Jazz musicians playing in major
New York City clubs are not guaranteed fair pay, do not receive healthcare benefits and
often retire in poverty.
On May Day we marched with labor and immigrant groups to celebrate the International Workers’ Day. Thanks to all those who showed up in support.
There’s one more way you can help. Please make a very short trip to our support page and send a letter to club owners letting them know that jazz musicians deserve more security!
April was a great month for Justice for Jazz Artists! We would like to thank everyone who showed up—in person and digitally. The weeks leading in to our big “Jazz Built This!” and May Day actions were phenomenal:
Welcoming New Supporters
The campaign has received a flood of new supporters in the last few weeks, and we are grateful that all of these talented artists cared enough about what we are fighting for to add their prestigious names to our list of endorsers. Our newest endorsers include:
Mala Waldron, Michael Abene, Gaudencio Thiago de Mello, “Sweet” Sue Terry, Lakecia Benjamin, Bobby Sanabria, Ron Jackson, Steven Bernstein, Douglas Purviance, Ras Moshe, Billy Kaye, and Andrew Lamb.
Many thanks to all of you for standing with us!
50,000 Followers and Facebook Love!
The Justice for Jazz Artists homepage has exceeded 50,000 followers! We are humbled by the superb quality and amount of supporters we have online. You all generate fabulous debate and reaffirm our collective belief that musicians out there who are suffering deserve financial and workplace security. Your words of kindness sustain and embolden us on a daily basis and help spread the word to more people in New York City and all over the world. Here is a sampling of some the kind words and ideas our generous followers have voiced in the last month:
Stay tuned for more ways to support the cause! Thanks again to everyone for doing what you do!
Fairness. Dignity. Respect. Now’s the Time!
Ras Moshe has been playing in various groups throughout New York City for almost twenty years, with William Hooker, Sabir Mateen, Steve Swell, Marc Edwards and others. His style has been compared to post-1965 John Coltrane and Frank Wright, among others. Born and raised in New York, and with a family history rich in the jazz tradition, Ras has uniquely positioned himself to bring the lineage of free jazz into the present day. Welcome Ras!
The winners of the Jazz Journalist Association Awards have been announced, and Justice for Jazz Artists Supporters Wycliffe Gordon, Regina Carter and Bobby Sanabria all took home prizes this year!
Trombonist of the Year:
Wycliffe Gordon
Violinist/Violist/Cellist of the Year:
Regina Carter
Percussionist of the Year:
Bobby Sanabria
Jazz lovers,
This year on May 1st Justice for Jazz Artists will once again be taking to the streets for the yearly May Day protests, where we will march proudly with a wide coalition of groups for solidarity and against rampant and ever-growing inequality.
May Day 2012 was a great success both for J4JA and actions as a whole. With momentum from Occupy Wall Street’s success, awareness of the international labor movement was at an all-time high. Thanks to those successes, inequality now has a greater place in the national dialogue than in years past.
We will carry that enthusiasm through May Day 2013, and with your presence Local 802 and Justice for Jazz Artists will come together with labor groups and workers of all stripes to make our voices echo through the City once again.
Justice for Jazz Artists asks for simple and achievable improvements for the lives of musicians who are or will be suffering in the future; fair pay scales, modest pension contributions, protection of recording rights. These are not monumental challenges, but will provide suffering musicians with some desperately needed security.
So we invite you to join us—musicians, music lovers and humanitarians! Make a sign, bring an instrument, and join us for a day of revelry and justice.
What: Justice for Jazz Artists May Day rally and march
Where: Meet at the southwest corner of Union Square. We will play music and march to City Hall park
When: May 1st, meet at 3:30 PM; march lasts to about 6 PM
Why: Solidarity and justice!
Fairness. Dignity. Respect. Now’s the Time!
The avant garde saxophonist Andrew Lamb has endorsed Justice for Jazz Artists.
A saxophonist and flautist, Lamb was raised in Chicago and South Jamaica, Queens. After studying with AACM 
charter member Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, Lamb came into New York City’s avant-garde community during the 1970s, and eventually became an active presence in the Bedford-Stuyvesant arts world and winning a Brooklyn Arts Council grant.
