4/14/22
April Jazz Shows at World Cafe Live
Four opportunities in April to see Jazz at WCL, starting off with the Eubanks Evans Experience on April 22.
4/13/22
Lovett Hines Wins Jazz Journalists Association Award
Other regional winners include bassist, composer, and educator Ed Hrybyk of Baltimore, Massachusetts-based Terri Lyne Carrington, a drummer, composer, and educator who has been a keynote speaker at the Jazz Philadelphia Summit; and Sara Donnely from Washington, D.C., a longtime jazz advocate who administers programs that support jazz musicians at South Arts.
4/1/22
Philadelphia’s Rising Women in Jazz
The city of Philadelphia honors the legacy and tradition of jazz music, by providing exceptional educational resources that continue to contribute to the profound jazz community that has been established here.Temple University and University of the Arts, two of Philadelphia's premier institutions of higher learning, have exceptional jazz programs where students can hone in on their craft...
3/31/22
Love Notes project Celebrates Black Art
The forthcoming Love Notes Project is the brainchild of Rebecca Graham. It’s part of an arts education and advocacy program that will showcase and celebrate the rich legacy and historical significance of Black Philadelphia performing artists and cultural producers.
3/25/22
March President’s Letter: Get Jazzed Day 2022
The collaboration between the organizations for Get JazzEd Day was fluid and inventive, much like jazz itself. And just like the music, which serves the purpose of touching the lives of the listeners, our partnerships are designed to impact the lives of musicians, educators, students—everyone in our creative community...
3/24/22
‘Dangerous Tones’ Comes to Philadelphia
Station manager Bill Johnson says, “As a leader in jazz programming since 1969, WRTI wanted to provide American music lovers with this incredibly revealing series that showcases a powerful history and relationship between the U.S. and Denmark through jazz.”
3/22/22
Key of She Jazz March 2022 Recap
Up next, Key of She has been working to improve their website and expand their already extensive resources list (which already includes reading lists, film lists, listening recommendations, and a comprehensive list of over 600 women in jazz)...
3/19/22
Orrin Evans and Kevin Eubanks release duo album
The pair will be on tour next month and will be at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia on April 22, the Jazz Gallery in New York on April 23, and City Winery in Washington, D.C. on April 24.
3/15/22
Christian McBride Releases “The Q Sessions”
Philly Hometown Hero McBride received a GRAMMY® Award nomination for his 2020 Christian McBride Big Band release, "For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver."
3/14/22
Poet and Hometown Hero Sonia Sanchez Honored With Edward MacDowell Medal
A literary giant who was at the forefront of the Black Arts Movement, Sanchez is the author of more than 20 books of poetry, children’s literature, and plays.
3/10/22
Paul Giess
“I didn't like waking up early,” he recalls, “but my mom said she'd give me a dollar allowance a week if I went to jazz band in the morning. That gave me the motivation to get out of bed.”
3/3/22
A Note about Women’s History Month
"I experience first hand the lack of gender representation in academic settings. I also see how important it is to have a supportive community – not only of other girls and young women in jazz, but peers, teachers, and others who see the importance of the mission."
2/24/22
Black Musicians Unite
Musicians’ Protective Union Local 274, American Federation of Musicians was chartered on January 2, 1935 by Black musicians. Local 274 was one of more than fifty Black musicians’ unions established in the American Federation of Musicians. The first Black musicians’ union Local 208 was established in Chicago in 1902. In Philadelphia, Frank Thurman "Frankie" Fairfax, orchestra leader, composer and trumpeter, became a key figure in the movement to organize a musicians' union...
2/17/22
The Explosion of Philadelphia Jazz Clubs
By the 1920's, Black urban workers sought opportunities in the music industry as an alternative to high unemployment which plagued their community. With the continuation of Black migrations from the South to the North, there was a rise in African-American urban populations. These increases resulted in a demand for Black entertainment, which meant an increase in jobs in the music field...
2/10/22
Mass Unemployment, the Great Migration, and the Rise of Big Bands
By the 1920's, Black urban workers sought opportunities in the music industry as an alternative to high unemployment which plagued their community. With the continuation of Black migrations from the South to the North, there was a rise in African-American urban populations. These increases resulted in a demand for Black entertainment, which meant an increase in jobs in the music field...
2/3/22
The Social Stigma of the “Musician” Class
The city of Philadelphia, known as a cradle of jazz, has a rich and significant jazz history that goes back much further than most people realize. In the order to understand the emergence of jazz in the City of Philadelphia one must begin in the nineteenth century and trace black musical organization into the early twentieth century...