Archived News: This news release is more than one year old and may include outdated information.

Twelve Dane County libraries offer concerts, book & poetry readings, and film screenings on the history of jazz

Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month with a series of musical and literary performances in Dane County Libraries in April and May. 
 
Journey of Jazz. Trace the stylistic journey of jazz from its origins to the present day in a musical performance by the Hanah Jon Taylor Quintet, interwoven with a dramatic presentation of the music’s history by master jazz musician and educator Hanah Jon Taylor and company. 
 
Thursday, April, 9, 6: 30 p.m. - Mount Horeb  Public Library  
Friday, April 10, 7 p.m. - Madison Public Library - Central  
Thursday, April 16, 6:30 p.m. - Verona Public Library
Sunday, April 19, 2:00 p.m. - Sun Prairie Public Library
Tuesday, April 21, 6:00 p.m. - Oregon Public Library 
Friday, May 22, 6:00 p.m. - Marshall Community Library 
 
Jazz Is a Heartbeat. Stroll through jazz history with poet Fabu, music by saxophonist Hanah Jon Taylor, and a presentation by UW-Madison Professor Ethelene Whitmire, whose 2014 book portrays the remarkable role of Harlem Renaissance librarian Regina Anderson Andrews in supporting Black artists during that remarkably fertile period of American cultural history.  Poetry will range from Langston Hughes to Nathaniel Mackey to Fabu’s original work about jazz legend Mary Lou Williams.
 
Saturday, April 18, 3:00 p.m. - Madison Public Library - Monroe Street 
Tuesday, May 5, 6:30 p.m. - Waunakee Public Library 
Thursday, April 30, 6:30 p.m. - Middleton Public Library
 
Jazz in Exile.  View Madison filmmaker Chuck France’s documentary on the exodus of African American jazz musicians to Europe, which the reasons for the migration, and how it affected the musicians and the music itself. A short Q & A with the France will follow the film.
 
Tuesday, April 7, 6:30 p.m. - Goodman South Madison Library 
Monday, April 20, 6:30 p.m. - Deerfield Public Library
Wednesday, May 20, 6:30 p.m. - Fitchburg Public Library
 
Refreshments and conversation with the presenters to follow each performance.
 
The National Museum of American History designated April as Jazz Appreciation Month in 2001 and has since been offering jazz programming in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities. Tracing its origins to the early music of the Africans who came to America as slaves, the development of jazz weaves through the history of African Americans and race relations in the United States. Jazz both emerged from slavery and the forced segregation of the Jim Crow South and influenced and informed the struggle of African Americans for identity, self-realization and social change. Furthermore, many great works by poets, novelists, and visual artists (largely African American) from the Harlem Renaissance to the present day have been greatly informed by jazz.
 
Jazz at the Library is funded through grants from Beyond the Page, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Madison Community Foundation, and Dane Arts, with additional support from the Greater Madison Jazz Consortium and Madison Public Library.   More information at www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/jazz
 
 
About Greater Madison Jazz Consortium
The Greater Madison Jazz Consortium is a new partnership of nonprofit presenting organizations (Madison Music Collective, Wisconsin Union Theater, Madison Jazz Society, and Midwest Gypsy Swing Festival), educators (UW School of Music, Madison Metropolitan School District Fine Arts Office, and Madison Jazz Jam), and WORT-FM, with additional support from the Jazz Institute of Chicago and local media (Isthmus and Capital City Hues). Working together, these partners are working to create a more vibrant and sustainable local jazz scene in the greater Madison area.  Visit greatermadisonjazzconsortium.org to learn more or see upcoming events.

About Beyond the Page
Beyond the Page is a joint project of the Dane County Library Service and all municipal public libraries in Dane County.  Supported by a permanent endowment held by the Madison Community Foundation, the project annually funds humanities programming in libraries throughout the county forever. For more information, visit beyondthepage.info, Beyond the Page on Facebook, or @beyond_the_page on Twitter.
 
About Madison Public Library
Madison Public Library’s tradition of promoting education, literacy and community involvement has enriched the City of Madison for more than 140 years. Nine locations throughout the City of Madison are open six days per week and welcome over 2.2 million visits each year. For more information, visit madisonpubliclibrary.org, Madison Public Library on Facebook, or @madisonlibrary on Twitter.