All About Jazz Monthly Update

News from allaboutjazz.com | December 20, 2003

HAS THE INTERNET HELPED JAZZ...?

This will be the topic of discussion at the upcoming annual IAJE jazz conference in New York and we'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

We're looking for feedback from musicians, fans, record labels, online retailers, collectors, and anyone else who is on this mailing list!

The discussion is already underway; to read what others have to say or to share your thoughts, click here.

A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS...
Click here for more information about AAJ's artist promotional services.

AAJ is proud to showcase the following CDs:

Box/Reissues: Jazz Memories and John McLaughlin's The Montreux Concerts.

Vocal: Juliet Kelly's Aphrodite's Child.

Fusion-Jam: Children on the Corner's Rebirth.

Mainstream: George Colligan's Mad Science, Issi Rozen's Dark Beauty, Wolfgang Schalk's Rainbows In The Night, Carla Marciano's Trane's Groove, Mark Kleinhaut & Bobby Watson's A Balance of Light, and Rale Micic's Bridges.

Holiday: Lynette Washington's Long, Long Ago.

Show your support of AAJ by clicking through to these artists' websites and listening to music from their latest releases.

WHAT A YEAR FOR CD REVIEWS!

Even with our downtime (which lasted close to a month) AAJ still eclipsed the 1,500 CD review mark for 2003. In addition to the new releases, we also covered many reissues that were released throughout the year by Blue Note, Mosaic, Verve, Collectables, and Columbia. We also introduced the multi-review and extended analysis formats.

Good news to Big Band fans! Jack Bowers will be back in full force come January, so look for his typical steady stream of large ensemble reviews next month.

MEET & GREET TODAY'S FINEST

Way, way back we had a feature called "On the Road With...". It was such great fun for musicians and readers that we decided to resurrect the idea and re-launch it as "Catching Up With..." on the AAJ Bulletin Board.

This forum will give everyone an opportunity to interact with jazz musicians from around the world. It has proven to be entertaining, educational, and our inaugural guests George Colligan and Jeremy Pelt have been great about fielding questions. If you have a question or comment for either one of these gentlemen, click here.

Look for more many more guests in 2004. We plan to bring in a steady stream of musicians and industry movers and shakers.

ALL ABOUT ALL ABOUT JAZZ

The Dean of American Jazz Humorists® Jeff Fitzgerald lends his special brand of interpretation to the history of AAJ. To read all about it, click here.

It's been a yuckfest this year for the Genius as he's profiled several living jazz giants including Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny and Wynton Marsalis. If you haven't been keeping up with his column, click here for all the 2003 articles.

If all goes according to plan, look for the Genius Guide to Jazz book in 2004. It's sure to look great on your coffee table or in your bathroom.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM AAJ!

Gifts Galore: Looking for a last minute gift idea for a jazzy friend or loved one? Try our holiday suggestions page for DVDs, box sets, posters and books.

Vino Alert: We also re-launched our wine club with a new provider and from the samples they've sent us, we're very excited about the new wines and the new & more affordable programs. We now ship to 37 states and you get a complimentary bottle when you join, so if you haven't checked us out lately, please do. A portion of your monthly fee directly supports AAJ, so drink good wine and know that with each sip, you're helping AAJ.

CD Giveaway: We're giving away a soon-to-be classic holiday jazz CD courtesy of Origin Records. To become eligible at a chance to win Winter, please go here. We'll announce the lucky winners on December 31st.

JAZZ DIRECTORY... EXPANDING

We now have well over 4,000 jazz clubs, record labels, radio stations, festivals, musicians, and other assorted jazz-related entities in our database. We just added 200 schools and plan to add several record shops next week. To add your company info to the AAJ directory, go here.

COMING SOON

Here's a short list of items to look for in January: The AAJ editor's choice 2003 picks, a classic interview with Frank Zappa, a new & improved musician's directory, and a brand new way to search for CD reviews and articles.

2004 is shaping up to be a very exciting year as we plan to launch several new & impressive features at the site. Stay tuned!

Best wishes for happy holiday season,

Mike, Chris, Nils and the entire AAJ Staff