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Jazz Beyond Jazz

Howard Mandel's Urban Improvisation

Jazz Day reasons to be cheerful

April 30, 2013 by Howard Mandel

On the second International Jazz Day, let’s celebrate —

Jazz Heroes, designated in 2013 by the Jazz Journalists Association and 25 local North American communities

Jazz Heroes designated in 2013 by the Jazz Journalists Association
and 25 local North American communities

1) A glorious legacy of enduring music;

2) The dedication to the art form of musicians and their supporters now, worldwide;

3) The recognition by government officials and institutions of jazz as an entity that will not be silenced or co-opted;

4) Access as never before, via the internet, to jazz historical and present;

5) The rise of jazz education

6) The widespread popularity of jazz festivals

7) Jazz that retains its essence while inviting, embracing, absorbing influences from everywhere, everything;

8) Writing, photography, dance, visual arts inspired and/or derived from the listening experience;

ja-ijd-jamSM9) Rhythm, unabated

10) Melodies, infinite.

I want to acknowledge the economic forces that keep jazz going, the boundless imagination of the greatest jazz artists and the unbowed spirit that lives in the spontaneous interactivity of this most open, expressive and truthful music. Long live jazz and the culture that creates it. (go to JJAJazzAwards for profiles of each of the Jazz Heroes above, and at noon ET on May 1 for names of the winners of musical categories in the 17th annual JJA Jazz Awards).

howardmandel.com

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Howard Mandel

I'm a Chicago-born (and after 32 years in NYC, recently repatriated) writer, editor, author, arts reporter for National Public Radio, consultant and nascent videographer -- a veteran freelance journalist working on newspapers, magazines and websites, appearing on tv and radio, teaching at New York University and elsewhere, consulting on media, publishing and jazz-related issues. I'm president of the Jazz Journalists Association, a non-profit membership organization devoted to using all media to disseminate news and views about all kinds of jazz.
My books are Future Jazz (Oxford U Press, 1999) and Miles Ornette Cecil - Jazz Beyond Jazz (Routledge, 2008). I was general editor of the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz and Blues (Flame Tree 2005/Billboard Books 2006). Of course I'm working on something new. . . Read More…

About Jazz Beyond Jazz

What if there's more to jazz than you suppose? What if jazz demolishes suppositions and breaks all bounds? What if jazz - and the jazz beyond, behind, under and around jazz - could enrich your life? What if jazz is the subtle, insightful, stylish, … [Read More...]

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  • Kevin E Lynch on International Jazz RIPs, 2017: “re: previous comment” Jan 8, 12:59
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