December 21, 2020  Newsletter #354     
The 2021 Calendar is available for sale.

If you purchased a calendar and have not received it, we are checking the post office to see where it is. Orders are filled within 24-48 hours and taken to the post office. We are able to track orders and most are delivered within 7 business days.

We are currently told that with holiday mail, the calendars are taking a little longer to get there. Jazz Bridge is monitoring the situation and ask for your continued patience. ~Kim Tucker, Program Director
Guitarist Wes Norton says, "Thank You."

Every year I get to perform for Jazz Bridge at their Volunteer/Donor Thank You gathering. I’ve been doing this for a number of years. It’s also great to play along with fellow musicians and patrons and supporters that enjoy a little Jazz, Blues or whatever we decide to perform and as someone who is now in their 80’s, this is also great for my spirit.

I’ve had several illnesses over the years that garnered offers of aid from Jazz Bridge, but I’ve had my own resources so I turned down the offers. But others have benefited in my stead. Stolen instruments replaced, rent paid, they even buried a guy who died with no known family. These and many other good deeds have come to musicians out of luck through the auspices of Jazz Bridge.

Jazz Bridge is one of my favorite charities.... supporting Jazz and Blues musicians in the tri-state region of PA, NJ and DE. In this Pandemic time, musicians and singers are among the most affected, (as are all in the Gig economy) without steady employment, thus unable to take advantage of govt support programs. Needed now more than at any other time.
Thank you for all you are doing. Keep up the great work. ~ Wes
Start the New Year with Justin Faulkner & Friends
Join us on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 at 7 pm as Jazz Bridge, in partnership with PNC Arts Alive, will present a virtual concert with drummer, Justin Faulkner, to premier on Jazz Bridge’s website, www.jazzbridge.org.

Justin Faulkner, in a quote, The New York Times cited him as one of “Five drummers whose time is now.” He is quoted as saying, “So what you’re feeling and hearing should go from within to the drums. If you’re not feeling what you’re playing, then you’re just meandering… If the music doesn’t build, what’s it going to do?”

Faulkner grew up in Philadelphia and attended public schools, singing in the choir. This experience taught him about balance and blending with other voices. Justin started playing gospel, R&B and classical music at 7; at 13 he began weekly gigs with the funk/free-jazz bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma.

He studied classical music with Sam Ruttenburg at the Settlement Music School and trained in jazz at the Kimmel Center and the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & the Performing Arts, joining the Marsalis’ group while still a high school senior.

At 29, Faulkner has already toured the globe many times, has drum endorsements, studied film scoring at Berklee College of Music, studied classical composition with a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra and been an actor in the independent film, “Bolden.” He can now add professor to his growing list of accomplishments as part of the adjunct faculty at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance.

Faulkner has performed, toured or recorded with: Pharoh Sanders, Odean Pope, Tyrone Brown, Peter Nero, Bootsie Barnes, Jimmy Heath, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Yoichi Uzeki, Helen Sung, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ravi Coltrane, Craig McIver, Victor Wooten, Bobby McFerrin, Tim Warfield, James Moody, Orrin Evans and Lee Smith, to name a few. Joining Justin for this high energy concert will be legendary saxophonist, Tim Warfield, pianist Neil Podgurski and bassist, Stanley Ruvinov.

This concert was recorded at WRTI Studios, 1509 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19121 and in partnership with PNC Arts Alive. The concerts can be viewed for free, but donations will support our programs for musicians. 
REC Philly City Grants for musicians.
Having nurtured numerous groundbreaking musical styles and artists, and been at the forefront of some of the world’s most significant musical developments, Philadelphia’s rich Black music history will be the source of inspiration and interpretation by today’s Black creatives.

Black Music City is a program that calls upon Black creatives in the greater Philadelphia area (PA, NJ, DE) working in any creative medium to submit their project ideas honoring Philly’s Black music history and apply for a project grant. Selected artists will receive a minimum of $1,000 each to bring their projects to life. A committee of prominent Black Philadelphia professionals in the arts, media, and business will judge the final round of applicants to be awarded the more than $30,000 in grant funding available.

Black Music City is hosted by Suzann Christine and will produce videos that spotlight each grant recipient and document the journey of their project. All final work will be showcased during African American Music Appreciation Month in June 2021.
Harmonizing Art and Life
The Jazz Bridge Project
4323 Main Street, Philadelphia PA 19127
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