Letter from the Director

The World Stage

This month we affirm the great good health of jazz at home and around the world.

First off, we extend massive congratulations to Scott Brown, the Roosevelt Jazz Band, and everyone who is a part of their brilliant and dedicated support system, for their stunning victory at Essentially Ellington last month. Along with our congratulations to Roosevelt, and to the jazz bands of Garfield and Mt. Si high schools, we also send our thanks for once again affirming on the world stage, the vibrancy and value of jazz in the Seattle area.

Jazz has long been accepted as an essential part of the cultural fabric here, and Scott Brown and Clarence Acox have been pivotal in making that so. We’re fortunate to enjoy a broad-spectrum value system around jazz in the Seattle area that is unique in American cities. In fact, it’s unique in the world. But it doesn’t just happen automatically. For Seattle jazz programs to regularly take honors at national competitions, and to appear at some of the top international festivals, takes multiple levels of generosity and hard work by armies of supporters. We thank you all!

Along with the great news for local school programs, we also share the excitement of Seattle JazzED’s announcement of building a new, independent home for jazz education in Central Seattle. You can see Kelly Clingan band the Seattle JazzED Girl’s Ellington Band June 13 in a free concert at the Seattle Art Museum. Actually, while we’re at it, congratulations to Jazz Night School for their fairly recent move into a new Rainier Valley home. And, of course, thanks to all of the individual artists in Seattle who teach privately, working so hard to spread appreciation for this great cultural tradition.

But jazz isn’t going to stay at home. This month we’ve lined up a fascinating series of concerts that showcases jazz interpretations by artists from Asia, Azerbaijan, Brooklyn, Cuba, France, Germany, Puerto Rico, The Netherlands, and Turkey. Check these pages for details and please join us in supporting the world of jazz in Seattle and beyond. –John Gilbreath, Executive Director