Jazz journalism is alive and well, as JJA members are getting their news and views about the music out in every media platform — locally, nationally and internationally.We never sleep! See the most recent publications and other work reported by the extremely active members of the Jazz Journalists Association after the jump. If you’re a JJA member and want your recent activities included in the next installment of Member Updates, send a brief paragraph beginning with your name to membernews@jazzjournalists.org by March 3, 2018.
Saulmon Addison photographed the JazznJam2018 fund-raiser at the Landmark on Main street in Port Washington for two great causes The Coltrane Home and IMFcares.org awareness for Prostate Cancer. Over $20K was raised that evening. The evening opened with the Eric Wollman Trio Followed by The Gary Smulyan Trio and the evening was closed out with Circus Minds Featuring Premik Tubbs & Taz Niederauer.
Mirian Arbalejo has started her monograph ‘Leonard Bernstein and Jazz‘ celebrating Bernstein’s centennial. She also shared her favorite jazz albums of 2017.
Jane Ira Bloom received a 2018 Grammy for Best Surround Sound Album for her jazz trio release Early Americans on Sono Luminus. The creative team including co-producer & surround mix engineer Jim Anderson and surround mastering engineer Darcy Proper received their award from Neil DeGrasse Tyson at the Madison Square Garden Theater on Sunday Jan 28, 2018.
Kaye Blum‘s most recent publication includes an article with AustralianJazz.net – a review of a performance by the winner of the Montreux Jazz Festival’s International Vocal Competition (2006), Kristin Berardi. You can read the review here. Kaye is currently working on a short documentary exploring a century of jazz in St Kilda (Melbourne, Australia).
Stephanie J. Castillo announces that her award-winning documentary film Night Bird Song on the late jazz great Thomas Chapin is being released on March 20 for digital downloads on the Internet. Also being released will be a Special Edition, 2-disc DVD to mark Thomas’s 20th year since he passed in 1998.
Sharonne Cohen has recently written an artist profile on Montreal-born, NYC-based saxophonist Chet Doxas and his new project, Rich in Symbols, as well as a piece about Dièse Onze, one of Montreal’s most prominent jazz clubs. Both pieces will be published in upcoming issues of DownBeat magazine.
E. J. Decker’s April CD release, Bluer Than Velvet, a tribute to the great, deep-voiced Arthur Prysock—a major influence of E. J.’s—continues press promotion in January. Urged to undertake this project by the late Mark Murphy, Decker assays hits Prysock had, other songs in his book and songs influenced by him. For all press matter, contact Chris DiGirolamo.
Ken Franckling reviewed and photographed January concerts in Southwest Florida by pianist Joe Delaney’s Latin-Caribbean Jazz All-Stars in Port Charlotte; Harry Allen and Wycliffe Gordon with the Eddie Metz trio in Venice; and singer Kenny Washington with the Dan Miller-Lew Del Gatto quintet in Fort Myers for his Jazz Notes blog. He also previewed the Sarasota Jazz Festival, which takes place in early March.
Doug Hall has just finished a story profile on jazz prodigy Grace Kelly now published at Allaboutjazz. The title is “Grace Kelly: Free From Boundaries” and Hall realizes upon reflection how very much Ms. Kelly fits that statement: An endlessly spirited and spontaneous soul along with loads of talent – and absolutely authentic.
Member Updates are edited by Michael J. West. Use our JJA Member Directories to find JJA members qualified to contribute to your publication or production or to assist you with your jazz-related project. The directories can be searched by name, area of expertise and geographic location.
If you aren’t a JJA Member yet, consider joining us. Membership is open to both Professional Journalists (writers, bloggers, photographers, videographers, web producers and others who cover jazz) and Industry Associates (musicians, educators, presenters, promoters and others who work in the industry and support our work.)
