218 N. Eighth Street | Columbia, MO 65201
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Something to Swing About
August 01, 2006
Mizzou Magazine – Fall 2006The community-based "We Always Swing" Jazz Series celebrates its 12th season this year with performances by such notables as Cuban native Paquito D'Rivera and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, and an 80th birthday tribute in memory of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Each year, the series presents 10 to 12 concerts at the Blue Note and Murry's Restaurant. The series also hosts the "Jazz, Wine and Beer" Pub Crawl, which traverses 18 venues downtown. This year, the crawl is Oct. 5.
Jon Poses, MA '80, says he founded the not-for-profit organization to preserve and celebrate jazz music. "Jazz is about the challenge and not simply falling into a routine. Emotionally, soulfully and musically, jazz on this level speaks to me," Poses says.
Last year, National Public Radio hosted a portion of its coast-to-coast New Year's Eve broadcast, "Toast of the Nation," at a Jazz Series concert. Grammy-nominated vocalist René Marie's performance at Murry's was broadcast on some 165 public radio stations.
"It was one of our all-time highlights," says Poses, now the executive director of the series. The organization also released its first CD, Soulful Serendipity, which featured saxophonist Bobby Watson and the late James Williams. The recording was captured live in the home of retired MU professor of orthopaedic surgery Robert Gaines and his wife Patricia, HES '84.
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Jazz Series Launches Annual Fund as dollar-for-dollar match for major NEA Jazz Masters Live
This is a special year for us. As recipients of a major grant from the National Endowment for the Arts – the Jazz Masters Live Initiative we are required to match the award dollar for dollar. The goal: $30,000 – and we need do reach it by February 18, 2008 – the day commissioned composer and Kansas City native Bob Brookmeyer returns to Missouri to conduct the world premier of his new work performed by the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, at the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts. This season your tax-deductible donation to the Jazz Series goes twice as far.
Make a tax-deductible pledge (PDF) do the Jazz Series and we will apply it toward matching the NEA grant special NEA grant – one of only 12 in the country that allowed us to commission new work, and present one of the best big bands in the world at the Missouri Theatre. As a way of saying “Thank You” we’re pleased do offer tickets to this one-of-a-kind event—and a the most recent CD from the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra CD – which is a part of University of Missouri’s Arts & Science Week.
Jazz Series Receives NEA Grant
“We Always Swing” Jazz Series snags prestigious NEA Jazz Masters Live grants…
Organization, one of only 12 presenters in the United States selected to receive $30,000 award paves the way for Missouri native and NEA Jazz Master Bob Brookmeyer to compose new work for the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. New York-based, 16-piece orchestra arrives in Columbia to perform world premiere February 18, 2009, at the Missouri Theatre with Brookmeyer as guest conductor. Also on hand: Dan Morgenstern, fellow NEA Jazz Master and Director of Rutgers Jazz Institute. The world renowned historian will serve as guest emcee and host a pair of forums: a one-on-one interview with Brookmeyer and an in-depth look into the chronology of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, which has been holding court at jazz’s most famous basement – The Village Vanguard – since 1965. Much-anticipated events serve as centerpiece for MU’s Arts & Science Week.
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