The ‘N’ Word Buzz and Black History Month
By Eric K. Williams
The jury is out over whether a symbolic ban on the ‘N’ word will have a long lasting impact on New York’s youth. The jury is also out on just how committed those who appeared at a City Hall news conference are in supporting the call. Yet, one elected official is dead serious about stemming the long-term use of the word in popular culture, to a generation largely removed from the Civil Rights era.
More than a dozen civic leaders, elected officials and those in the entertainment industry joined Leroy Comrie, a New York City Councilman, on the first day of Black History month to press the point. It was an impressive list of public faces among those standing with Comrie at his City Hall news conference. That list included Dennis Walcott, Deputy Mayor; Manhattan and Queens Borough Presidents, Scott Stringer and Helen Marshall. At least ten City Council members stood with Comrie including David Weprin, Gale Brewer, Oliver Koppel and, Robert Jackson. One noted recording artist included Rap and Hip-Hop pioneer, Curtis “Blow” Walker. The symbolism of the announcement on the first day of Black History was not lost to those present.
Black History month, as it is commonly understood, is a period where the nation takes time out to learn of the contributions of one of America’s oldest ethnic groups. This “month of education,” Comrie argues, presents the perfect time for “re-education” about a word that is “horrible” whatever the intent may be.
Comrie (D-Queens,) a mild mannered man, was emotional in an interview on the subject hours before his council chamber presentation. He said he was aghast about the growing, and general use of the ‘N’ word in everyday public life and, also, in present day American society. His dramatic decision to introduce a symbolic city council resolution calling for a ban was one attempt, as he put it, “to re-take our children.” What was particularly perplexing to Comrie was the general acceptance and use of the word among the young. He took aim at those in the music and entertainment community that is, largely, dominated by Blacks. Comrie said that many of the city’s young, particularly Black and Latino youth, are confused about the word and, fail to understand that their self esteem is diminished whenever they use it. He said by going public with the ban he has hopes that the city’s youth would eventually “eliminate the word from their vocabulary.”
In recent months the move to participate in symbolic bans on the “N’ word have gathered steam in several sectors, including commentary on the topic in the popular press. The New York Daily News columnists, Errol Lewis and Stanley Crouch, respectively, had written numerous segments criticizing Hip-Hop lyrics for use of the word. Lewis, more recently, had supported the move for a symbolic ban among artists and policy makers in a late December 2006 commentary. In at least a dozen American cities, including those with smaller Black populations, symbolic bans against the ‘N’ word has taken root. Efforts in cities such as Minneapolis, Minnesota and Portland, Oregon, led by Black elected officials first gained notice last Spring.
At Comrie’s news conference Jill Merritt and Kovon Flowers, founders of the Brooklyn-based “Abolish the ‘N’ Word Project,” spoke first. Merritt said that their fight “is not just a fight against a word but, a war against a mentality.” Use of the word re-enforces a mentality to accept less, rather than more, she said, adding that much is lost in self-pride and is counter to the interest of current day Black youth. Citing other world events from the slaughter of non-Muslims in Darfar, in The Sudan, to the national battle to stem the tide of AIDS, Merritt said the call by Comrie was a “giant step in the right direction,” to reverse a sorry trend.
Kurtis “Blow” Walker, a Hip-Hop pioneer of the genre, challenged the Rap and Hip-Hop generation to not only stop using the term, but to “try to see themselves differently.” To quit using the word, he said, is a positive step toward changing the mentality of the community.
Dennis Walcott, a surprise participant for a Deputy Mayor, took off his title and spoke from the heart, saying he is more than a deputy mayor and called himself “a man of the community.” He said that many who use the word don’t know the history of it, the origin, and how it’s use “goes to the heart of the person’s value of self, value of community and a person’s value of their worth.”
Richard Basciano, owner of the comedy night club the Laugh Factory, said he was ‘bursting with pride’ to be there and to take part in the symbolic ban on the word. It was in December when Michael Richards, the former television situation comedy actor who uttered the N word during a flagging performance at the comedy club’s Hollywood setting, that may have helped to generate momentum towards such calls for the ban. Basciano said that incident was “the kick-off” to eliminate use of the word at his Laugh Factory venues.
