The American Jazz Institute

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Check out previous newsletters from the American Jazz Institute. You will need Adobe Acrobat to open each newsletter archive.

Be sure to visit the photo gallery and listen to samples from several different performances.

Our oral history archive is coming soon. Listen to Jazz legends talk about their lives, experiences, and all about jazz throughout the years.

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Winter/Spring 2011 ' Volume 21

AJI launches “Find Your Own Voice SM ”
mentoring clinics in Southern California
desert communities.
On March 13, 2010, The American Jazz Institute and Cathedral City High School hosted the desert communities’ first “Find Your Own Voice SM ” jazz mentoring clinic.
Three high schools -- Palm Desert (under the direction of Guy Lake), La Quinta (under the direction of Darren Loney) and Cathedral City (under the direction of Greg Whitmore), as well as
The President Gerald R. Ford Boys & Girls Club of La Quinta (under the direction of Jim Little) -- participated in the day-long clinic. Amelia Sullivan solos with the Palm Desert High School Jazz Band

Highlights of the 2010 season of AJI’s Jazz Supper Club Concerts
Capacity audiences were treated to six memorable evenings at the desert’s premier jazz club, Vicky’s of Santa Fe Restaurant in Indian Wells, as The American Jazz Institute presented six outstanding jazz, blues and cabaret singers in the 2010 second season of Jazz Supper Club Concerts. The setting was intimate, relaxed, informal, up close and personal with some of today’s finest vocal artists from the West Coast and New York.

Winter/Spring 2010 ' Volume 20

AJI introduces “Find Your Own VoiceSM” mentoring clinics in Southern California desert communities
On Saturday March 13, Cathedral City High School will host The American Jazz Institute’s first “Find Your Own Voice SM” mentoring clinic in the desert communities of Southern California. Cathedral City High School Director of Bands Greg Whitmore and AJI President Mark Masters will oversee the day’s activities

AJI presents season #2 of The Jazz Supper Club Series of concerts
at Vicky’s, the desert’s premier jazz club
A new season of memorable dinner concerts is underway and we hope you will join us. This is a unique opportunity to see and hear today’s and tomorrow’s great jazz vocalists from Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, up close and personal
in the intimate setting of the desert’s premier jazz club, Vicky’s of Santa Fe Restaurant and Lounge in Indian Wells.

Winter 2009 ' Volume 19

AJI,CMC and jazz community lose a close friend,
Ron Teeples. Our tribute:
Remarks by AJI President Mark Masters at the
memorial services for Ron Teeples, September 13,
2008, in Claremont:

Many of you probably don’t know that Ron had
a passion for music, and jazz in particular. Ron
and myself, along with Reed Gratz, operate a
non-profit organization called The American
Jazz Institute.

About ten years ago, Ron had a plan to
bring a multi-faceted jazz program to Claremont
McKenna College. He envisioned a history of jazz
class for liberal arts students along with an oral
history program that collected interviews of musicians
and music industry figures. In addition, we started
a series of jazz concerts on campus in late 1999.

Spring 2008 ' Volume 18

AJI announces 2 unique Spring concerts at CMC
For our tenth season of concerts at Claremont McKenna College, The American Jazz Institute presents two very different, very special evenings. In February, the remarkable free jazz duo of Michael Marcus and Ted Daniel (see page 2). In March, a big surprise for those who remember Frankie Laine only for his pop hits: AJI President Mark Masters has arranged the singer’s jazz-friendly songs for a stellar nonet featuring baritone sax master Gary Smulyan (see below). AJI and Smulyan are so enthusiastic about this music that a recording is in the works (see page 7).

The Jazz Soul of Frankie Laine
The Gary Smulyan Nonet will perform music
written or co-written by Frankie Laine, as well as
songs that are closely associated with the late
singer.

Fall 2007 ' Volume 17

AJI announces new Mentoring Program, new
Outreach Program
The American Jazz Institute and The Roger E. Rickson Foundation are embarking on a jazz-education/community-outreach mentoring program that sends professional musicians into public schools. Nothing can engage junior high and high school students like the thrill of a professional jazz ensemble performing specifically for them. The excitement generated in such an intimate setting brings students into the moment and stays with them long after the exposure.

