By Jim Jones, President of AFJS The American Federation of Jazz Societies has announced that the annual granting of its prestigious Benny Carter Award will be reinstituted. The award was given from 1991 though 2001, memorialized by bronze statuettes created from an original by sculptor/bassist John Heard. Past honorees, after Benny received the inaugural award at the Hollywood Bowl, included Milt Hinton, Jess Stacy, Milt Gabler, Jay McShann, Spiegle Willcox, George Van Eps, George Avakian and Clark Terry. At this writing, only the last two honorees are living. This is where the storyline takes a new twist. NEA Jazz Master Clark Terry received the last “Benny” in 2001, again at the Hollywood Bowl. AFJS president Jim Jones says, “We simply ran out of castings and our awards chairman, jazz columnist Floyd Levin, was unable to keep shepherding it back then. Recent contacts with the sculptor and the foundry proved fruitless. Without Clark and Gwen Terry loaning us Clark's precious statuette, AFJS would not have a sample to remold and recast. Now we do!” Jazz societies will be asked to nominate the 2012 honoree under specific criteria originally approved by the 1989 AFJS Board of Directors. That wording allows selecting “an individual or group (living or dead), a firm, a locale, a process, a product - any persons or entities that have had a vital impact on the course of jazz.” Gwen Terry, writing on behalf of Clark who is convalescing at home in Pine Bluff AR, assures us all that he values this award among the highest of his long career because AFJS represents such a broad spectrum of the jazz community. |
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D.C. Jazz Clubs Improvise to Survive, by Josh Cooper, Capital News Service “As the traditional audience for jazz ages and moves out of the city, the District's jazz clubs are thinking creatively to attract a growing younger population that seems to prefer other forms of entertainment.” Tactics include no-cover/no-minimum, BYOB, and simply becoming a nonprofit organization. (more) |
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ABOUT AFJS The American Federation of Jazz Societies is an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote and support jazz through a variety of activities. AFJS fosters mutual support amongst jazz organizations by managing a network for sharing information, resources and techniques. AFJS works for the advancement of all forms of jazz as one music. Our member organizations cover the entire jazz spectrum from traditional to Dixieland to swing to bebop to straight-ahead to Latin to fusion. Each of our member organizations retains autonomy over stylistic preferences while pursuing a common goal, the advancement of jazz. The Federation provides several means of assistance to member organizations in the development of their jazz programs. Our experts have, literally, thousands of years of experience in promoting the music we all love so much. Member benefits include:
*AFJS Members, please login to access the member-only resources and special discounted rates to events* |