Dear Jazz Fan,
The theme of my last letter to you was “Jazz Only Happens Once – Don’t Miss It”. That will be true of ALL events that we produce, and it was in major evidence at Gabriel Ayala’s performance on May 26. We had a good crowd, but did not sell out – that means some people missed it. Those fortunate enough to be in attendance were treated to a debut of Gabriel’s quintet, his unique playing style, and the numerous stories he told between tunes. It was terrific, the crowd loved it and leapt to their feet for an encore. It was a VERY memorable evening. Please tell all your friends about the quality performances we are producing, so that they don’t miss future ones, and that we fill our venues! Tell them also to consider spending a luxurious overnight at the beautiful Loews Ventana Canyon resort.
Which brings me to West Coast Cool on July 5th. You ABSOLUTELY do not want to miss this one. I’ve met and spoken with our headliners, Cheryl Bentyne and Mark Winkler. They are both sparkling personalities, and very accomplished jazz performers. They combine for a lot of fun, and the jazz will be first class on that night. We’ve backed up Cheryl and Mark with some of Tucson’s finest musicians. Sly Slipetsky will be on piano, Jack Wood on bass and Fred Hayes on drums. You know these guys – they play around town a lot. The five of them will make beautiful jazz that you must hear. Cheryl is back after a battle with cancer. In honor of her triumph, we have partnered with the American Cancer Society for this event. They will be at the concert to share information and take donations. After West Coast Cool, we close our Summer Series with the exciting Sylvan Street on September 1.
We are putting the finishing touches on plans for the Fall Series and New Year’s Eve. “Jazz Under the Stars” will be Saturday nights in October; we will do a very special jazz event on November 2 and have the Fred Hersch Trio at the Temple of Music and Art on November 13. All of these performances will have exciting headliners at great venues, so please mark them on your calendars, you won’t want to miss them. Our New Year’s Eve Gala will NOT be at the Marriott this year. We will have a whole new lineup of performers at a different world class venue. I can’t wait to tell you more, once all the agreements are in place.
All these productions and behind-the-scenes arrangements are a LOT of work. This is being performed by a very dedicated, all-volunteer board of directors and event volunteers. We continue to be in need of help in marketing, finance, fundraising and membership. If you have talents in any of these areas, please contact me here via tucsonjazz.org, or at a concert. We are blessed to have the wonderful people currently involved, and could use a few more. It is a very fun group in which to be a part. If you are a business owner in Tucson, please consider sponsoring one of our events. We are getting great coverage in local media. Your business can share in that visibility to raise awareness within the community. We’d love to have you as a sponsor.
See you on July 5 !
Mark Slivinski, Board President
Tucson Jazz Society