Real Music Comes From Musicians SM
“...so they understand who makes the music”
AJI is pleased to announce a new educational/community outreach program, REAL MUSIC COMES FROM MUSICIANS SM. Conceived
by Stephanie O’Keefe, a professional musician
working in Los Angeles, the program is in
response to the increasing use of electronically
generated music, particularly in genres and
venues in which live music was once a very
important factor.

Spring 2007 ' Volume 16

AJI announces 3 CMC Spring concerts, CD
release of Gary McFarland works, publication
of Lee Tanner photo collection
Our ninth season of concerts at Claremont McKenna College turns over the Pickford Auditorium stage to three unique and outstanding artists: saxophone and clarinet icon Bennie Maupin with his ensemble in January, renowned drummer Billy Hart with an all-star octet octet in February, and premier bassist Rufus Reid with an allstar septet in March. We hope you will join us for these special evenings.

An Evening with Billy Hart
Billy Hart is one of the most established,
lyrical and creative drummers in jazz -- a true master making his instrument an element of the melodic line as well as occupying the chair that is the heartbeat of the band.

Spring 2006 ' Volume 15

An Evening with Billy Hart
Billy Hart is one of the most established, lyrical and creative drummers in jazz - a true master making his instrument an element of the melodic line as well as occupying the chair that is the heartbeat of the band. Hart has collaborated with such accomplished talents as Shirley Horn, Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz, Eddie Harris and Charles Lloyd. He has performed on over 600 recordings.

The Bennie Maupin Ensemble
Bennie Maupin is best known for his atmospheric bass clarinet playing on Miles Davis’
classic Bitches Brew album, as well as on other Miles Davis recordings such as Big Fun, Jack
Johnson and On The Corner. He was a founding member of Herbie Hancock’s seminal band The Headhunters, as well as a performer and composer in Hancock’s influential Mwandishi band.

Fall 2005 ' Volume 14

AJI’s latest album releases win rave reviews and
join the top 10 on the nation’s jazz station playlists
The response to our latest albums is truly gratifying. “... (Grachan Moncur has) made a welcome return to recording with the absolutely stunning CD, Exploration,” says allaboutjazz.com.
“This CD should be considered one of the landmark interpretations of Porgy & Bess ...,” says allmusic.com. The CMJ New Music Report, in their weekly rankings of the top 200 jazz albums on college, commercial and non-commercial radio stations, listed Exploration in the top 40 for 4 solid months earlier this year, peaking at an attention-getting #5 on the charts. Porgy & Bess did well too, ranking in the top 40 for 8 weeks.

Spring 2005 ' Volume 13

Grachan Moncur III Evolution Big Band
Trombone master Grachan Moncur III is truly a living legend. He created some of the most brilliant postbop/free-bop jazz of the early 1960s. Moncur played with Ray Charles as well as the famed Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet. He recorded two highly influential albums as a leader for Blue Note Records: Evolution with Jackie McLean and Lee Morgan, and Some Other Stuff with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Tony Williams.

An Evening with Dewey Redman
Dewey Redman is one of the most adventurous tenor saxophonists of our time.
DownBeat magazine calls him “the greatest living tenor saxophonist.”
Born in Texas in 1931, Redman took up the larinet at 13 but switched to alto sax to play in his high school marching band with buddy Ornette Coleman. After getting a Masters Degree in Education, he moved to San Francisco, taught in
public schools -- and freelanced as a tenor saxophonist with the likes of Pharoah
Sanders and Wes Montgomery.

Summer 2004 ' Volume 12

Grachan Moncur and Porgy & Bess CDs,
Bob Curnow and Ted Brown concerts
Last Fall saw the release of two critically hailed big band CDs from AJI and Capri
Records: The Clifford Brown Project and One Day with Lee (see page 5). AJI’s major
commitment to record today’s great jazz artists in performances of important original
compositions and historically significant new arrangements is much in evidence
this Fall with the release of two Capri records: Exploration (see below) and Porgy
& Bess...Redefined! (profiled in our last issue).

