Greetings,
Below is an article from Julie Fleming, coordinator of the Bunny Berigan Jazz
Jubilee, Fox Lake, WI.
It was a decade ago that April was designated nationally as
JAZZ Appreciation Month, but it was certainly many decades before that when the
United States embraced JAZZ as its own music. Some people equate JAZZ with the
blues and rightly so. The blues let you see into the soul of a person from a
sad and thoughtful view, but JAZZ is at times the celebration of the soul as it
breaks forth with joy.
JAZZ is one of America's greatest cultural achievements and it gives a
powerful voice to the American experience. It was born of a multi-hued society
and unites people across the divides of race, region and national boundaries.
It makes a powerful statement about freedom, creativity and American identity
at home and abroad. It is this wonderful "free and happy" music called
Dixieland that is featured at the Bunny Berigan Jazz Jubilee this May 13 - 15th
in Fox Lake, Wisconsin.
JAZZ is not the result of choosing a tune, but an idea that is created
first in the mind, inspired by one's passion, and willed next in the playing of
music. Its unique expression draws from life experiences and human emotion and
in that way tells the story and history of a people. D.C. DowDell, Professor of
Music at A Passion For Jazz is quoted as saying "JAZZ - it takes passion to
make it happen. Musicians and those that follow the music closely can indeed
be thought of as an artistic community complete with its leaders, spokesmen,
innovators, members, bands, supporters, and fans".
To help celebrate this JAZZ Appreciation Month the U. S. Postal
Service issued a JAZZ Appreciation "Forever" Stamp on March 28, 2011 at post
offices across the nation. The stamp pays tribute to JAZZ, America's musical
gift to the world, and to the musicians who play it in studios, clubs or
concert halls, and on festival stages. According to a press release by the U.
S. Postal Service "JAZZ developed originally as an innovative combination of
European, American, and African influences, and produced many internationally
acclaimed American artists, such as Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker and Billie
Holiday." And the internationally famous Bunny Berigan raised in small town
mid-America, Fox Lake, Wisconsin.
The beautiful stamp was created by Paul Rogers and it is the first
single stamp to pay tribute to America's original art form JAZZ. Paul Rogers
states "It is always an honor to design a postage stamp, and because I love
JAZZ and have great respect for the history of the music, this one was very
special to me. I started by thinking of all the artists I admire from the past
who have created visual art with connections to jazz. I knew I needed to rise
to the occasion and deliver a design that would sit well in my mind with those
images, or I knew I'd feel bad about it for a long time." Well, Paul Rogers
does not need to feel bad about his JAZZ Forever stamp because it is just
beautiful. Done in tones of orange, yellow, green, black and white, the stamp
is larger than normal and simply puts life onto the letter in hand. That may
be the reason why the Bunny Berigan Jazz Jubilee waited until the stamp could
be purchased to mail out the flyers for this year's event. Th
e JAZZ stamp is on sale now at all local post offices and like the music
itself will last FOREVER.
Robin & Joan Rolfs
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