The videos from the 2007 CJC Jazz Hall of Fame were recognized at the recent Iowa Motion Picture Awards show.   Brackett Media & Event Services  (www.brackettmedia.com) has filmed the videos that honor the Jazz Hall of Fame inductees for the past five years.  This past year's videos received the following awards:

Award of Excellence                                                                                    

Category:  Editing / Long Form

Jazz Hall of Fame

"2007 Inductee Video"

 

Award of Achievement

Category:   Educational

Jazz Hall of Fame

"2007 Inductee Video"         

The CJC and the Hall of Fame Committee want to congratulate Jay Brackett on this recognition and thank Jay and the crew for their excellent support with the Hall of Fame over the years!

                                      

 

MAX WELLMAN QUARTET at Vaudeville Mews on May 24th.

Vocalist Max Wellman will be bringing a group to Vaudeville Mews for a special performance on May 24th.  They will be performing a new set of music with Joel Gettys (drums), Ben Wedeking (keyboard), Dave Rezek (trumpet) and bassist extraordinaire Steve Charlson.  They will be performing from 7:00 - 9:00 pm and the cover charge is just $5. 

 

 

The CJC Big Band will perform at Java Joe's on Sunday, May 18 from 2 - 4 pm.  Admission is FREE.   The band will take the summer off and return to Java Joe's again next September.  Drop in and enjoy their last performance for several months.

 

 

VIEW PICTURES FROM THE 2007 CJC JAZZ HALL OF FAME!

The 2007 CJC JAZZ HALL OF FAME was another wonderful evening of great music and tributes to some of Central Iowa's most dedicated and accomplished musicians.  This years inductees were Phil Mattson, Bob Weast, the Gray Brothers and Dartanyan Brown.  Special Recognition Awards were presented to Paul Micich and Rob Messer.  The Bobby Dawson Awards (for a student musician) was given to Paige Sanders.   Be sure to visit the "Photo" section of this website to see many more pictures from the 2007 Hall Of Fame!  Special thanks to Linda Diment for providing ALL Hall Of Fame photos!

CJC HALL OF FAME CD NOW AVAILABLE-  The CJC is proud to announce that we now have an audio CD of the musical portions of the recent Hall Of Fame event available for purchase soon.  We want to extend our sincere "Thanks" to Bob Economaki for his outstanding recording abilities and Don Jaques for doing the final mixing on the recording. 

This CD features several tracks featuring Sam Salomone (CJC Hall of Fame inductee), Don Jaques and Rob Messer.  Additionally, there is a blues by singer Tina Haase-Findlay with Bruce Martin, Dartanyan Brown (CJC Hall of Fame inductee) and Rob Messer.  There are two songs featuring recent CJC Hall of Fame inductee, Bob Weast.  Lastly, there are two very beautiful duets by Susie Miget and Hall of Fame inductee Phil Mattson. 

The recording serves as an example of the extraordinary musical talent in the Des Moines area and why the CJC honors these individuals annually at the CJC Hall of Fame and Special Recognition Awards every October at Adventureland Inn. 

You may purchase a copy of this CD for a mere $15 by phoning Phyllis Leaverton at 276-0777 or stopping at one of the Java Joe's jam sessions on the first Sunday of every month or the CJC Big Band appearances at Java Joe's on the third Sunday of every month.  Also check out Abe Goldstien's "Straight, No Chaser" radio show on KFMG 99.1 to hear occasional airplay of some of this wonderful recording.

SUPPORT THE CJC AND ALL LOCAL JAZZ!

 

 

SCOTT SMITH to perform at the Renaissance Savery Hotel lounge!

Many local jazz fans have fond memories of listening to CJC Hall of Fame inductee Irene Myles (with Bobby Parker, Jim Bierma and Julius Brooks) for years at Guido's Lounge in the Savery Hotel during the 80's and early 90's.  Live music is returning to The Savery with another CJC Hall of Fame inductee.  Pianist / vocalist SCOTT SMITH has announced that he will be playing in the lounge every Thursday from 5 - 8 and Saturday from 7 - 10.  Scott invites everyone to drop in and request some songs. 