Bob Curnow’s L.A. Big Band
Bob Curnow was a trombonist in the Stan Kenton Orchestra during the early 1960s, touring
throughout the United States, England, Scotland and Wales. During the mid-70s, he was
arranger, composer, record producer, A&R Director and General Manager of Kenton’s
Creative World Records. He produced over 30 LPs for the label, and his arrangements and
compositions can be heard on six Kenton albums.

Winter 2004 ' Volume 11

Ellington Reunion Project
We look forward to your joining us for this sixth concert season at Claremont McKenna College. February reunites alumni of the legendary Duke Ellington Orchestra for an ambitious oral history project highlighted by a Saturday evening
concert with the AJI Big Band and a Monday evening jam session. In March, we pay a big-band tribute to Chico O’Farrill; in April, Gene Lees and Roger Kellaway present The Johnny Mercer Songbook. See page 3 for details on One Day with Lee, AJI’s new CD with Lee Konitz performing his own compositions arranged by Mark Masters.

AJI presents ONE DAY WITH LEE
In April 2002, the AJI produced a studio recording with one of the elder statesmen
of jazz, Lee Konitz. The disc, titled ONE DAY WITH LEE, is scheduled for release early in 2004 on the Capri Records label.

Summer 2003 ' Volume 10

The Putter Smith Quartet
Renowned bassist Putter Smith has
performed with a long list of jazz greats, a sampling of which includes Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Bob Brookmeyer, Matt Murphy, Willie Bobo, Lee Konitz, Buddy Rich, Bob Dorough, Jackie & Roy, Carmen McRae, Blue Mitchell, Art Farmer,
Erroll Garner, Joe LaBarbera, Gerry Mulligan, Charlie Haden, T-Bone Walker, Ray Charles, Herb Geller, Barney Kessel, Scott Hamilton, Cecil Payne, Tootie Heath, Shelly Manne, Art Pepper, Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabakin ... and at AJI concerts in both small group and big band settings.

An Evening with Mort Sahl
Mort Sahl has been observing America and its politics for almost six decades. His is a voice that America needs to hear. Always honest and forthcoming, Sahl may tell us things we don’t want to hear but he is so compelling that we listen, and listen carefully. Mort Sahl, the father of modern political humor, has helped us come to terms with what is wrong with America and at the same time, what a beacon America can be.

Winter 2003 ' Volume 9

Mark Turner & Friends
One of the main goals of every creative jazz musician is to develop one's own sound, a voice that is distinctive and immediately recognizable. Mark Turner was an original from the time of his recording debut in 1998, and he has continued to grow in depth through each of his albums. No one else sounds like him, and he has a tone and ideas that are unlike any of his contemporaries or predecessors.

An Evening with Steve Kuhn
Steve Kuhn Trio with David Finck, bass, and Peter Erskine, drums with string quartet, woodwinds and harp in a performance of Gary McFarland's third stream masterpiece, "OCTOBER SUITE."

Winter 2002 ' Volume 8

Spring concerts at CMC feature Jimmy Knepper, Porgy & Bess and special tributes to Gary McFarland and Jelly Roll Morton.

Memorable moments of the Fall 2001 season at Claremont McKenna College.

AJI Goes to College: Announcing the Spring 2002 concert series at Claremont McKenna College.

Fall 2001 ' Volume 7

Ellingtonia 2001 The Music of Duke Ellington with Special guest: Gina Eckstine, vocalist Lee Konitz & Friends.

A Tribute to Lee Konitz The American Jazz Institute Big Band Special guests: Alan Broadbent, Bob Enevoldsen, Gary Foster, Joe LaBarbera, Jack Montrose, Putter Smith.

Summer 2001 ' Volume 6

Lee Konitz, Jelly Roll Morton tribute and fresh Porgy & Bess to highlight 2001-2002 season at Claremont McKenna College.

AJI goes to college: Memorable moments of the 2001 Spring season at Claremont McKenna College.

JUST ANNOUNCED: Special Ellington concert comes to CMC in September.

Winter 2001 ' Volume 5

Sketches of Spain : Special guest Tim Hagans, trumpet, Celebrating Mingus : Special guest Ray Drummond, bass, Jack Montrose & His West Coast Friends, 3rd Annual Kenton Sound

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