Nearly all who stood with Comrie spoke at the news conference. Of note, it included an emotional plea by Helen Marshall, the Queens Borough President, for young people to take time out to learn more about recent Black American History. Marshall attributed her rise in politics directly to the gains of the Civil Rights movement. She is the first African American woman to hold the post of Queens borough president in the City’s history.
Until now, New York’s Black elected officials were among the last of those calling for a ban of the word in the nation’s big cities. It remains a controversial call and, it also raises constitutional questions over the right of freedom of speech. Comrie said that he plans to use the rest of February to visit city schools, discuss Black history and challenge students to write essays on the matter. The best of the finished essays would be read aloud at City Hall near the end of the month. A vote on his resolution after Thursday’s introduction to his council peers will likely come up at the next Stated Meeting.
The article above can also be found at:
http://www.yourfreepress.blogspot.com/The International Access Networks has created a connection with The Free Press, a monthly publication that has been in hiatus for some time. The publisher, Mr. Rafael Martinez Alequin, has created the above Blog and, has begun preparations for a re-appearance of the monthly paper as we go to press now. Martinez Alequin is a well known political reporter on the New York scene and, files daily stories out of City Hall. As we have many I-A-N writers scattered across the globe submitting stories to us, a good portion of those submissions will appear in the print version of The Free Press, as well as on-line. Stay tuned.....
And here are some comments from readers…….Hey there!
I think it’s a wonderful article Eric and, it’s so true that it is ademoralizing utterance to the heart of the person. And the young ones don’t understand the real meaning of the word. That’s why it is bantered around by them and, I think that we should promote anything we can to make not only the African American but, the whole indigenous community of the world understand the meaning of the word. I know I would hate my kids to be called the "n" word and, I would get in that persons face, and ask them why? I want my children to be exposed to positivism in their lives and proud to be a Native American, and who they are, and most of all, proud of their culture.I think that it is a wonderful article and needs to be spread worldwide andyou wrote it with compassion, and understanding, without making it soundover the top. That’s just my opinion
Carmel M.
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Eric, right on! Especially as Joe Biden has put foot in mouth launchingwhat I trust will be a failed bid for the Democrat nomination. Personally, I have long been puzzled why young Blacks use that word to one another. I guess they think they're street-smart, and putting down one another. I remember my North Carolina brother-in-law using the word "nigra" in referring to blacks, but it was not pejorative. He would use the term"nigra" as a way of describing who he was talking about, and I don't think it dawned on him that the word in this day and age is inherently offensive. But the education part is what has to happen among the young.
Best wishes,
Linda H.
The Hamptons
Eastern Long Island, NY
Well written Eric...a clean, lean article...
I would add a call for an end to the word "ho", too...
not by force of law (a First Amendment no-no)...
...just by peer pressure...
'bout time, no?
Lenny G.
Boston, Mass.
Wonderful work, Eric. I really enjoyed this article. Thanks for passing it on. Your career as a writer has begun...
Love ya-
Lana S.
Toronto, Canada
Eric,
When do you want to come on my show to discuss this issue?
Today would be good because a New York City councilman wants to ban the'n' word.
If not today, another day would be fine.
Thanks,
Gary B.
New Jersey
Eric - you write terrifically well! You know there is this newspaper upstate - in the town of Hudson New York that is looking for a full-time reporter and will pay salary + generous benefits - and that town is a LOT cheaper to live in than NYC - plus, you'd be Eliot Spitzer's neighbor and can appraise him about issues affecting the rural black communities of upstate New York - of whom NO ONE is speaking about or off or for or even knows they exist - there's niche for you - think Pulitzer
Best – Ilze B.
Albany, New York
Eric,
Here's some feedback on your article. Congratulations on the upcomingpublish!Since you asked for feedback here is mine. Never ask again unless yousincerely want to hear it from me. I do have strong opinions and enjoy anyopportunity to express them. Great structure and grammar.... but content?
It's rather one-sided and a bit flat without the depth I appreciate in yourquestioning and approach I hear on WBAI.I have been listening to your commentary on the N word on WBAI. On one handI applaud the movement to "ban" the N word. I hope the "kids" listen togranddaddy of rap now...but he might be too much like one's parent sayingdon't use that word son! I remember clearly when my daughter came home fromschool and told me her classmates called here a nigger bitch. They were black. We were both so hurt and angry! hmmmm. I hear it all the time in the street when the Black high school kids are on their way to or from school. Isn't it interesting that the most prevalent usage is among Blacks referringto themselves and the young hipster rapper white kids are gingerly using itto gain acceptance into the rap world rather than using it to alienate, theyare using it to show how cool and comfortable they are with the N word?
