The love of America’s music started at an early age for me. Maybe it was from watching old black and white films as kid that featured Glenn Miller and his big band or the boys from the Rat Pack. Maybe it was hearing Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue for the first time. Whatever the reason, jazz has always resonated with me in a way nothing else could.
From up tempo drum beats to slow, melodic notes on a sax or trumpet, the music of jazz is a wide-ranging labyrinth that has a little something for everyone. It can make tap your feet and dance the night away or gently guide you into a musical trance. No other genre of music encompasses the confluence of different cultures, different permutations and different influences like jazz does. As an almost undefinable art form, jazz is truly packed with spontaneity, vitality and improvisation, lending itself to universal appeal.
For more that 25 years, Jazz Arts of the Mountainwest (JAM) has been at the forefront of promoting jazz along the Wasatch front. Through live performances and music education in local school, colleges and universities, JAM’s mission is to foster the enjoyment of America’s music for current and future generations.
The annual Salt Lake City Jazz Festival, the Jazz Festival Road Shows and the JAM Education Clinics have all played enormous roles in bringing the rich heritage of jazz to thousands of people here in Utah and throughout the intermountain region. Although JAM’s partnerships with local and national musicians and other organizations are at the heart of our mission, it is the support of our communities, local businesses and government officials that truly help JAM succeed. We cannot preserve America’s music without your help and we can’t thank you enough for nearly three decades of support.
Daniel S. Royer