Better Days Ahead!- Gil Scott-Heron

It’s been a long emotional spiritual health challenged 2020. I don’t know about you, but with only a few more weeks remaining in 2020, I’m still a little weary.

But, there are things this year that I’m truly appreciative for. First, thank you so much for reading this newsletter. I’ve released 9 newsletters that had jazz news from all over the jazz world, 16 featured spotlights performances of artists who were featured in past episodes of Jazz it Up! and 9 album reviews. Besides the US, our readers are in 13 countries around the world.

Secondly, like so many of us, who have known and lost family members and friends to this pandemic.  I’m thankful for being healthy and only pray that you and yours be safe and healthy in days to come.

Lastly, once again I have the humble privilege of presenting to you two fabulous women in jazz. Jazz it Up! had the opportunity to catch Esperanza Spalding at an outdoor festival and Gloria Lynne at Dizzy’s Club.

So enjoy them and thank you again for your support of Jazz it Up!
- George W. Moorer, Jr., creator/producer

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Last studio recording of jazz trumpeter Woody Shaw released

A forgotten studio recording of the late jazz trumpeter Woody Shaw has been released as part of an effort to preserve jazz history.
 

"49th Parallel," a 1987 recording led by Canadian bassist Neil Swainson that features Shaw and tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, was made available this month by Vancouver, Canada-based Cellar Music Group's imprint Reel to Real and New York distributor la reserve records.
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Jazz is still protest music

After posting a plea to follow health guidelines on Facebook, Tristan Selzler continued, "We've" lost so many people to the pandemic already, and this generation will have to continue the forfeiture of the prime of our lives if we continue to act selfishly." He concluded, "There will be no Reno Jazz Syndicate performance at The Loving Cup for at least the next three weeks."
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You're not hearing things, a jazz quartet is jamming live on campus

When the coronavirus shuttered jazz clubs and put an end to live gigs, the Northeastern drumming instructor and three friends' saxman Pat Loomis, bass guitarist Daniel Day, and keyboardist Adonis Martin (no relation) "found their outlet by jamming live performances in the backyard of Loomis's home near a student housing building on Columbus Avenue.
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"Jazz Talk" addresses revolutionary roots of Black music

Nicole Mitchell Gantt started the video series "Jazz Talk" in late April, after in-person concerts halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she hoped that by broadcasting conversations with musicians, she could continue to connect people to Pittsburgh's jazz scene.
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The Music Makers: Jazz Artist Rudy Royston

At least twice a year, the packages would arrive on a doorstep in Denver's Park Hill neighborhood. Rudy Royston, just an elementary school student at the time, was always eager to open the Texas-postmarked parcels.
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