 

2008 MARKS THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CJC!  

The CJC was formed in 1988 and this year is the 20th year that the CJC has devoted itself to promoting JAZZ for Des Moines area students and residents.  The mere existance of a non-profit all volunteer organization for 20 years is a monumental achievement.  It is testament to the dedication of jazz lovers and especially, Phyllis Leaverton, the president and driving force behind this organization.  

2008 CJC HALL OF FAME AND SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS DATE ANNOUNCED!

Mark your calendars!  This years annual HALL OF FAME event will take place at Adventureland Inn on Sunday, October 19th and plans are already in the works to make this most entertaining evening yet.  There will be some changes to the usual format and the committee promises "MORE MUSIC and LESS TALK" this year.  In addition to honoring individuals who have made important contributions to Des Moines' JAZZ scene over the years, the evenings activities will also recognize the 20th Anniversary of the CJC by paying tribute to people who were very involved with this organization in past years.  There will also be more focus on the local student musicians as they are ones that the CJC mission is truly based upon.

The CJC HALL OF FAME AND SPECIAL RECOGNITION is still months away, but there is a great deal of planning that goes into this important annual event.  Please check this website in the upcoming months for more information on ticket sales, this year's inductees and honorees, and the listing of great musicians that will be performing.  If you want to support JAZZ in Des Moines, there is no better way than to attend this event on October 19, 2008.

  

 

 DES MOINES BIG BAND

EVERY Monday night  at  

ADVENTURELAND INN

The Des Moines BIg Band began another season of performance at Adventureland Inn on October 8th.  The 17 piece contemporary big band under the direction of trumpeter Jim Oatts plays every Monday night from 6:30 - 9:30 in a smoke free, family friendly atmosphere.  There is full menu service.  Regular cover is $4 (students - $3) and varies with special guest artists.  Many high school and college jazz bands will perform throughout the season during the big bands breaks. Check this website for special guest announcements!

  Some of the upcoming guests with the Des Moines Big Band:

March 31 - Johnston HS Jazz Band

April 7      -  UNI JAzz Panthers (directed by Bob Washut) and New York  Rob Scheps (saxophone, flute) from NYC.

                   (The UNI Jazz Panthers will also be performing at noon at Valley HS and at 3:00 p.m. at Waukee HS on Tuesday, April 8)

April 14    -  Univeriity of Iowa Jazz ensemble (directed by John Rapson)

April 28    -  Valley HS Two -  Dave Kobberdahl

May 4    -  A special fundraiser performance at Roosevelt HS with Frank Perowsky and Susie Miget.    

                  (See above on this page for ticket information.)

May 12     -  UNI One - Chriz Merz directing.   $4 ($3 for students)

 read more ...

ABOUT THE NEW CJC WEBSITE . .  .

This NEW website (www.dmcommunityjazzcenter.org ) was "a long time coming" and will be a  work in progress.  It will give you important information about the CJC and how YOU CAN BECOME A SUPPORTING MEMBER! 

*  You will be able to view a schedule of "Upcoming JAZZ Events".  It may be viewed in a monthy calendar format, weekly or as an agenda list.  Scroll across events on the calendar and you can see more details.

*  You can read about the "CJC Jazz Hall Of Fame" and bios on tne many esteemed inductees.  (Parts are still "under construction".)

*  You can check "Links"  to informative JAZZ related websites and especially those of local JAZZ players.   ****   If you wish to submit your personal URL for inclusion on the CJC website, please send an e-mail to jkrantz978@aol.com..

*  There will be a photo gallery featuring pictures of local students, professional musicians and visiting artists. (Stil "under construction" at this time.)

*  You can read past issues of the CJC quarterly newsletter, "Straight Ahead".   HOT OFF THE PRESS - Check out the Fall 2007 Straight Ahead by clicking "Newletter" at the top of this page.

* "Blogging" has become a popular way for people to receive valuable daily updates on their own computers and this website offers that feature.

