A wonderful time was had by many who attended the 2nd Annual South Florida Jazz Summit held at the Bienes Center for the Arts in Fort Lauderdale on January 14th and 15th, 2012. The event was held at the beautiful Bienes Center for the Arts in Fort Lauderdale.
All proceeds benefitted JAZZONIAN Youth Scholarship Fund and Educational cultural arts community outreach programs.
Read some testimonials of the South Florida Jazz Summit.
Committed to empowering Jazz, the South Florida Jazz industry proved that it is very strong and vibrant making the SFJS a hugely successful event.
As was last year, the SFJS benefitted greatly from the strong leadership of our Vice President and Event Chair of the SFJS, James Chism, as well as Board-Secretary Gloria DeJesus.
Thank you to all who attended; thank you to all of the musicians and educators who participated giving their time and talent, as well as the amazing Jazzonian team of Trailblazer volunteers.
Jazz writer Bob Weinberg did a fabulous job of leading the Jaco Pastorious panel; kudos to Paul Green (clarinet and faculty professor at Florida Atlantic University) for the great job leading the Jazzonian Heritage Band; Joan Cartwright and the Amazing Musicwomen concert/clinic was amazing; the Lecture by Dr. Tim Walters, Director of Jazz Studies, Florida Atlantic University; and Professor Dave Gibble, Director of Jazz Studies, Palm Beach State College on Louis Armstrong was fantastic; world renowned conga master Sammy Figueroa was exceptional; "Building a Concert Based Big Band Rehearsal Program" clinic by Christopher Dorsey was extraordinary!
Other notable musicians/educators present included: Mike Curtis, guitar; Don Coffman, (jazz bass) is professor and associate chair of the Department of Studio Music and Jazz at the University of Miami Frost School of Music); Hank Bredenberg, trombone; Eloy Oliveros, (drummer); Ryan Ellis (Piano, Band Director at Ferguson Sr. High School); Rick Doll (Bass); and Ivan Velasquez (Drums); Roberta DeMuro (piano); Renee Fiallos (flute/voice); Jose Velasquez (bass); Brad Miller (bass); Bill Heck (blues vocalist); Frank Bello (piano); Rick Doll (bass and educator at Miami Dade College); Carl "Kilmo" Pacillo (Jazz bassist); Roberta DeMuro (piano); Robin Alexander (drums); Renee Fiallos (vocals); Rochelle Frederick (tenor Saxophone); Lindsay Johnson (acoustic bass).
A special thank you to Joe Basi and his fantastic crew at their wonderful facility. They made it look easy!
Thank you to Maria Rivas for lending her incredible talent as part of a fantastic performance on Opening Night; and wonderful art as part of the Jazzonian exhibit.
A very special thank you to our media sponsors: WLRN (Tracy Fields, Ed Bell, and Ted Grossman), The Stu Grant Jazz Show, WDNA (Howard Duperly, Maggie, and the gang), and JAZZIZ Magazine.
This year we were extremely pleased to debut the JAZZONIAN Honors Band that included a fantastic group of amazingly talented kids. A BIG thank you to all of the parents.
This year'sJAZZONIAN Youth Honors Band included:
Zoe Fromer – Atlantic Community High School
Ben Stocker– Dillard Center for the Arts
Iala Teresa-Callega – Academy of Arts and Minds
Charlie Steiner – Dillard Center for the Arts
Sebastian Rios – New World School of the Arts / Alex Berti Music Academy
Andrew Forman – Atlantic Community High School
This year’s winners of the JAZZONIAN Youth Scholarship were: Andrew Forman & Ben Stocker.
We were also honored to have Mr. Christopher Dorsey, Band Director of the award winning Dillard Center for the ArtsJazz band, serve as guest conductor for the 2012 JAZZONIAN Honors Band.
Karen Dorsey served as Program Director of the Young Jazz Leaders Honors Band and did an amazing job of coordinating all of the details.
Thank you to Jazzy supporters from the community that were present—including: Gold Cost Jazz Society, Women in Jazz South Florida, Adrienne Arsht Center, The Arts Garage, and Miami Shores Golf Country Club.
We are very thankful and honored by the generous support and contribution of photographer Russell Levin, Cleve Bryant and Amy Pasquantonio; and video production by Joseph Dunn.
A very special THANK YOU to Dr. Jules Oaklander for his generous support of Jazzonian.
Alas, this precious moment has passed and it's part of history. Thus, we accomplished what we set out to do: Inspire, educate, and bring people together. And as a result, the South Florida Jazz community is a better place.
Thank you and we'll see you at the 2013 South Florida Jazz Summit. br
The JAZZONIAN Youth Scholarship was established to provide financial assistance to promising young high school and college level Jazz musicians, empower the next generation of Jazz musicians, and nurture young fans of this artform.
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