Lord, Please Protect Black Men by Eli Yamin
Lord, please protect black men Who have carried our cross in America for too long Who watch birds Who design and build bridges Who invent Who teach Who raise children Who write music Who play the saxophone, trumpet, piano, drums, tuba, bass, and violin. Lord, please […]
How Maxine Greene influenced my work these past 20 years…
“I hope you think about the wonder of multiple perspectives in your own experience. I hope you think about what happens to you when it becomes possible to abandon one-dimensional viewing, to look from many vantage points and, in doing so, construct meanings scarcely suspected before… Our object…where young people are concerned, is to […]
Jazz Power Initiative 15th Anniversary Celebration
It’s amazing to see this dream come this far–Jazz Power Initiative, the non profit I co-founded in 2003 with Clifford Carlson, is turning 15 years old. Jazz Power is one feisty teenager, let me tell you. Based in upper Manhattan, our uptown programs in Harlem and Washington Heights are thriving with 30 teens receiving scholarships […]
Big announcement: BLUES BOOK RELEASED!
Rowman and Littlefield Publishers in collaboration with the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) has released my book, So You Want to Sing the Blues. This book is the gathering of many of my life experiences being inspired, guided and uplifted by the blues since I was a child. It is also the result […]
Posted in Arts Education, Blues Band in Brazil, Blues Band in Chile, Blues Band in Russia, Blues in the Balkans, Cultural Diplomacy, Eli Yamin Blues Band, Jazz education, Uncategorized Leave a comment
Why We Play Jazz by Eli Yamin
Dear Contestants of Kamerton’s We are Playing Jazz Festival, I am so happy to hear that you are playing jazz together! And this is the most important thing, together. Because as much as jazz is about individual achievement and expression on your instrument through improvisation, it is really about playing together with other people. Learning to groove in […]
The Birds Sing First by Eli Yamin
Have you ever noticed? The birds sing first. I mean, they have a lot to do, right? Gather food, fix up their nest. Even so, they make time to sing. That’s how they always START. Makes me think of this… Once there was a town where everyone sang first. There was a song for […]
Euro Asian Premiere of Message From Saturn
I am so happy to share this video of the title song of Message From Saturn from the Euro Asian premiere in Yeketerinburg, Russia in November of ’16. The joy generated in this intergenerational and cross cultural collaboration melted the ice. Here’s to more blues in 2017!
Why we need the blues NOW by Eli Yamin
When your baby left you, you need the blues. When you can’t get satisfied, you need the blues. When the one you love takes up with someone else, you need the blues. And when you feel you’ve been mistreated, you have got to have the blues. The blues is bad. Playing the blues is good. […]
Guatemala Jazz Tour 2016
Thanks to the United States Department of State and The Jazz Drama Program, this was our third tour to Guatemala. What a privilege it was to visit this beautiful country and play for the amazing Guatemalan People! Joined by longtime friends and associates, LaFrae Sci, drums/compositions, Lakecia Benjamin, alto saxophone and Elias Bailey, bass, the […]
Posted in Arts Education, Cultural Diplomacy, Eli Yamin Jazz Quartet, Jazz education, The Jazz Drama Program Leave a comment
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