I believe the word has lost it's sting for a lot of the young people usingit so freely and yet it remains a surefire wound opener for the oldergenerations. It's kind of cool that to have turned a term around to afriendly greeting and almost a term of endearment... hi ya niggah!... thatby using it differently and using it so much, it has lost it's originalmeaning in that particular context which was meant to be degrading. Rather like, queer or faggot or dyke. Terrible terms and yet adopted within that culture the usage became so common among the "insiders" that it has lost much of it's power to hurt and has become widely adopted by that "outsider"culture or lifestyle. I hear the term "girl" in the corporate world again now, such as "I'll get the office girl to do it". Well, in my feminist heartI get a little red... hey they are NOT GIRLS they are WOMEN!
Still, the people using it may not have the same context of how hard we fought to have neutral gender language instituted in the media and corporate world and academic schoolbooks he/she he/she instead of he and him... remember, even the Bible was attacked because of the constant male focus of the language he, him when he is to be noble he must blah blah, when a doctor give you a pill he must etc. Also, why is the same attention NOT being given to the word BITCH which has taken a huge market share along with Nigger. They are not calling it the "B"word. And in fact, why is it called the "N" word? The word is nigger ok?Let's address it and, if you'll excuse the off-color pun, call a spade aspade?
Just adding a little alternate viewpoint here just for discussion's sake. I know most people are jumping on the bandwagon to see it as B.A.D. (yet another example of BAD being really GOOD, something ILL or WICKED is something really special and great,) but I enjoy exploring the other side ofthe coin. But in closing, I think there is far too much censorship now, and if we are to have freedom of speech, we must allow everyone to speak freely lest we become Big Brother or is that BIGGIE BROTHAH?
Love, Boo
Manhattan, New York
P.S.- To finish my rant, when Curtis “Blow” said on the radio he was a veterinarian, and, “there were a lot of sick animals out there...”(referring to the Black youth) I wonder if a White person had said that, if there would have been public outrage over the analogy!
REALLY nice piece on the blog. A pleasure to read and be informed by. Have you ever considered a career in media?
Ha! :-)
I Now introduce a new and, what will become a regularly appearing segment on the I-A-N Blog.
Some bits of the Jazz scene in and around New York this monthOn a lighter note, here is what is going on these days in the Big Apple Jazz Scene. This comes courtesy of
Hot House magazine, a major Jazz publication in New York. Had a chance to meet-up with Ms.
Gwen Calvier, president and founder of that publication, at the recent
International Association for Jazz Education conference in New York in Mid-January. It was the second straight year the I-A-J-E held their conference in New York City and, for those of you who missed it, you are going to have to wait until 2009 for the next one. The 2008 conference will be held, also in January in Toronto, Canada. We have now set-up an information exchange relationship with Hot House magazine, as they will help to promote I-A-N's web site and, this blog. We would also like to thank
Paul Blair, Editor-in-chief of that magazine, for helping to move things along this week. Here it goes....
Higher powerAlice Coltrane, who died on Jan. 12, was occasionally tempted to take on a music student. “I thought it would be nice, because there are a lot of things that can be shared beyond records. But [the students] are so advanced today that I don’t think they need it, the ones that I know,” she said, laughing. Mrs. Coltrane herself never stopped being a student – of music and of life. Of her spiritual quest, she said “It’s been very, very enlightening, and very rewarding in many ways because there are so many things that we don’t know about ourselves. We’re sort of limited to our academia and to our environment, external things. But we need to acquaint ourselves with that which is higher than what we perceive here on earth, something greater than what we know about exists. We have a right to know about our souls, our spirit, a higher dimension of spiritual thought and experience and revelation; we owe it to ourselves.”
