Krasnoyarsk, Siberia

We arrived in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia early in the morning on July 1, drummer LaFrae Sci’s Birthday. She was the first of the band off the plane and immediately received the warmth and welcome of the local people. When we got to the hotel, we found the International Music Festival in full swing with musicians from […]

The Jazz Drama Program Summer Gala

In 2003 I co-founded The Jazz Drama Program to support the idea of creating new jazz musicals for kids to perform for their peers.  This work brings all the things I love together in one place–jazz, theatre and watching kids grow!  The program has had many successes over the years in 64 performances in 4 […]

Great week at Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival

                          What a magnificent week at the 45th Annual Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival.  It’s an amazing gathering of fans, musicians, students, volunteers and staff creating a soulful jazz village in the sparsely populated and somewhat remote region of northern Idaho.  Joy permeates […]

Jazz, Drama and Young People

  http://www.jazzartassociation.org/jam/jam-2011/bulletin-2011/ It’s amazing to receive this bulletin from our trip last Spring to Montenegro with the quartet and Nora’s Ark.  What an unbelievable time that was! And now I’m excited to be returning to Idaho on Monday for my third trip to participate in the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival.  It’s an amazing festival […]

Jazz Drama students transform at Avatar Studios in Manhattan

    Georgina recording at Avatar Studios in Manhattan   The Jazz Drama Program began rehearsals with students at Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music on October 24th and continued weekly for seven weeks leading up to the recording session at Avatar on December 11. It was amazing to watch the transformation of the […]

Help us record Holding the Torch for Liberty, the jazz musical about women’s suffrage

    We have launched a campaign through the website Kickstarter to raise funds to record Holding the Torch for Liberty, our jazz musical about women’s suffrage.  Please help us reach our goal by December 31.  The way Kickstarter works, if we don’t reach our goal, we don’t get any of the money.  Please help […]

JazzSpeare 2011 at Fordham Consortium on the Purpose of Business

It was a dream come true to have the opportunity to continue an idea I first tried out over 20 years ago at Rutgers University.  “JazzSpeare” combines scenes from Shakespeare with a live, improvised and interactive score.  Here’s my quartet with Todd Williams, tenor saxophone, LaFrae Sci, drums, Mary Ann McSweeny, bass and myself on […]

Just launched fundraising campaign to record Holding the Torch for Liberty

Montenegro Premiere of Nora’s Ark, the jazz musical by Eli Yamin and Clifford Carlson

What an unbelievable week we had in Montenegro at Jazz Art Jam, celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month, a co-production with Jazz Art Montenegro and The Jazz Drama Program with support from the U.S. Embassy in Montenegro, the municipality and Porto Montenegro.  I never dreamed that this production of Nora’s Ark could take off the way it […]

Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival 2011

  What a phenomenal festival this is.  7,000 young people from all over the Northwest descend on Moscow, Idaho where they are embraced by the entire University of Idaho community.  And I mean the whole community from the president to the freshmen and families in neighborhoods.  Students, teachers, jazz fans and curious bystanders are all […]