Remember when you were embarrassed to ask for something from, say, your old and sickly grandmother who barely had the energy to raise her hand and pat you on the head?
"I wish for world peace, Grammy," you’d respond, and leave it at that. I mean, the old gal couldn’t afford to get you a present. She was buying more drugs than Amy Winehouse on a tour of the Balkans.
Hanging out at Jardine’s Saturday night, I thought how nice a slice of that peace would be– peace between jazz musicians and club owners. It seems somebody told somebody something, and the next thing we jazz fans knew, part of the band at Jardine’s didn’t show up. The guys who did play worked their hands off; and Beena put a brave face on it.
But this was Saturday night at the best jazz club in town. We all deserved better (even without a cover).
This boycott Beena business is a dead end.
Musicians playing in their living rooms is the bop version of trees falling in the forest; who cares? Audiences need players; players need a place to play; and somebody’s got to do the not always pleasant job of staying up til 3am, making sure the place is clean, liquor is put away and the front door locked. 
I don’t want to do it; does anyone know somebody who does?
Sure, you don’t always get the perfect person in the job (remember George W Bush)? But Jardine’s has been a great place to listen and be heard for too long to just turn your back on it now.
SO– you musicians who won’t play there. How about a little slice of peace?
Bury the hatchet, recognize that a somewhat wild and crazy club owner is better than a club owner who doesn’t care, and get back to what you love doing and we love hearing you do. Come on, people now, smile on your brother. Everybody get together, try to at least work with one another right now.
have the people been paid..
haveall the servers and musicians been paid. Til that happens…they should boycott this place.
And finally..hearne should shut his mouth and let these things play out in private and not try
to salvage the reputation of a terrible person. Had hearne not blown this whole thing up..
probably would have been finalized and moved on by now. So hearne…stfu…..
As for me….i will never step foot into the place…i’ll spend my money with upstanding business
people who are fair…just my opinion.
But edelman is right…we dlon’t want to hurt the people who work there now…so if you
feel comfortable going there…go ahead….
Peace on Earth but not at Jardine’s
Psychopathic, pathological lying, coke heads don’t need to be the “norm” in the nightclub business. Time for Beena to turn the place over to someone who truly cares more about jazz, KC and the legacy that Jardines carry’s on than themselves. Go have a Snort-Eat-Pray-Love experience Beena. You’re an awful person and an even worse business owner. The fact that you aren’t already in rehab is proof you have no friends that truly care about you. Mumbai is nice this time of year. I’ll even take up a collection for the one way ticket.
Money?
Already asked downpage, but anyone know if everyone already received the money Beena said she was going to pay out last week? That would definitely help as far as the “nothing to see here, move on” angle, and maybe people will start booking again.
I have a feeling this is not so much a boycott as a bunch of people individually coming to the conclusion that it’s not worth it anymore to deal with someone so shiftless and toxic. So they’re not going to.
And, for once, what Smartman said.
An Answer
“I don’t want to do it; does anyone know somebody who does?”
I know 15 of them. They would prefer not to be unemployed, but they probably at least deserve the tips that were given to them that she is still holding. I’m sure Dave Stephens would have a merrier Christmas is he got paid in time to not have to buy presents at the last minute for the gig he played in November. She needs to spend more time communicating with her former employees directly instead of through here and get them their money. I don’t think that is difficult for anyone who is not writing for this website to understand.
I Agree and Feel the Same About PENN STATE!!!
I want some SUPPORT here, people!! Sandusky was the best coordinator they ever had! Joe Paterno has been there since 1950, loved by ALL!! And what a record they amassed! Its better to have a coaching staff who is involved with or covered up a little child molestation than a staff that DOESN’T CARE!! It was just 10 kids, so far, its not like it wasn’t every kid in PA for Gods sake! Bury the hatchet and lets play football!
Mr Edelman, you may think thats rediculous, and it is. But where do you want to draw the line on whats an OK compromise or morals or values and whats not? Who gets to draw that line or decide where that line is? Do you make it fit areas of interest important to you, jazz or football, but condem it in areas where you aren’t so concerned? Its only varying levels of wrong.
No, its not likely fun walking out of your club at 3am after cleaning dirty bathrooms, locking the door and finding your way home. Im sure its not fun playing 170 games of baseball for only $2-3M, riding on the back of the Deffenbaugh trash truck, carrying mail in the snow and rain or hanging off the top of the KCPT tower changing light bulbs. But, didnt you know what the job entailed when you took it? Hardly a reason to put up with whats been done.
If the shallow apologies were rephrased, the people paid, someone might BE willing to make ammends. But when its worded “if I did anything to hurt anyone, Im sorry” and “Im ready to pay people…..” but they dont get paid, thats a hard place to find footing to make anything right.
While I am sypathetic and agree that the ex employees
from Jardines should be paid, comparing the $2500.00 owed to 10 year old boys being anally raped does a disservice to your cause Mr. Wilson.
No one is being bussed to Buchenwald for a shower and shave, there is a dispute over monies owed.
The impetus for the blowback on this issue, is primarily Fox 4 News. A dozen prime time reports on a 2500.00 dispute between an employer and employees. One more time, a DOZEN prime time news reports.
Lets just, for a minute, ask ourselves, why it is, that Fox 4 prime time news and no other TV Station in town would tie their inventory (That is, the time they have available for sale. It used ot be $600.00 for a 30 second spot, I don’t know exactly what it is now, but its the most expensive inventory they have, I believe.) that they need to sell, to a flimsy garden variety dispute, and fan the flames on that dispute until it became a full out internecine hate fest?