The possibilities are practically endless and we have a lot of other ideas that might be incorporated into the site.  Please feel feel to contact us with any suggestions that you might have.  This is our forum to the local Des Moines JAZZ community.

 

Legendary jazz pioneer dies
 
From the Chicago Tribune
>
> Franz Jackson 1912 ~ 2008
>
> Legendary Chicago saxophonist Franz Jackson dies at age 95
> Worked with such jazz greats as Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton
> By Howard Reich | Tribune critic
> May 8, 2008
>
> Few jazz musicians in the 21st Century can claim to have known the two key
> inventors of the music: trumpeter Louis Armstrong and composer-pianist
> Jelly Roll Morton.
>
> Franz Jackson, a legendary Chicago saxophonist who performed past his 95th
> birthday, worked with Armstrong, socialized with Morton and collaborated
> with Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Fletcher Henderson and
> other swing-era icons.
>
> As a virtuoso saxophonist, brilliant clarinetist and evocative vocalist,
> Mr. Jackson was a mainstay in Chicago jazz clubs and concert halls dating
> back to the Roaring '20s (except for a period in the late 1930s and '40s,
> when he lived in New York and Sweden).
>
> Mr. Jackson, 95, died of natural causes early Tuesday, May 6, in Riveridge
> Manor, a nursing home in Niles, Mich., said his daughter, Michelle Jewell.
> He had suffered a hip fracture in April, she said.
>
> Though listeners marveled at Mr. Jackson's ability to play so well for so
> long-he performed for more than two hours straight at a 95th birthday
> celebration last November-it was the particular nature of his sound that
> always commanded attention.
>
> 'When I think of Franz, I just think of a big, powerful saxophone,' said
> Eric Schneider, a Chicago tenor player who frequently performed with Mr.
> Jackson.
>
> 'He reminded me of Coleman Hawkins,' added Schneider, referring to a
> seminal tenor saxophonist of a more romantic era. 'But he had his own thing
> too.'
>
> Indeed, if Mr. Jackson embraced the larger-than-life sound that was the
> hallmark of swing giants Hawkins and Ben Webster, he also incorporated
> elements of the more ethereal sounding tenorist Lester Young.
>
> At the core of Mr. Jackson's music, though, was a deep well of soulful
> expression, conveyed in poetically stated melodies and touched-by-the-blues
> phrasings.
>
> 'He was the real thing-the authenticity of his playing' distinguished him,
> said Art Hoyle, a noted Chicago trumpeter who often partnered with Mr.
> Jackson. 'He was virtually there when the music was in its infancy. When
> you talked to him, you were talking to history.'
>
> Mr. Jackson was born Nov. 1, 1912, in Rock Island, Ill., and came to
> Chicago with his mother when he was 13. He quickly began teaching himself
> to play reed instruments and at 16 was working with a pioneer of
> boogie-woogie piano, Albert Ammons. By the early 1930s, Mr. Jackson was
> playing for bandleader-composer Henderson-widely considered the architect
> of big-band swing-and learning to write scores from him.
>
> 'That was a great time to be with Fletcher, too, because he was doing a lot
> of [arranging] work for Benny Goodman's band at the time,' Mr. Jackson said
> in a 1992 Tribune interview. 'Basically, he was taking his great old charts
> and rewriting them for the Goodman band.'
>
> Mr. Jackson's education continued apace, for by performing with Armstrong,
> trumpeter Roy Eldridge and other innovators based in Chicago, Mr. Jackson
> absorbed the language of early jazz as it was being created and refined.
>
> He moved to New York with his first wife, Maxine Johnson, in the late
> 1930s, but he found the jazz scene there cliquish. Even so, in Manhattan he
> befriended the virtually out-of-work Morton, in the waning days of the
> great composer's life.
>
> By 1950, Mr. Jackson returned to Chicago, leading his Original Jass
> All-Stars for years at the Red Arrow club in Stickney. Although many
> musicians of his vintage rejected the bebop innovations that supplanted
> swing, Mr. Jackson absorbed them into his own, remarkably malleable work.
>
> 'A lot of guys didn't like it when bebop came along, but I liked it fine,'
> Mr. Jackson said in the Tribune interview. 'I could understand it because I
> knew the bebop guys like Dizzy [Gillespie] before they became famous; I
> played with them.'
>
> Even into his 90s, Mr. Jackson remained a strikingly charismatic figure,
> singing vintage tunes such as 'St. James Infirmary' and 'Limehouse Blues'
> with a vocal grit and a declamatory style rarely encountered anymore. In a
> marathon concert with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble three years ago in Chicago,
> he held his own against tenor monsters such as Johnny Griffin, Von Freeman
> and Ira Sullivan.
>
> 'He did exactly what he loved his entire life, he made a living at it, he
> raised his family on it,' said his daughter. 'If I have one regret, it's
> that he's not more widely known,' she said, though Mr. Jackson's
> recordings-on labels such as Delmark and his own Pinnacle Recordings-are
> available on his Web site: franzjackson.com.
>
> 'But he was the heart of jazz.'
>
> On May 15, Mr. Jackson-who lived in Chicago and Dowagiac, Mich.-will
> posthumously receive the 2008 Theodore Thomas History Maker Award for
> Distinction in the Performing Arts from the Chicago History Museum.
>
> In addition to his daughter, Mr. Jackson is survived by a son, Robert; five
> grandchildren; and a step-grandchild.
>
> A memorial service will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. May 24 in the Apostolic
> Lighthouse Church in Dowagiac, Mich.

