Free Concerts and Lectures During Jazz Appreciation Month in April

April of this year is the eighth annual celebration of JAM, Jazz Appreciation Month, initiated by the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American history. It has become a worldwide movement by Jazz educators and on Aruba, Carlos Bislip jr. noted percussionist and teacher, instigated a series of jazz concerts and lectures during JAM after attending workshops with the International Association of Jazz educators in New York in 2006.

Carlos, who teaches percussion and harmony at the Rufo Wever School of Music in Oranjestad, is a graduate of the Berkley School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and holds a Master Degree. He has long been a proponent of Jazz on Aruba, staging concerts and lectures to stimulate interest in this creative and vital musical genre among young island musicians. A number of noted island musicians join him in this campaign of appreciation for the art form, and this year the Smithsonian theme for JAM is “Jazz Music; Masters and Messages”. The official JAM 2009 poster pays homage to jazz icon Benny Goodman, popularly known as “The King of Swing”.

JAM on Aruba will begin on April 2 and 3 at the Scol di Arte in San Nicolas with lectures for schoolchildren, and on Saturday, April 4, Scol di Arte will host a free concert with guest performer Placido Hazel and trio along with the SMRW Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Johnny Croes. Throughout the month of April, Carlos Bislip, accompanied by various noted musicians will be visiting island schools for a series of demonstrations and lectures. JAM will end with a free open-air concert in front of the Oranjestad library on Saturday, April 25.

Joining Carlos and his group for the concert will be Jazz Trio Footsteps, consisting of  Franky Janga, Rob Rijnhout, and Richard Holmond. Also on the playbill is the Carlos Bislip Collective, a quintet with guest performer Ronchy Matthews of Curaçao, the SMRW Ensemble, and three extremely talented young jazz musicians, Jamaal Baptiste, Michael Bremo, Jose Croeze, who have formed their own Jazz trio. The concert starts at 7 pm and has proven extremely popular. This is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy this most creative of musical art forms and some of Aruba’s extremely talented musicians. All are welcome.