The Jazz Arts Group of Columbus (JAG) has been awarded $10,000 by Coldwell Banker King Thompson to help subsidize the presentation and promotion of jazz through the Jazz Academy’s American Jazz Experience in-school assembly program.
Developed and presented by Columbus Jazz Orchestra trombonist Jim Masters, the American Jazz Experience quintet features some of Columbus’ finest jazz artists in an interactive program featuring several styles of jazz; including spirituals, ragtime, blues and bebop. Students learn each style’s importance and place in history and all participate in call and response, how to scat sing, and even how to dance the Charleston!
Famous names in jazz history, such as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Scott Joplin, Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington, are discussed; musical terms such as 12-bar blues, improvisation and scat; and styles of jazz, including blues, Dixieland, big band swing, Afro-Cuban/Latin jazz and more become a part of the audience’s vocabulary.
“Without the generous support of Coldwell Banker King Thompson this year’s American Jazz Experience concerts would not be possible,” shares Jim Masters. “We have witnessed many in the arts being unable to present their art in schools because of the economic climate. It makes us even more grateful that Coldwell Banker King Thompson values our work and gives us the opportunity to share our musical story.”
Currently five Columbus City Schools and community centers have been granted subsidies for the 2010-11 school year to present American Jazz Experience including Winterset Elementary, Avondale Elementary, Spanish Immersion Academy and Saint Vincent Family Centers.
Jazz Arts Group actively seeks subsidies to reduce the fees for schools, libraries, and community centers. Visit www.jazzartsgroup.org or www.gcac.org for more information on scheduling American Jazz Experience through GCAC’s Artist-in-Schools offerings.