What’s goin’ onMala Waldron sings and plays keyboards at the Westchester Council for the Arts in White Plains on Feb. 3 … Gretchen Parlato sings at the Blue Note on Feb. 5 … Vocalist
Ellen O’Brien is scheduled for a Blue Note brunch on Feb. 11 … Catch vocalist Ernestine Anderson at the Jazz Standard on Feb. 13-18 … Celebrate Valentine’s Day with singer Janis Siegel at Iridium on Feb. 14 … Lascivious Biddies are at Makor on Feb. 14 … Patricia Adams sings at the Brooklyn Public Library on Feb. 15, with Ray Santisi joining her on piano … Catch vocalist Linda Ciofalo at Enzo’s on Feb. 16 and at Mannahatta on Feb. 27 … Hilary Kole sings at Birdland on Feb. 14-17 … Vocalist Michelle Walker and her quartet are heading for Kitano on Feb. 22 … Judy Bady sings at St. Peter’s on Feb. 25, part of
Reggie Workman’s African-American Legacy Project … Hilary Gardner sings with Mike Longo’s big band at the New York Baha’i Center’s John Birks Gillespie Auditorium on Feb. 27.
Tune in…To PBS on Feb. 6, for
Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life, a documentary on the great composer/arranger/pianist, which features vocalist
Dianne Reeves. The soundtrack is available on Blue Note.
New releasesAlto saxophonist Tia Fuller is in a Healing Space (Mack Avenue) with her band, including
drummer Kim Thompson, pianist Miki Hayama, and bassist Miriam Sullivan … Check out the lyrics on vocalist Leonisa Ardizzone’s Afraid of the Heights … Vento Trio, including Janet Grice on bassoon and Sarah Koval on clarinet, plays Brazilian Dances and Inventions … Vocalist Fay Victor Cartwheels Through the Cosmos (Artist Share) … Singer Janice Borla has chosen great material for From Every Angle (Blujazz)
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WINNING SPINSby George Kanzler
Drummers often make exemplary leaders, as the two albums in this Winning Spins abundantly illustrate. Although
Matt Wilson, 42, and
Rashied Ali, 71, come from different generations, both have had long-running associations with legendary tenor saxophonists: Wilson with Dewey Redman, who died last September, and Ali with
John Coltrane, whom he partnered on the classic 1967 duo album Interstellar Space (Impulse). And although their latest CDs are very different affairs stylistically, both drummers provide the spark the best members of their profession have always proffered as band leaders.
The Scenic Route by Wilson’s Arts & Crafts quartet (Palmetto) is the third album from one of Wilson’s two working quartets. It’s also the first for organist/pianist Gary Versace, who replaces Larry Goldings in the Arts & Crafts lineup. Still on board, though, are trumpeter/flugelhornist Terell Stafford and bassist/clarinetist Dennis Irwin.
“A band like this allows the music to go places and courageously goes along for the ride,” comments Wilson. “While the destinations are of importance, how we get there is often what’s most rewarding. Smooth roads, bumpy roads, beautiful landscapes, weird detours and nice surprises all combine here for The Scenic Route. We hope you enjoy the journey.”
For a band essentially comprised of a rhythm section and trumpet, Arts & Crafts is surprisingly versatile, and not just because Versace doubles on piano and B3 organ. The choice of repertoire and arrangements, as well as Versace’s idiosyncratic organ style and Stafford’s use of mutes, has a lot to do with it. Those arrangements –
credit Wilson and the band – are superbly layered, adding and subtracting individual instruments, and their relative weight, at just the right times. A perfect example is the stunningly lyrical take on Bobby Hutcherson’s ballad, “Little B’s Poem.”
Ruminating piano opens, alone, giving way to bass plucking the melody over spare cymbal-based time-keeping; the piano returns embellishing the melody and evolving it into a piano improvisation with rhythm section. Harmon-muted trumpet then comes in for a solo, more than three and half minutes into the 6 1/2 minute track, followed by a bass solo with cymbal support segueing to muted trumpet on the melody until everyone but the piano drops out, piano ending it solo. It’s the kind of spare, memorable take that the Miles Davis Quintet with John Coltrane was famous for.
The album is full of such fetching touches. Stafford’s trumpet or flugelhorn often jousts with Versace’s organ, blending solos in tandem or slowly shifting the emphasis from one instrument to the other as both play – catch “25 Years of Rutabagas” or “In Touch With Dewey” – and there’s a rendition of “Tenderly” Wilson borrowed from Duke Ellington’s arrangement that has trumpet then organ playing the melody.
