A-JAM Jazz Mentorship: September 2014

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Memories of Cape Town - IASJ International Jazz Meeting 2014

WATCH THIS YOU-TUBE! Gerry Hemingway, hugely talented drummer and inquiring musical mind, created a short video with highlights of some of the South African music we heard and learned about in Cape Town, as part of the 2014 IASJ international jazz meeting. Amazing stuff! Could be you next year, in Lisbon... :-)

And here's a snap shot of the IASJ singer women from the meeting. Surrounded by our talented students, the three teachers-performers are in the top row, middle: Jenny Robson (Sibelius Academy, Helsinki) top, second from left, Katchie Cartwright (Northwest Vista College A-JAM, San Antonio) center, and Joana Bettencourt (Hot Club of Portugal, Lisbon), second from right.

Intercollegiate, intercultural, and intergenerational, the A-JAM mentorship program is open to music majors in any of San Antonio's five Alamo Colleges. Auditions are held each November. During the spring semester, A-JAM honorees perform locally and are coached by regional professionals and visiting artists. One lucky student is invited to the unique annual international jazz meeting of the International Association of Schools of jazz (IASJ) in June, where s/he performs with fellow students from all over the world for one intensive week. The meetings are held at a different host school each year. Singer Jeané Gaines, Northwest Vista College, participated in the IASJ meeting in São Paulo, Brazil in 2011 as the first A-JAM grand honor awardee. You could be next!