Jazz Arts Initiative (JAI) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the presentation, education, and promotion of jazz and related art forms. JAI was established in 2009 by co-founders Lonnie Davis (President & CEO) and Ocie Davis (Artistic Director) in an effort to educate the community on America’s classical music: Jazz. Today, Jazz Arts Initiative offers learning opportunities and performance-based programming for audiences of all ages. The organization also supports professional musicians both locally and throughout the Charlotte region.
info@thejazzarts.org
http://www.thejazzarts.org
345 North College Street, Suite 313, Charlotte, NC 28202
Mecklenburg
704-334-3900
THE BLUES: How American Music Grew Up is intended for audiences of all ages and is particularly engaging as a 45-minute school assembly for grades K-8. Developed and presented by JAI Artistic Director Ocie Davis, The JAI All Blues Quartet features some of Charlotte’s finest jazz artists.
This interactive narrated theatrical program features the JAI All Blues Quartet playing notable examples demonstrating American Blues components and early Southern spirituals. The audience will also learn to identify instruments that are prominently used in the Blues such as the banjo, harmonica, string bass, fiddle, kazoo, and guitar. Students learn about the Blues’ importance and place in history and all participate in call and response!
Famous names in jazz history, such as Bessie Smith, W.C. Handy, Leadbelly and Blind Lemon Jefferson, are discussed; musical terms such as 12-bar blues, improvisation and musical elements including the blues scale, and the “blue note” become a part of the audience’s vocabulary.
Lonnie Davis
704-334-3900
ldavis@thejazzarts.org
10/26/15 to 05/27/16
9am to 2pm
2 microphones with stands, electrical outlet(s), open space for band to perform
On-site at School
Performance: $600
2nd Performance: $150**
Literacy:RI.3.3 Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
Literacy:RL.3.2 Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
Literacy:RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
–Contextual Relevancy: CR.1 Understand global, interdisciplinary, and 21st century connections with jazz and blues. Clarifying Objective: Understand how music has affected, and is reflected in, the culture, traditions, and history of the United States.
–Musical Response: MR.1 Understand the interacting elements to respond to jazz and jazz performances. Clarifying Objective: Illustrate perceptual skills by moving to, answering questions about, and describing aural examples of music of various styles and cultures.
–Musical Literacy: ML2: Interpret the sound and symbol systems of music. For older music students the performances help teach about technique and musicianship skills through demonstration.
If a program recipient should cancel a scheduled performance, they are asked to do so at least two weeks in advance.