Season’s Greetings! For any and all of you that are interested in the issue of fairness, and would like to see a more level playing field in the NYC jazz club scene, the following article in last week’s NY Times may be of interest to you. The leafleting phase of our long term campaign …
Category Archive: Endorsements
J4JA! WHO WE ARE
Justice for Jazz Artists! (J4JA!) is a coalition of over 3,000 musicians, advocates, and fans who seek equity in the form of fair treatment of jazz (and other musicians) in the NYC nightclubs. Since 2005, J4JA! has been seeking to engage with NYC nightclub owners (including the management of clubs such as Birdland, the Blue …
J4JA! Leafleters Start Out with a Bang
Last night a small but determined group of musicians and their supporters hit the street in front of the Blue Note to hand out informational literature on J4JA! to audience members and passersby. Central to their message were their four demands: 1.) fair PAY, 2.) a decent PENSION, 3.) PROTECTIONS for the recording or reuse …
Taking it To The Street: Justice for Jazz Artists Redux
Musicians make a joyful noise at the union’s big jazz rally on Sept 29, 2009. Photo: Ron Grunhut by John O’Connor Originally appeared in Allegro The time for waiting is over. Meet us in front of the Blue Note to make some noise. It’s time to turn up the heat. As of Dec. 8, …
Nat Hentoff: Local Nightclubs Need to Stop Resisting Pension Payments for Jazz Musicians
Nat Hentoff penned a great column about J4JA in the Village Voice this week. Read the whole thing here–please leave comments on his column! There have been jazz musicians with gigs—Broadway shows or nearly disappeared television network orchestras—who have been able to benefit from the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund. But excluded …
Actors Equity Association Endorses Justice for Jazz Artists!
The National Council of the Actors Equity Association, chaired by Executive Director John Connelly, declared their full and unambiguous support for Local 802’s Justice for Jazz Artists! campaign on Tuesday, October 21, 2009. The resolution to endorse was supported by a unanimous vote. Council members from Chicago and Los Angeles weighed in with their “yea” …
Endorsers
Check out our new endorsers page! The list is necessarily incomplete, but we’ll be updating as we add more supporters. Check out our many political, education, religious endorsers, as well as writers and of course jazz musicians.
J4JA Petitioners Now Over 900!
Hey All: J4JA! Petitioners have now reached over 900 concerned professional musicians and fans from all over! Here are some recent signers: Dave Liebman Helen Merrill Bernice Watkins Sean Gough Gail Hightower Ayodele Maakheru Bob Blumenthal Regina Carter Laurence Donohue-Greene We are building steam! Keep up the good work! Best, Jimmy Owens Bob Cranshaw J4JA!
J4JA! Update
Over 800 musicians have signed our Justice for Jazz Artists! (J4JA!) petition to get benefits in the NY area jazz clubs. Most have come in via the J4JA website, the Broadway pit orchestras, and a Constant Contact mailing from earlier this month. Many signatures have also been procured by musicians. Recent prominent signers include: Regina …
Campaign Picks Up Speed
The Justice for Jazz Artists campaign continues to pick up speed. We now have over 270 petitioners! This number is up from 144 on May 1. We are currently seeking the endorsements of elected officials and religious leaders, even as we build our petition of jazz artists and musicians who work in other areas—particularly on …
