International Jazz Day

Who knew? April 30th is officially International Jazz Day, as officially declared by the UNESCO after some prodding by the one and only Herbie Hancock. I don't know if you celebrated or even acknowledged it but here in Austin we had a wonderful event at the Long Center. Four area jazz societies (the Austin Jazz Society, the Women in Jazz, the Texas Jazz Society and the Austin Traditional Jazz Society -- I know, your thinking there must be a society for every jazz listener round here!) pulled this event together. Every act was enjoyable but two in particula, the Pamela Hart Quintet and the Austin Jazz Royals (with Ephraim Owens, Elias Haslanger and Andre Hayward) tore the roof off the place. Three hours of music, two stages, seamless transitions, and a backdrop view of downtown Austin made it a late Saturday afternoon to savor.

Look out for this next year, I hear a 2-day event might be in the offing....Austin is getting jazzed! For updates, keep an eye on this site Austin Jazz Society