TAMPA — While most of the attention on Kansas City, Missouri, during Super Bowl weekend is on the city’s football team, another “crown jewel” of the city also is in Florida.
Mayor Quinton Lucas and Rashida Phillips, director of the American Jazz Museum based in the Historic 18th and Vine Jazz District in Kansas City, delivered on Saturday a saxophone to Disney's Epcot theme park.
“Charlie Parker was a treasure of our city," Phillips said before making the delivery. "He changed the game for jazz. Particularly, this artifact is a crown jewel of the American Jazz Museum collection.”
Parker’s Grafton saxophone will be on display as part of an Epcot exhibit titled The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure. The saxophone is made of plastic. Phillips said Parker received it while performing in Toronto in the 1950s.
“Jazz is at the center of Kansas City’s identity, along with barbecue, baseball and sports,” Phillips said. “We want to make sure that is represented in this international story of how jazz lives and came to life.”
Lucas added the exhibit serves as an ambassador for Kansas City.
“I hope everyone who sees the saxophone at Epcot recognizes there are so many more stories to learn in Kansas City and comes out to visit,” he said.