Lamb has worked with labels including Delmark Records, Kiki Records, CIMP and Jazz New York Productions, and played with artists like Wilber Morris, Andrei Strobert, and Warren Smith. He has regularly performed in the avant garde Vision Festival since 1996, and has played with acts like Alan Silva’s Sound Visions Orchestra, the Cecil Taylor Big Band and the Henry Grimes Quartet.
Lamb has marched with J4JA and supports the campaign goals.
To view archival footage of Andrew Lamb, click HERE.
Welcome Andrew!
On April 11th, Justice for Jazz Artists hit the streets of NYC to protest disparities in the lifestyles of club owners and those of NYC jazz musicians.
Our first “Jazz Built This!” demo was in front of a $15 million dollar townhouse on the Upper East Side, owned by the Bensusan family of Blue Note notoriety.
At that rally, we were joined by John Pizzarelli, Larry Ridley, Keisha St. Joan and Bob Cranshaw. That evening, we marched on the Blue Note, and spread our message to hundreds of passersby and to patrons of the club. The Blue Note has refused to return our phone calls or answer our letters. We demand a response.
If you couldn’t make it out with us you can still help by quickly sending a letter to club owners letting them know you support justice.
PENSION, Fair PAY scales, PROTECTIONS on recordings. NOW’S THE TIME!
Lakecia Benjamin, a
rising star in the jazz/funk/hip hop worlds, has publicly endorsed J4JA!
Ms. Benjamin, a saxophonist, has appeared with Alicia Keys, Steve Wonder, and many other pop acts. She tours with comedian/musician Craig Robinson and his band, the Nasty Delicious, and with the group Soulsquad. Lakecia is from Washington Heights in New York City, and has appeared on jazz bandstands all over the country, with acts as diverse as saxophonist Bill Saxton, singer Macy Gray and the Clark Terry Big Band!
Benjamin’s latest recording can be found on the Motema label. She was recently profiled in an article in the award winning magazine, Allegro. You can find an online version of the article HERE. You can also find video of Lakecia Benjamin HERE. Welcome Lakecia and thanks for your support!
Justice for Jazz Artists’ endorsers, the Grammy nominated vocalist Janet Lawson and celebrated bassist Bob Cranshaw (of Sonny Rollins fame) made an on air appearance on WBAI Radio 99.5 FM recently. The show was hosted by Occupy Wall Street’s brilliant Daphne Carr. Lawson and Cranshaw were joined by Justice for Jazz Artists’ organizer Todd Bryant Weeks. Click link below for the most up to date info on the campaign and tonight’s rallies in NYC! J4JA!
Justice for Jazz Artists officially kicked off our 2013 efforts with our “Jazz Built This!” march on Thursday, April 11th.
Musicians and supporters came together for the first time this year to march to a residential property owned by the proprietors of the Blue Note, and then, later in the evening, to Washington Square Park on a march through Greenwich Village which ended with a celebratory concert/protest in front of the Blue Note.
Photo, Walter Karling
The first march was designed to draw attention to the contrasts in the lifestyles of older side-musicians (many of whom are forced to rely on charities like the Jazz Foundation for America) and those of club owners like the Bensusans, who own millions of dollars of real estate in our area.
The Upper East Side townhouse where we held our first demonstration on Thursday was recently purchased by the Bensusan family for $15 million dollars.
During these, our first “Jazz Built This!” marches, we let not only club owners but patrons know that older musicians are hurting and need help. The Bensusans and other owners insist that providing musicians with basic payments toward pensions is an undo strain, but this is far from the case.
Last Thursday, we were joined by supporters from all walks; and by some of our biggest endorsers, including guitarist, vocalist and band leader John Pizzarelli, not to mention the preeminent jazz bassist, educator and activist, Dr. Larry Ridley. Bassist Bob Cranshaw was there as well.
Greenpeace was there! Occupy Musicians came out in force!
The American Federation of Musicians leadership also came out to help. Thanks to AFM President Ray Hair, Secretary Treasurer Sam Folio and Director of Organizing Paul Frank for their solidarity.
Jazz Built This! was a great start to our upcoming actions in 2013, which we predict will be a bumper year. If you couldn’t make it this time, there’ll plenty of other opportunities. Stay tuned!
