A New Arts Journal Jazz Blog

The artsjournal.com family of blogs becomes richer by one today. Howard Mandel (accent on the first syllable) debuts his Jazz Beyond Jazz with a manifesto that begins:

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, soulful, substantive guide to successful navigation of today's big and little challenges?

He has other questions:

Like -- if it's so popular, why ain't jazz rich? And how popular is it, anyway? What's behind the imminent demise (or will it be another reorganization?) of the Jazz Alliance International, a basically bankrupt lobbying group established to function on the model of the far better positioned Country Music Foundation? Is it true Jazz at Lincoln Center loses money every time it has a show at 1000-seat Rose Hall, even if all tix sell out?

Howard has been around jazz a long time as a writer, producer, teacher and--for the past several years--as president of the Jazz Journalists Association. He is an insider. I look forward to his answers.

Welcome aboard, Howard. The more smart bloggers, the merrier--and the better informed we will all be.