The Swayettes, a female vocal trio joined by Wilson’s voice, appears on “Feel the Sway,” a piece inspired by Wilson’s yoga teacher that taps into the feel of Donald Byrd’s classic Cristo Redentor album; and on the final track, a melding of Donald Ayler’s “Our Prayer” and the Beatles’s “Give Peace a Chance” – both inspiring examples of spirit-tinged jazz.
Judgment Day, Vol. 1, a Survival Records release by the
Rashied Ali quintet, is propelled by the leader’s forward-leaning beat in a program of hard-bop and slower tunes, plus a finale that ventures into the avant-garde turf Ali explored during the 60s and 70s. His quintet features all players a generation or more younger than their leader, with two comparative veterans – bassist Joris Teepe and pianist Greg Murphy – in the rhythm section, and the fiery youngsters – trumpeter Jumaane Smith and tenor saxophonist
Lawrence Clark – out front.
Teepe and Ali are a perfect combine, as both lean into the beat with perfervid enthusiasm and drive. With their example, the band is ferocious as it barrels through a program highlighted by fast burners leavened by ballads and blues. This is a record that affirms jazz traditions by doing what’s considered quite familiar, really, with a verve and drive that makes it special again.
Matt Wilson leads his Scenic Route quartet at the Jazz Standard on February 7-11 – and can also be heard at Fordham University on February 13. Rashied Ali’s quintet plays on Feb. 11 as part of the Sculptured Sounds festival at Saint Peter’s Church.
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HOT FLASHESby Paul Blair
DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Components of the First Annual Freedom Jazz Festival include Cecil Brooks’ CB3 band at Sweet Rhythm on Feb. 22; Amiri and Amina Baraka’s group Blu Ark at Creole Jazz & Supper Club on Third Ave. in East Harlem on Feb. 23; and violinist Billy Bang’s quintet with saxophonist Henry P. Warner at Sista’s Place in Bed-Stuy on Feb. 24. Organizers say that this festival, dedicated to the memory of activist Fannie Lou Hamer, is “committed to the idea of bringing great music to the masses at affordable working-class prices” ... The Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens is worth visiting anytime. But a new presentation highlighting Louis’ views on the civil rights struggle and his contributions to that cause is now open, with one exhibit even offering a look at this great man’s FBI file! If you haven’t yet made the easy trip to 34-56 107th St. in Corona, here’s added incentive. See
http://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/ for particulars ...
Here’s another reason to visit NYC’s largest and most culturally diverse borough this month:music from sub-Saharan Africa at Flushing Library (41-17 Main St.) on Feb. 3. Among the presenters are Alisha Zebulon Sow (voice and dance), Francis Mbappe (guitar and bass) and Pheeroan akLaff (percussion). Given the 2:00 PM start time, it’ll be an ideal experience for kids, too. There’s no admission charge ... Bassist Avery Sharpe brings his show “Raisin Cain” to the Apollo Theater on Feb. 18 ... And the good people hosting those Parlor Jazz events on Sundays in Brooklyn mark their fifth anniversary with sets on Feb. 10 by Ty Stephens, recent winner of Jazzmobile’s Best Jazz Vocalist competition.
JUMPIN’ AT JUILLIARD ...
It’s a notable month for jazz on this campus, with various Juilliard ensembles offering a program called “New Orleans Now” at Paul Hall on Feb. 12. (Tickets are free but must be picked up in advance.) Meanwhile, Feb. 27 is a special evening at the school’s Peter Jay Sharp Theater, when James Moody, Marian McPartland, Clark Terry, Joe Wilder and Dr. Billy Taylor are all being honored with medals for their decades of achievement. Kenny Barron and others will play. There’s a gala diner beforehand, too. Of course, you’d already know about these events yourself, if you were on Juilliard’s mailing list. Ask the good people at
news@juilliard.org to add your name.
... AND AT WILLIAM PATTERSON, TOOOur Jersey guy Fred McIntosh has already told you about the Feb. 18 concert by Horacee Arnold’s quartet. But here’s the larger picture. It’s just one part of an ongoing series at this jazz mecca on WPU’s Wayne campus. Esteemed pianist Andrew Hill’s trio performs on Feb. 11 – and trombonist Wycliffe Gordon’s quartet does the same on Feb. 25. Note that this music is heard in Shea Center, that each 4:00 PM concert is preceded by a meet-the-artist opportunity one hour earlier, and that tickets cost just $15 (and even less for students and seniors)..
