With summer around the corner, the hint of a great line up of concerts beckons. April has been officially declared Jazz Appreciation Month and the Norwalk Symphony lands a grant to expand its audience. First from the Hour:
“We should appreciate one of America’s home treasures — jazz came from America,” said Mayor Richard A. Moccia, before three local musicians took over. “Jazz is an original American art form that affirms the noblest aspirations of our national character.”
Moccia later read a proclamation declaring April Jazz Appreciation Month in Norwalk.
Setting the mood for Jazz Appreciation Month 2008, which is sponsored by The Smithsonian Institution, were saxophonist James Clark, Chris Coogan on the piano and Damon Grant on the vibraphone.
The three local musicians hadn’t played before as a trio but, based upon the applause, pleased Moccia and two-dozen other listeners with an improvised piece followed by “Song For My Father” — composed by none other than Norwalk native and jazz great Horace Silver.
This year’s festival is set for July 12 at Veterans Memorial Park. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the gate. Proceeds will go toward a college scholarship for a local high school student, Grant said. For more information about the festival, visit www.norwalkjazzfestival.com.
“We’d like to see you there. We want to see the crowd,” Grant said. “It’s an afternoon, where we’re bringing in top talent along with up-and-coming talent.”
Clark, meanwhile, has launched the Norwalk Jazz Connection to “provide authentic live jazz for events.” That could be Dixieland, Swing, Bebop and various sub-gendres, depending on the event, he said.
“I want to be able to provide music, in whatever style is appropriate, for a particular event, using as many local musicians as possible,” Clark said. “The second reason I started Norwalk Jazz Connection is to promote the preservation and appreciation of our uniquely American form.”
And Next from The Hour:
The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism awarded a $9,500 matching grant to the local symphony to expand its marketing strategies. Overall, 44 organizations in the state received grants totaling $1.1 million dollars as part of an expanded funding for the commission in last year’s budget.
Jane Shelly, the orchestra’s executive director, said the money will be used to reach a larger, younger and more diverse population.
“If you come to concert halls — and this is sort of typical — most of the hair of the audience members is mostly gray, and we’re looking to kind of change that,” Shelly said.
Education programs are being offered to children, and a recent school field trip to a symphony performance included concert vouchers for kids to bring back to their parents.
