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The “We Always Swing”® Jazz Series
20th Anniversary Individual Donor
Full-Circle Campaign: $80,000.
ou outdid yourselves during the past 12 months. Those of you who contributed — generously so, we might add — to the recently completed Individual Donor Campaign, pushed us across the finish line. So a big thank you to all for making it happen. Thank you for supporting the Jazz Series and carrying us into our 20th season. Your support allows us to do what we do best: Invite the finest jazz musicians in the world to perform in Central Missouri.
We now turn the page and amazingly move directly into 2014/2015 — our 20th Anniversary Season. With more than 200 concerts and an equal or even a greater number of community events, educational activities and the like, behind us, we thought this was as good a time as any to take stock — to realize where we have come from — a six-concert season in 1995/1996 — to a more than 25-event endeavor.
2014/2015: A 20th Anniversary Season-Long Celebration
As plans for the 20th Anniversary Season began to develop, we thought what a perfect time to create a retrospective of sorts — to re-visit a number of musicians and bands who had been here previously — but not so much try and recreate a concert sketch exactly as we had it previously, but rather look to customize events — bring players together that had a history with each other in any number of configurations as well as a history with the Jazz Series. This took some doing.
The schedule began to take us into creative and in some instances improvisational and unchartered presenting waters — which is where, quite frankly, we have become accustomed to being, having completed 19 cycles and now entered into our 20th go-round. And so the scheduling went; one concert after the next came to fruition. As one special event after another took shape, we began to see the 2014/2015 big picture. We liked what we saw: A schedule that would accomplish virtually everything we intended. Almost all of the more than five dozen musicians who will flood our senses with sound and musical pictures between August 2014 and June 2015 are Jazz Series returnees.
Oh, not to worry; we sprinkled the schedule with few new visitors and concepts such as the Jazz Series/Columbia debut of Snarky Puppy, an up-and-coming Brooklyn-based rotating collective; a world premiere concert that places Conrad Herwig's Latin Side All-Stars PLUS Joe Lovano with Chucho Valdes, Cuba's pianist extraordinaire. When you consider supporting the Jazz Series think of this as a double-bill that has not happened anywhere else in the world. Not bad for a Central Misouri-based Jazz Series, right?
We also wanted to reunite players who had previous history with each other — but had not been together in some time. So, on one occasion, we asked pianist Joanne Brackeen and bassist Cecil McBee to participate in our 20th Anniversary Celebration. And, they agreed. On a regular basis the twosome lit up Bradley's, the Greenwich Village haunt that, although closed for some years now, probably remains the world's most famous duo room. During the course of 2014/2015 we will see the return of players who have not been here in many, many years, some not since even before our first season; still others return having played here just last season. However, none of the returning players are working in exactly the same context as they did on their previous visit(s) here. We feel the iconoclastic performances the Jazz Series offers the region deserves your support.
We also thought we should recognize and celebrate those many musicians who graced Jazz Series stages on one or more occasion from 1995 to 2014, but who have sadly left us. As such, you will notice a number of concerts are dedicated to specific musicians, among them James Williams, our Education Program namesake who, at 53, lost his battle with cancer a decade ago in July 2004, and his compadre and fellow pianist, Mulgrew Miller, 57, who died tragically from a massive stroke just last year. We think both “JW” and “‘Grew” would be pleased that we've assembled a blockbuster quartet of their colleagues in their honor: pianist Donald Brown, a fellow Memphian and close friend to the pianists — and who shared the stage with them — and bassist Ray Drummond, drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith and saxophonist Bobby Watson who, collectively return to the Jazz Series as a cooperative under the banner The National Pastimes Productions All-Start Quartet. The foursome are here to celebrate Williams, Miller and the many others we have lost.
It's going to be a fantastic season of concerts — a dozen in all — a truly unique musical mosaic that will bring artists together in central Missouri who arrive from around the country — and around the world. Help us celebrate by showing your support for the Jazz Series.
The Earle Levon “Vonskis” Memorial Library
In 2013 we created the “Lending Library,” designed to provide the entire community with an opportunity to listen and — upon becoming a member — borrow virtually any of the 7,000 CDs/LP titles housed. In honor of our 20th Anniversary — and because he was such a big part of modern jazz history and played the Jazz Series on multiple occasions — the Lending Library is now formally the Earle LeVon “Vonskis” Freeman Memorial Library.
In conjunction with this auspicious occasion the Jazz Series received 150 copies of The Best of Von Freeman, a 2 CD/DVD compilation from Premonition Records. As a result we are able to offer a complimentary copy of the “Best of” CD/DVD compilation to the next 150 people who become NEW members at the $150 or greater level when they contribute to the Full-Circle Campaign.
The Freeman Lending Library is gaining momentum as more and more people find out about it and realize by becoming a member — either at the student or public level — they are helping to supporting a one-of-a-kind community resource. We ask that you please consider becoming one.
Jazz Series Needs More Than Ticket Sales:
While we have scheduled a power-packed series filled with great concerts, the fact is ticket sales generate approximately one-third of our annual budget. Further, in addition to concerts we produce numerous educational activities that involve the entire Columbia Public School District, MU and other college students. We offer children's concerts, public forums, master classes, workshops and the like — all which reinforce our commitment to preserve and promote this distinctly American art form. The entirety of our ancillary activities is made available to students of all ages and the general public for little or no admission cost — so we need your support to maintain this broad spectrum of city-wide activities.
The Full-Circle Individual Donor Campaign: A 20th-Season Celebration
We have set the 2013/2014 Full-Circle Individual Donor Campaign Goal at $80,000. We think, given the history of your grand generosity, that we can make it. Aside from the special $150 level membership and premium available to NEW members we've also created in honor of our 20th Anniversary Season a special $20 per month “Recurring Celebratory Contribution.” In a year's time such a tax-deductible gift will generate $240 for the Jazz Series.
Those of you who are regular contributors and Jazz Series supporters, we ask you to please encourage your friends, colleagues and others to also contribute. Those of you who have been and continue to be Jazz Series supporters, and know what a rare gem this project is, are our best spokespersons. If each donor attracts a second donor — regardless of gift level — we will successfully complete the Full-Circle Individual Donor Campaign. The Jazz Series now hits for its 20th go-round. We remain one of fewer than 10 all-jazz, independently run programs in the United States that is located in a market of fewer than 250,000 people.
