On Monday, December 26th, jazz vocalist Keisha St. Joan and Local 802 Recording Vice President John O’Connor appeared on the NYC radio program Building Bridges Radio: Your Community & Labor Report, produced and Hosted by Mimi Rosenberg & Ken Nash over WBAI,99.5FM.

In the segment, St. Joan, as always, is particulalry eloquent regarding the injustices suffered by musicians at the hands of club owners, and O’Connor fully explains the current J4JA! campaign in detail. The segment runs about 25 minutes–and features a rare instance of a jazz artist (St. Joan) and a folk performer (O’Connor) performing a vocal duet!

You can also hear the voices of Jimmy Owens, Randy Weston, Bernard Purdie, Dr. Billy Taylor (RIP), Junior Mance, Andy Schwartz, Reggie Workman, Bennie Powell (RIP) and Bob Cranshaw speaking out on this vital subject.

BTW, the fantastic music at the end of the segment was composed by trumpeter/educator and NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Owens and features Owens, trombonist Benny Powell, bassist Kenny Davis , drummer Bernard Purdie and pianist Danny Mixon.

Here’s the web address of the WBAI broadcast:

http://buildingbridgesradio.blogspot.com/2012/01/justice-for-jazz-artists-what-no.html

Enjoy!
Yours in Solidarity,
Todd Bryant Weeks
J4JA!