 

Surfing the internet?   You might as well use that time to check out videos of your favorite JAZZ artists.  One site where you can spend many hours doing this is www.youtube.com.  You can vistt that site and use the search feature to type in the name of whomever you want to watch perform.  Try typing:  "Miles Davis", "Bill Evans", "Sonny Rollins", "Oscar Peterson"  or "Art Tatum".  Or you can type in the title of a jazz standard like "So What" and you'll get several different versions of it performed by famous players or some unknown player that happens to have a video camera.  I konw for a fact that you can even find videos of a local players from Des Moines.

If you haven't experienced this immense video resource, try clicking on the following link about Joe Lovano and Hank Jones and then just take off from there to watch hours of jazz videos: 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nCv3SeKG1w

 

 

 MAYOR COWNIE PROCLAIMS OCTOBER 21ST 

JAZZ HISTORY DAY IN DES MOINES!

  Dartanyan Brown and Bob Weast speak at City Hall

 Former Mayor Preston Daniels began a tradition in 2001 and Mayor Frank Cownie has continued by designating the date of the annual CJC Hall Of Fame event as "Jazz History Day In Des Moines".    The day after the event, Hall Of Fame inductees Dartanyan Brown and Robert Weast (joined by CJC president, Phyllis Leaverton and supporters, John Krantz and Abe Goldstien) appeared at Des Moines City Hall to receive recognition for their impact on the local jazz scene in Des Moines.  Brown and Weast both spoke briefly and posed for pictures with the Mayor after he read an official proclamation.  A television broadcast of this ceremony was aired on Channel 7 at various times during the month of October and early November,

Click "Read More"  to view the proclamation: 

 

 read more ...

Kurt Bowermaster's and the Party Gras Classic Jazz Band at Iowa Cubs home games.

The Party Gras Classic Jazz Band will be performing FREE outside the main ticket gate for every Friday and Saturday Iowa Cubs home baseball game this season from 6:00 - 7:00.   Listen to great traditional jazz on your way into the stadium!

 

 

The CIVIC MUSIC ASSOCIATION has released the line-up of concerts for their next season.  Of particular note to JAZZ fans are the following performers:

Thursday, September 18, 2008      Violinist REGINA CARTER

Saturday, January 24, 2009            Guitarist/Vocalist JOHN PIZZARELLI

Friday, February 27, 2009              Trumpeter BYRON STRIPLING with his Quartet

These dates are still a time from now, but you will want to MARK YOUR CALENDARS if any of these renowned artists are of particular interest to you.  Visit www.civicmusic.org for more information.  SUPPORT JAZZ IN DES MOINES!

