ALL. This place is magical. I'm a huge Kansas City lover and quite prideful of cow town. I went here for my birthday and experienced a new level of Kansas City cool. This places doesn't open until 1 a.m., so prepare yourself prior to arriving.After arriving at 1 a.m. and paying the $10 cover, my friends and I bellied up to the bar for drinks and birthday shots. This room is simple, but the walls are covered in Kansas City jazz history. The drinks come in small plastic cups but they are full pours. The music and magic happens upstairs. Leave all fancy expectations behind. This place is made for music and nothing else. The tables and chairs are mismatched but the entertainment is spot-on. The band was already jamming out and they didn't stop for hours. Suddenly I looked around and there was standing room only at 3 a.m. The band said they would play until 5 a.m. but I had to call it quits at 4. The staff runs this place like a tight ship. There's absolutely no nonsense. The bartenders will speak up if someone is being rude and the staff upstairs will make sure the audience doesn't get too rowdy. I tried coming here once before but I had been drinking so by the time I arrived, I was way too drunk to comprehend. Make sure you prepare yourself before arriving or else you'll be too tired/drunk to appreciate the entire jazz experience.
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Brn B.
Apr 9, 2022
Amazing gas club I had a great experience staff is amazing Very respectful Open till 5:00 AM second time being here and had an amazing experience!!!
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Anne S.
Dec 8, 2009
I am not particularly into Jazz, but this place was cool.We went Saturday night a little before midnight so we could watch the show "12 o'clock jump" as it was broad-casted for Kansas Public Radio. The show was very entertaining, and the music was good.They are open from 12am to 6am, and this is a very cool scene. They have a bar and food, and everything was reasonably priced.I had a very strong little whiskey and ginger ale for $5, an all beef hot dog with chips for $3, and a glass of water for free (I was worried they were going to charge me for a bottle of water, but they suggested the cup when I asked for water).This was a very cool place to be, and there were so many different people. People of all ages were there. For anyone who likes Jazz, this is the place to be!
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Don A.
May 3, 2018
If you are a tourist to Kansas City, this is the place for your jazz pilgrimage. You'll have to sleep in the next morning -- or stay up and sleep on your flight. 1 AM-Dawn (except in winter, when the sun is reluctant to rise), Friday night (well, Saturday morning) and Saturday night (Sunday). If you are not a tourist, and you have never been here: well, shame on you! But you can fix that...You are there for the music, so sit close. (It's upstairs: you pay the cover at the entrance -- assuming you are not a musician. Then there's a simple bar upstairs.) When the bars close at 3, there's usually a flood of drunken rowdies at the back, who are at bestr only roughly there for the music
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Rhett H.
Feb 1, 2008
Well, you've made it. As far as there is a center of the Kansas City jazz universe, it would probably of been here, back in it's hey day. That's because this building used to be the local musician's union, so if you were a musician in KC back then, you wanted to be in it. Well, time goes on, Kansas City changed, and the hey day of jazz moved. Kansas City may have been the physical center of the US, it wasn't the artistic center, and so the musicians left for Chicago, St. Louis, New York, &c.Flash forward: A few years ago 'The Foundation', as it is called, enjoyed the particular historical resugrance in Kansas City (18th & Vine, Crossroads, Sprint Center) and began a sort of underground open-mic night on Friday and Saturdays... usually after the other bars closed. So it started around midnight and ended whenever. You either brought your own drink or bought cans of the cheap stuff from a cooler in the corner. There may or may not have been a cover. It was loose.Today it is a little more formalized. There was an enforcement of the liquor laws (you needed a license, evidently), and after a hiatus of some time, the owner got a liquor license so she can serve until like 6:00am or so. They still play on Fridays and Saturdays, although the hours have changed.It's quite an informal situation, so don't expect linen tablecloths or anything. Yet it is a mystical experience for the uninitiated.The location is not on the plaza, you'll have to go north and east to 18th and Highland near the 18th and Vine area.A website from the local university with a bunch of historical stuff:http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col/local627/index.htm2 actual live radio archives (an oxymoron, I know) from the local public radio stations's show 12th Street Jump:http://archive.kcur.org/kcurViewDirect.asp?PlayListID=7201http://archive.kcur.org/kcurViewDirect.asp?PlayListID=6854Another great music resource is the 12th Stree Jump archives and the Saturday Night Fish Fry show and archives:http://kcur.org/programs/12th-street-jumphttp://kcur.org/programs/fish-fry
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Anthony C.
Aug 3, 2014
If you like jazz, even if only a little, you need to come here. There's incredible history at this former union hall for KC musicians. Friday's and Saturday's midnight to dawn, $10 entry, and $4-5 drinks, and a basic bar, this locale is a continually relevant piece of the city's history, and a good time.
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Cathy C.
Oct 19, 2015
So, I became a true Kansas Citian in the wee hours of Sunday morning, I who have lived here all my life. Way more than barbeque, the Royals, the Plaza...THIS is our heritage.The spirits of Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Big Joe Turner, and dozens of other legends live on here in the talented players who come here after their other gigs and jam til the cows come home. I'm always amazed at the quality of the local musicians you find in this town; nowhere is that truer than here.This particular night, the opening quartet played for 2 hours before taking a break, when I was able to learn where else I could see the sax man play (he's with the Kyle Sexton Band). He stepped aside for the second set so another young guy could play, and they were off again. I wore out about a quarter to 4, and the place was still rocking. I hated to leave, and vowed to take a longer, later nap next time.For those afraid of the neighborhood, I went with a female friend and never felt the slightest bit uneasy. The crowd was pretty diverse, and I was surprised at the number of millennials there, especially after the 3 a.m. bars let out. There's plenty of light and activity in the neighborhood, including the Lufti's Fried Fish truck that was still selling at 3:30. So fear not, KC music lovers. Get down here and listen to your city. And save me a seat.
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Judith F.
May 1, 2022
Do you have set times for jam sessions....Would Love 2) listen....Do you ever do Beats.....That would feed this Music starved Human. Happy Day,
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