Is Jazz Losing Ground?

Article Contributed by Eigo | Published on Thursday, December 8, 2011

Have you ever worried that there won’t be an audience for jazz in the future?Jazz already represents only a small fraction of the music market and schools are teaching less and less music, much less jazz (if any).  Without exposure, kids don’t even know what they’re missing.  It’s time we take proactive and concrete steps to reverse the situation.Enter...The Jazz Drama Program!The Jazz Drama Program creates jazz musicals for children to perform for their peers.  The Jazz Drama Program seeds the next generation of jazz fans by getting them directly involved with original jazz musicals written for them to perform.  The music inspired by jazz greats is not watered down, but still accessible and attainable for kids and the stories of the shows are tailor-made for today’s youth. Working closely with a team of top artists, educators, and partners, Jazz musician/Artistic Director Eli Yamin and The Jazz Drama Program have developed five jazz musicals in over 50 performances around the United States and abroad.  Last year’s Jazz Drama Program release Nora’s Ark led to a distribution partnership with Theatrical Rights Worldwide.   Now hundreds of schools around the world have easy access to the play.  With it’s second release, Holding the Torch for Liberty, The Jazz Drama Program gets kids immersed in early swing, blues and New Orleans style music and a story about women fighting for and winning the right to vote in 1920.  With support from the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, Theatrical Rights Worldwide, individual donors and Avatar Studios, The Jazz Drama Program still needs $8000 to complete the project.Please join the efforts of The Jazz Drama Program by contributing to our KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN.  Your contribution is tax-deductible.  Don’t let children grow up without learning the joys of jazz.  Join us in building the future of jazz! If we do not meet our goal by December 31 we will not get any of the pledged support in this Kickstarter campaign.  Please send this link to anyone you think would embrace helping an organization whose mission is to build jazz communities and help us spread the word! 

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