PIANISTS UP TO HEREThe Carnegie Hall neighborhood is full of piano showrooms – and here’s one of particular interest to us: the Fazioli Salon at Klavierhaus, 211 W. 58th St., where a promising series of weekly performances by jazz greats is already underway. Slated for Friday concerts this month are Gil Goldstein (Feb. 2), Jean Michel Pilc (Feb. 9), Don Friedman (Feb. 16) and Ronnie Mathews (Feb. 23). For bios and ticket purchases, visit
http://www.pianoculture.com/. As this site indicates, there’s a similar series taking place in Easton, PA, which isn’t all that far west of us.
ALSO WORTH CATCHINGThe Charles Tolliver Big Band at Iridium between Jan. 30 and Feb. 3 – and Jimmy Scott singing at the same club on Feb. 22-25 ... pianist Guillermo Klein at Merkin Hall on Feb. 15 for a program that also involves saxist Bill McHenry, guitarist Ben Monder, bassist Matt Povolka and drummer Jorge Rossy (the last-named also dueting on piano with Klein) ...
Trumpeter
Wallace Roney’s group on Valentine’s Day evening at Abrons Art Center, 466 Grand St. on the Lower East Side ... trombonist
Benny Powell’s outstanding quintet playing a
free concert at 7:00 PM on Feb. 1 at Nubian Heritage, Fifth Ave. at 126th St. ... trumpeter Brian Groder’s quartet (featuring guitarist Rez Abassi) at Jimmy’s Backroom in the East Village on Feb. 25 ... pianist John Colianni playing Sunday brunches at The Garage on Feb. 4 and Feb. 18 ... bassist Martin Wind leading a splendid quartet featuring Scott Robinson at Kitano on Feb. 23-24 .. multi-instrumentalist Dan Willis heralding the release of his Velvet Gentlemen CD (on which he plays eleven different woodwinds) at the East Village’s Nightingale Lounge on Feb. 17 ... tenor monster George Garzone appearing at Dizzy’s on Feb. 19 in the company of the Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra ...
Marcus Goldhaber singing at Penang’s Downstairs Room each Sunday evening ... Clarinetist Rick Bogart leading a trio at Seppi’s on W. 56th every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday starting at 8:30 PM (plus Sunday brunches, too) ... Guitarist Brad Shepik playing at Brooklyn’s Center for Improvisational Music on Feb. 3 ... and saxophonist Dan Pratt presenting his organ quartet at, get this, the famous Bohemian Hall Beer Garden in Astoria on Feb. 1 (and every first Thursday thereafter). Given this month’s climate, we trust they’ll be cooking inside by the fireplace, instead of outside under the elms.
SEMINAR SCENE
This month’s workshop in the ongoing Midtown Arts Common / Chamber Music America series deals with forming and nurturing international collaborations, a subject of keen interest to jazz musicians. The date is Feb. 6, Saint Peter’s Church is again the location – and there’s no cost for participants. Information and registration via William Pace at 212/242-2022, ext. 14 ... Meanwhile, those fascinating Harlem Speaks events at the Jazz Museum continue this month with noted record producer George Avakian detailing his adventures (and fielding questions) and Feb. 8; and Basie trombonist Bill Hughes doing the same on Feb. 22.
FESTIVAL ALERT
Fleeing to a warmer SoCal clime this month? Consider the Newport Beach Jazz Party at the Marriott in Newport Beach, taking place over the Presidents’ Day weekend, Feb. 15-18. The organizers promise an event that’s “straightahead...right down the middle,” with special prominence given to players and groups who’ve proven especially popular at past events. Some are personalities already familiar on the NYC scene (John Pizzarelli, Ken Peplowski, Lewis Nash and Benny Green, for example), while others are West Coasters not often heard around our town. Notable events include a Saturday dance with Houston Person presiding, a gospel brunch on Sunday, and a special presentation of Jobim’s music. The entire lineup’s posted at
www.newportbeachjazzparty.comSo, there you have it. Part of what we will be doing this New Year of 2007. Sharing information on the I-A-N Blog and doing more stuff with the I-A-N web site. Postings will appear here more frequently as information arrives....
See you all back here next time.
Eric Williams, Executive Director
