DJF’s Jazz Planet is getting ready to “Bring You the World” when the 32nd DJF presents musicians from all over the planet. Slated for 2011 – Brazilian vocalist Ivan Lins, bassist Dave Holland, pianists Vijay Iyer and Amina Figarova, guitarist Kevin Eubanks and Angélique Kidjo. Planetarians can look forward to exclusive interviews with these musicians and additional artists as they’re announced in the coming months.
We’ve received tons of feedback from you regarding the Planet, and based on the input, we’re implementing changes to enhance your planet experience. By popular demand, we are pleased to share two NEW JazzPlanet videos with you:
Gerald Wilson talks about his move to Detroit to attend Cass Tech H.S. and how that experience impacted his life and career.
Former Detroit Lion and Football Hall-of-Famer Lem Barney discusses his early years as a musician, meeting and working with the legendary Marvin Gaye.
Esperanza Spalding performing at the 2008 Detroit Jazz Fest | Photo Credit: Jeff Forman
How cool is it that a young woman in jazz won Best New Artist, and that veteran Dee Dee Bridgewater’s tribute to the legendary Billie Holiday won best jazz vocal album in the same year? It was great to see James Moody and Roy Haynes recognized as well! It goes to show you that jazz is something that can look back and look forward and always be in the NOW – always relevant. Congrats to all the 2011 GRAMMY winners! Especially the JAZZ recipients For a complete list of winners visit the Grammy website.
Dee Dee Bridgewater performing with the MSU Big Band at the 2009 Detroit Jazz Festival | Photo Credit: Jeff Forman
In a national reader’s poll recently conducted by JazzTimes, one of the world’s leading jazz publications, the Detroit Jazz Festival (DJF) was voted one of the top four jazz festivals in North America, and is the only completely free festival in the top four.
“We are honored to be in the company of such venerable institutions, including Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival and Montreal International Jazz Festival,” said Terri Pontremoli, DJF, festival director, “but it is important to note that of the top four, Detroit is the only one that remains free of charge.”
The news of this recognition comes on the heels of a recent national study conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) on the importance of outdoor arts festivals. As documented in this national survey, outdoor arts festivals contribute significantly to their community’s identity, economy, civic engagement and cultural vitality. They also depend on their local governments in important ways, and are currently experiencing financial shortfalls.
Since DJF became an independent non-profit organization in 2006, the festival has enjoyed a growing international reputation for its artistic excellence. For the City of Detroit, it has garnered a $90 million impact and attracted tourism from all over the world – 23 percent of the festival audience comes from out of state.
“Many cities have festivals. Fewer have world-class music festivals. Fewer still have world-class music festivals that are free,” said Gretchen Valade, DJF Foundation, chair. “While the sagging economy over the past few years affected all of us in the arts – here and throughout the country – things are improving, but it takes continued support from our community to help keep this festival free.”
Music fans are not the only segment that has taken note of the festival, although they are beginning to show their support through memberships and individual gifts. The festival has received several awards from foundations, such as John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, and The Kresge Foundation, along with government agencies such as NEA.
“Detroit Jazz Fest does so much for the image of the city,” says Dr. Stan Berry, festival board chair, DJF. “It puts us on the map, unifies our citizens and shows Detroit as an important hub for music, and this couldn’t be possible without our community and corporate sponsors.”
Click here to check out our exciting 32nd season as we bring you the world in 2011.
Too often, jazz education happens behind closed doors. At Detroit Jazz Fest, we give it visibility through workshops and master classes open to the public in our community.
Dee Dee Bridgewater interacting with student vocalists
Our Dee Dee Bridgewater vocal jazz master class at the Virgil H. Carr Center (Detroit, MI), in partnership with the DSO and Arts League of Michigan, put jazz education on “Front Street.” The 200 people in the audience were as inspired and enlightened as the four selected students, who were cajoled, coached and firmly supported by Ms. Bridgewater.
One may not realize it, but there is much to be learned from a musical encounter that can affect the way any of us think and present ourselves. From how to speak, enunciate, move, dress, and oh yeah, LISTEN. It all applies to universal life skills.
Cliff Monear with Dee Dee Bridgewater
Dee Dee spent over 2 1/2 hours critiquing and encouraging our talented young people in Detroit. While we all know that these students receive valuable mentoring from ourhighly accomplished Detroit-based musicians, it is frosting on the cake to have a Tony Award and two time Grammy-winning artist connect in such a personal way. And what can we say about Detroit’s own Cliff Monear? His spontaneous duet on “Bye Bye Blackbird” with Dee Dee…..Priceless!
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has awarded the Detroit International Jazz Festival (DJF) a $100,000 grant to help the festival reach a global audience through an exciting web-based initiative, DJFʼs Jazz Planet.
DJFʼs Jazz Planet – a streaming news magazine and music channel, featuring performances, news flashes, interviews and behind-the-scenes commentary from the 2010 Detroit International Jazz Festival – was created to showcase Detroit as a significant center for jazz, provide a platform for artists to share their projects, and develop a mainstream audience for jazz and the festival through the internet.
Produced by ShowAds Network and in partnership with Livestream, DJFʼs Jazz Planet was full of spontaneity and fun, featuring interviews with artists and by artists, fan and student commentary, and segments of performances.
In its first year, DJF’s Jazz Planet reached 700,000 viewers in 157 countries. In addition to viewers tuning in on personal computers, fans also had the ability to access the Planet on mobile devices.
DJF’s Jazz Planet went live at 6:30pm EST opening night (September 3) with a 30-minute red carpet segment co-hosted by bassist Christian McBride and festival director Terri Pontremoli. Red carpet guests included Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, Tower of Power’s Emilio Castillo, and 2010 DJF artist in residence, pianist Mulgrew Miller. Gretchen Valade, Chair of the Detroit International Jazz Festival Foundation, was joined by other festival funders Christine Kageff (Chase), Karla Hall (DTE Energy) and Dennis Scholl (Knight Foundation).
Programmatic segments included: “Innerspace” – in-depth interviews with artists; “Detroit’s H20” – visiting artists discussing legendary Detroit greats; “Jazz Riffs” – musicians in informal conversations on life outside of jazz; and “Mainstream” – interviews on the street with students, fans, teachers and vendors. Other social media around the Planet included a “tweet spot” near the Planet where fans enthusiastically tweeted their networks to tune in to the Planet. Some “Planet” highlights from 2010 Detroit Jazz Fest can still be enjoyed on the festival website through November 25th. (Click here to check out the Planet).
Follow on us Twitter and Facebook to stay up-to-date on this project.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote informed and engaged communities and lead to transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org. About the Detroit International Jazz Festival
The Detroit International Jazz Festival (DJF) is an independent, non-profit organization that presents jazz and educational workshops throughout the year. With an audience of 750,000, this free event has a $90M impact on the city. It is supported through foundation grants, individual donations, and customized sponsorships for businesses that benefit from exposure to DJF’s large, diverse and educated audience. For more information visit www.detroitjazzfest.com.
For a complete list of winners visit the Grammy 
