Happy Holidays and thanks to all for another fascinating year at Earshot Jazz.
Man, time flies! This can’t be the end of another year already! Some cosmic drummer must be rushing the tempo. We still have so much work to do, and so much great music to check out.
December always seems like an anniversary month for this organization. The first issue of the Earshot newsletter was published in December 1984, and my tenure as executive director started in December of 1991. Of course, December also marks the annual concert of the Sacred Music of Duke Ellington, featuring the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra and special guests, a Seattle holiday tradition now in its 24th year.
This December issue of Earshot Jazz gives us an opportunity to look back at the recent festival through the creative lens of eyeshotjazz.com’s Daniel Sheehan, who also captured photos to accompany the preview of interesting new work by Seattle artist Ahamefule J. Oluo. We’ll also preview some upcoming Earshot events, check in with a couple of our community collaborators, review some recent recordings, and catch up with a few of our talented former residents, now living in New York.
In this past year, we’ve presented nearly 100 concerts under the Earshot Jazz banner, created and distributed 72,000 copies of this newsletter, collaborated with many Seattle cultural and educational institutions in support of jazz, and given witness to hundreds of brilliant artists, from around the world and around our own vibrant community. We’ve mourned the loss of jazz activists and celebrated the arrival of new players. We are enormously grateful to everyone who has had a part.
I offer my profound gratitude to Karen Caropepe, Managing Director here at Earshot Jazz and newest candidate for Jazz Saint. Thanks, too, to Schraepfer Harvey, Editor of this magazine (though I’ve forbidden him to edit out this part), Production Manager for the festival, and general beast of burden for the Earshot organization. The phenomenal amount of hard work and great spirit these two have given is way above and beyond the call of duty. It was also a pleasure to have Fred Gilbert back in the fold for this year’s festival.
Thanks to all of the artists and audience members, schools and students, volunteers and sponsors, clubs and concert halls, individuals and organizations, doers and thinkers who have supported jazz in any way in this community. Don’t be bashful about offering your suggestions about how this organization can better serve the Seattle jazz community. We look forward to abundant New Jazz in the New Year.
– John Gilbreath
Executive Director
