Jazz is NOW!
Encyclopedia
Jazz is NOW! is a nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota
, dedicated to providing original, vibrant jazz in the Twin Cities
and across the state. The organization serves to support the NOWnet, Jazz is NOW's performing ensemble, and present performances by local and national artists performing original compositions.
Jazz is NOW! was born in 2003 at Brilliant Corners, the for-profit jazz club in downtown Saint Paul
run by local musician and composer Jeremy Walker. The centerpiece of the organization is the Jazz is NOW! NOWnet, a fluid working group of top musicians based in the Twin Cities, supplemented by guest performers from the Midwest and New York City.
Marsalis and his quintet, featuring special guest Itzhak Perlman
. Jazz is NOW! has developed into the support organization for the Jazz is NOW! NOWnet, as well as a lead and co-presenter of performances by local and national jazz artists. Jazz is NOW! has partnered nationally with Jazz at Lincoln Center
and Palmetto Records, as well as with several Twin Cities-based organizations.
The organization uses its website to present a documentary-like experience to audiences. It includes free downloadable music, videos from rehearsals and performances, free scores of songs performed by the NOWnet, blogs written by staff, musicians and fans, an interactive history of the organization, and more.
and the historic territory bands of the Midwest. The ensemble solely performs original works and arrangements written by local and national musicians.
The current core members of the NOWnet are:
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, dedicated to providing original, vibrant jazz in the Twin Cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
and across the state. The organization serves to support the NOWnet, Jazz is NOW's performing ensemble, and present performances by local and national artists performing original compositions.
Jazz is NOW! was born in 2003 at Brilliant Corners, the for-profit jazz club in downtown Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
run by local musician and composer Jeremy Walker. The centerpiece of the organization is the Jazz is NOW! NOWnet, a fluid working group of top musicians based in the Twin Cities, supplemented by guest performers from the Midwest and New York City.
Mission and history of Jazz is NOW!
The mission of Jazz is NOW! is to present vibrant, original music written by local and national artists. Jazz is NOW! began in 2003 at Brilliant Corners, a jazz club in downtown Saint Paul, with a performance by WyntonMarsalis and his quintet, featuring special guest Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman is an Israeli-born violinist, conductor, and instructor of master classes. He is regarded as one of the pre-eminent violinists of the 20th and early-21st centuries.-Early life:...
. Jazz is NOW! has developed into the support organization for the Jazz is NOW! NOWnet, as well as a lead and co-presenter of performances by local and national jazz artists. Jazz is NOW! has partnered nationally with Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jazz at Lincoln Center is part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. JALC's performing arts complex, Frederick P. Rose Hall, is located at West 60th Street and Broadway in New York City, slightly south of the main Lincoln Center campus and directly adjacent to Columbus Circle. Frederick P....
and Palmetto Records, as well as with several Twin Cities-based organizations.
The organization uses its website to present a documentary-like experience to audiences. It includes free downloadable music, videos from rehearsals and performances, free scores of songs performed by the NOWnet, blogs written by staff, musicians and fans, an interactive history of the organization, and more.
The NOWnet
Jazz is NOW!'s NOWnet (formerly called the Jazz is NOW! Orchestra) is the centerpiece of the organization. It is composed of six to ten musicians from the Twin Cities area and built as a composers’ ensemble, influenced by the hard-swinging, freewheeling sound of Charles MingusCharles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
and the historic territory bands of the Midwest. The ensemble solely performs original works and arrangements written by local and national musicians.
The current core members of the NOWnet are:
- Jeremy Walker (bandleader, piano)
- Kelly Rossum (trumpet)
- Chris Thomson (saxophones)
- Scott Fultz (saxophones)
- Anthony Cox (bass)
- Kevin Washington (drums)