The Nashville Jazz Workshop's Jazz Party of the Year on September 26 was a great success. The night started with music from Ritmos Picantes and people gathering to look at the fabulous auction items and nibbling on the great food that Michael King, owner of Monells provided. At 5pm, the NJW All Stars took the stage for a blazing set of great jazz! It was fun to watch the musicians dig in and enjoy themselves.
When the All Stars finished their set, Roger and I presented 2 awards. The first presentation was the NJW Heritage Award. This yearly award goes to someone that has been a prominent figure in our jazz community - a person who has proven excellence in our city with promoting and providing jazz for many years. This year's recipient was John Birdsong. John has helped so many
musicians in this town to get their start. John is a mentor, supporter, NJW board member, incredible bassist, husband, father........but mostly, our friend. Thank you John for providing Nashville with many years of wonderful jazz and enriching the minds and hearts of so many. This is the third year for the NJW Heritage Award. Beegie Adair was the recipient in 2008 and Denis Solee received it in 2009.
The second award we gave was the NJW Lifetime Mentor Award. This year was the first time for this award because we are celebrating a decade of music at the Jazz Workshop. The NJW Heritage award was about someone who has made a difference outside our walls. The Lifetime Mentor award is about someone who has made a difference INSIDE our walls. Someone that is a true master educator, mentor, psychologist, cheerleader, psychic and friend. This award went to Ron Browning. Ron came to us as a student of Beegie Adair's 13 years ago. When he told me he was a vocal coach, for some weird reason, I never questioned him........I JUST KNEW THAT HE WAS THE BEST!! Ron has been responsible for writing our entire Vocal Technique curriculum at the NJW. His classes are the first to sell out and always have a waiting list. He is loved by so many of his students, that most of them never want to leave him! Ron is also an amazing visual artist. He has had several art shows at the NJW displaying his lovely work. He just happened to draw our logo for the Jazz Workshop. Ron is a gifted teacher and we thank him for all his support and all the students that he has brought to the NJW.
Shortly after the award ceremony, the live auction was in full swing!! People were bidding and great auction items were being sold. In front of the stage was our artist friend Lafayette Mitchell, who painted an amazing picture of the night's event.
As soon as Annie Sellick and her band took the stage, the audience was in the palm of her hand! She was magnificent! We are so proud of Annie and her success. She was a student at the NJW 13 years ago and now she is an international jazz artist as well as a gifted instructor.
As the night ended, close to 500 people attended the Jazz Party of the Year. This was the largest attendance we have ever had for our fundraiser. We thank our sponsors and contributors for making a difference and keeping jazz alive in Nashville. A big thanks to our fundraiser committee who did an incredible job making this event so successful. Also a special thank you to our volunteers. None of this would ever happen without your love and support.
- Lori Mechem
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