Gender, Jazz & Education

OK, here we go…. Last week I posted a link on my Facebook page for the Up-Beat Girls Jazz camp, which is taking place August 8-12 at Jazz Night School. I have recently become affiliated with JNS and want to promote this camp, which I think is a cool idea. Shortly after I posted the link, a male musician, whom I like and respect, posed a question in the comments field: “Why an all girls jazz camp?”  Although I quickly pointed out that I could…

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On the Road With Garfield Jazz: Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival

Over this past weekend, I had the immeasurable pleasure of taking a road trip with the Garfield High School Jazz Band. (Well, to be more accurate, bands, as in I & II.) Our destination was the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho in Moscow. I signed on as a chaperone for the trip. By some anomaly in nature, Emmett, who plays guitar in Band I, had no issue with his goober mom coming along for the ride, even if it meant she…

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