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 […]
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 […]
Posted in Arts Education, Cultural Diplomacy, Eli Yamin Jazz Quartet, Jazz education, Montenegro, The Jazz Drama Program Leave a comment
Guatemala International Jazz Festival
From Idaho, it was straight South to Guatemala with the Blues Band. This time, for the first time with Charenee Wade, vocal and Ben Stapp, tuba, along with LaFrae Sci, drums and yours truly at the piano and hollering. Man, what a gas. The first night we opened the festival with a concert on the […]
Whole Schools Institute, Meridian, Mississippi
What a pleasure and honor it was to work with Mississippi Teachers at the Whole Schools Institute in Meridian, Mississippi July 19, 20 and 21. 3 hours a day for 3 days we worked on the workshop version of Nora’s Ark, the jazz musical by myself and Clifford Carlson. Some folks started out with a […]
Santiago, Chile
Why do I LOVE the blues so much? It’s the universal language of the heart. It brings people together and makes them happy. It’s full of passion, spirit, harmony, melody and rhythm. So much RHYTHM! We spent the final week of the tour giving workshops and concerts in Santiago and around Santiago. What a gas […]
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Fortaleza, Brazil
What a piano! It’s amazing how the possibilities open with a fine Steinway instrument at my fingertips. We opened the concert with our new arrangement of the spiritual, “Trouble of the World.” After hearing this arrangement, one person observed, “Now I know where John Coltrane and those guys were coming from!” It’s true, African American […]
American Bi-National Center
Last night was an amazing experience. We performed for students, diplomats and friends of the American Bi-National Center in Recife. This is a place that teaches classes in English. Of course, we saw it as the perfect opportunity to invite the Maracatou kids from Corpos Percussivos. We were so knocked out to perform two songs […]
Posted in Arts Education, Blues Band in Brazil, Cultural Diplomacy, Eli Yamin Blues Band, Jazz education, Recife 2 Comments
Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, Workshops
The next couple of days I gave four workshops at the festival. One on the blues,”The Blues is the Roots, Everything Else is the Fruits.” We stomp/clapped, delved into the cultural and emotional roots of the blues, sang “Wade in the Water and the “What Gives You the Blues Blues.” Once we got on instruments, […]
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The Jazz Drama Program In Mississippi
The trip to Mississippi was amazing. The photo above captures the sheer joy we felt at the culmination of the workshop performance of Nora’s Ark, the jazz musical by Clifford Carlson and me. Judi Holifield, Director of Whole Schools Initiative, sponsored by the Mississippi Arts Commission, brought me down to University of Mississippi at Oxford, […]
White House Jazz Studio
Eli Yamin arrives at the East Gate Arriving at the White House today was a dream come true. I was invited to participate in the launch of the White House Music Series: Jazz Studio. It was the first ever jazz education event at the White House and we were given the run of the East […]
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