 

 

 

LLOYD'S JAZZ, WINE AND CIGAR LOUNGE CLOSES

Local JAZZ fans will miss yet another JAZZ venue that closed this week (1/26/08).  Owner, Lloyd Stevens has announced that Lloyd's Jazz WIne and Cigar Lounge has finally closed the doors after weeks of rumors.  Lloyd tried several things to keep the club afloat including implementing a cover charge and attempts to book different musicians.  But economics would not allow him to continue operating any longer.

Lloyd's (formally known as Valley Junction Wine and Tobacco) opened in June of 2005.  The club originally opened without a live music policy, but has featured music at least twice a week for the past two years.  The list of musicians that performed there includes Janey Hooper, Jurgen Briggs, Pete Simonson, Jessie Hernandez, Susie Miget, Byron Wells, Mikel Williams, Sam Salomone, Jon Albaugh, Dan Stevenson, Scott Smith, Stu Calhoun, Scott Davis, Julius Brooks, John Kilizarmut, Don Brown, Jeff Stratton, Jessie Villolobos, Ross Clark, Roxi Copland, Tina Haase-Findlay, James Bien, John Scott, Don Jaques, Rob Messer, Michael Marren, Seth Hedquist, Eric Biase and many, many more that "sat in with the house band" or played in an open jam session.  Lloyd's will be remembered for providing the long-standing weekend gig for The Janey Hooper / Susie Miget Project that brought the seldom heard Susie Miget back into a regular public appearance situation for the first time in many years. 

Lloyd said that he would "like to thank all the musicians and supporters of live JAZZ here in Des Moines, and I look forward to someday giving live JAZZ a try again."

The club will be missed by local JAZZ musicians and fans alike.  Lloyd is to be commended for trying to keep JAZZ alive in Des Moines and the CJC thanks him for his efforts and providing many enjoyable jazz-filled evenings.

 (If you want to catch Janey Hooper playing, she will be at Christopher's Restaurant in Beaverdale on Wednesday, March 12.)

 

Do you have a JAZZ event that should be listed on this site?

Do you have pictures or an article for this site?

If so; you may e-mail your event info (JAZZ only, please)  to cjc@mcshi.com and it will be forwarded to me.  I can generally get it on the JAZZ CALENDAR the same day, but you should allow at least 48 hours before the event.   One clubowner submits the entire upcoming month's performance schedule in advance and another busy jazz player does similarly and that is truly appreciated.  Of course, there are always some "last minute" gigs.  I am always happy to promote your event.  Just make sure that it is JAZZ if you want it on this site . . . and the "sooner that you submit it, the better".

We are also seeking digital pictures of any local jazz happenings  to include in the "Photos" section of this website.  If you are a performer, it might also be included on the calendar in the "Schedule" section.  Please attach a digiital image to an e-mail and send it to:  jkrantz978@aol.com.   Check out the Photo section of this site.  We have just added many pictures of the Java Joe's Jam Session from December 2nd.   Open an "album", click on an individual picture to enlarge it and then click "next" to see them all.

Lastly, if you wish to submit any commentary on JAZZ, or perhaps a review of a recording or local performance, you may attach it as a Word document to an an e-mail.  Send it to me and it will be reviewed for consideration.  

The CJC is always looking for new content for this website in order to keep it fresh and always evolving in an effort to keep the JAZZ fans of Central Iowa informed.

 - John Krantz 

 

 

************************************

CALENDAR OF JAZZ EVENTS!

Check out the Schedule of upcoming JAZZ events!  

There is a  great lineup of music to appreciate in the area. 

Thank you for supporting live JAZZ in Des Moines!

Click "read more" below for the complete calendar of local jazz events . . . 

 read more ...

An open letter from Scott Davis (trumpeter, bandleader, teacher and CJC board member)  . . .

(Click "read more" below.)

 read more ...

The CJC would like to thank Linda Diment for providing all photos taken at the annual Hall of Fame event.

 

 

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