There is more here than at first meets the eye.
I like this quote from Mr. Wislon, it is an inspiration. “No, its not likely fun walking out of your club at 3am after cleaning dirty bathrooms, locking the door and finding your way home.”
Hey, go to fuckin college, ok?
Maybe a hunger strike is in order.
We get it, your working class heroes.
Once again, we all understand that the employees got screwed over. But the legs on this story are being driven by a lot more than just sympathy for “The 15”.
FREE HUEY!!
musician’s perspective
speaking as a musician who’s played at Jardines a lot over the years, I think a lot of musicians are a bit apprehensive about playing there again because of the relative volatility of the situation – that’s certainly understandable from the bandleader’s point of view considering that the bandleader is responsible for making sure that the members of the band are paid. Do I want to hire a trio/quartet and put myself in a situation where my guys may not actually get paid? Is Beena going to flip out again at some point, and if so, will it be the night that we’re there? Jardines was a gold mine, and we were (I guess still are???) lucky to have it for such a long time. It was (is?) a treasure, especially for the musicians in town and also for that small percentage of the population who likes to go listen to great live music. It’s a very unfortunate situation, needless to say, but assuming that musicians are just going to be willing to forget everything that happened and naively assume that everything will be the same and/or as good as it was is in itself naive.
Also, I read some comment from her the other day (and granted, Hearne was probably paraphrasing), but she said something about the “bands that had betrayed her.” Really???? I hope she didn’t actually say that. Pretty unbelievable, if so.
Reading Comprehension Issues, Chuck?
I said it was over the top but asked who draws that line.
The “closing the club at 3:00am” line was taken from Mr Edelman.
And I went to college, political science and journalism. Double major. And the proper use would be YOU’RE working class heros. But who’s counting errors?
Two words; Evelyn Woods.
Oh, Chuck, its WILSON…not Wislon
Ive got all day, just enjoying a cigar….
Oh, Chuck, its not just money
It’s a lot of outrageous, abusive behavior. No anal rape though. You are correct.
Thanks S.I. Hayakawa. I type too fast, my aplologies.
It was a small college, right?
It was and is, a terrible analogy.
Tiny, tiny College
DeVry could kick its ass.
And it was a great analogy. Where is the line where you accept or no longer accept bad, illegal or immoral behavior? They likely didn’t have an Ethics 101 at Wright, I’m sorry. Read what I first said for the intent behind it.
I agree Fox 4 over did it. Id agree they have an axe to grind. But KC musicians have a throat full of how they’ve been treated. This latest was the straw, not the totality.
One musician, dude. One.
All points well taken
Gee, in finally got more than 2 replies to a blog piece. Now I know how Craig feels (but without the hookers).
Of course, the bandleader/contractor needs to be careful. After what Jardine’s has been thru, you’d have to have cash in advance before the downbeat. And folks who worked (and work there now) need to be paid. I get the impression there’s something more petty going on. That’s what I hate to see– especially when it undermines paying gigs at a great venue. You know, those sidemen got to eat,too.
Mark, Ive been really close to this situation…
and for the sake of full disclosure, right down to and including interest in buying it. That being said, I think what is petty is the real possibility that Fox 4 manipulated some of the coverage based on possible incestuous connections between the “news desk” and an “employee”. If that is what caused FOX4 do to even 1 remote, thats bad enough, but if it was revenge for something alledgedly done to a employees kid, thats a whole other level of petty, or, out right lack of journalistic integrity. Thats wrong by anyones standard.
I thiink what everyone has seen here is the force that surges behind a dam. The water is held back and the dam keeps it from flowing out the front door. But, when there’s a crack in that dam, theres no telling what will pour forth once the crack becomes a breech. Thats what’s happened here. A lot of people pissed about a lot of stuff, and when the dam burst, nobody ever had any idea how much was behind it.
So, yeah, Im sure a lot of it was petty, but the facts remain the same, pettiness aside. Thanks for ommitting the hookers and, finally, Im sorry if you lost any movie deals this Christmas season.
Just a couple of movie passes
But that’s cool. Thanks for the insights. Those are compelling words to live by.
Tom Petty, Beena Ruthless
Father, Son, Holy Cow. Just keep up the pressure another 30-60 days. She’ll go BK and disappear. Someone with better intentions, discipline and business acumen will pick up the pieces and the drama ends. Addicts are the world’s best LIARS. Beena doesn’t DESERVE another chance. She has used all her lifelines. Thanks for playing. We have some wonderful parting gifts. Maybe she can make the cut and get on Celebrity Rehab. Despite all the bragdacio about how robust the jazz scene in KC is it’s pretty damn fragile. Cybil doesn’t need to be at the helm of the flagship nightclub. Let Charlie Darwin and Tony Montana do their work.
Mark, you should really know better…
Dear Mr. Edelman – your years with The Theater League should have made you aware of a simple reality. A performer needs to be paid for their work.
I have been playing music around this town for over thirty years. One thing I have learned from harsh experience is that to go knowingly into an unstable situation like this one is to ask to be bitten in the ass by circumstance. A very good friend and firmer bandmate was one of the performers who had the plug pulled on his show by the “closed for repairs’ madness. He was never notified that his gig was cancelled by the owner. He had to do the legwork, find out that he’d been screwed, then bite the bullet on the evening of missed work.
My friend will not return there until he is paid for the cancellation and receives an apology from the owner for her thoughtlessness. I won’t go there until my friend is taken care of. So it goes.