Philadelphia Jazz Fair
Press Announcement
Sunday, July 12, 2009

1:00 - Opening Remarks PJHP - Caplan Recital Hall

1:10 - The University of the Arts Student Jazz Quartet featuring Adam Siegel, AJ Luca, Ryan Kuhns, Anwar Marshall - Caplan Recital Hall

1:10 - Film Screening: Icons Among Us (106 minutes) - Connelly Auditorium*

1:30 - Film Screening: Brownie Speaks (86 minutes) - Caplan Recital Hall

3:10 - Performances - Caplan Recital Hall

• John Blake, Steve Beskrone, Jim Miller
• Don Glanden Quartet featuring Micah Jones, Fred Biondi, Mike Pracher

3:30 - Philadelphia Jazz Heritage Award Presentation: Jymie Merritt

• Jymie Merritt Video Tribute
• Introduction by Charles Fambrough
• Performance by Jymie Merritt Quintet

4:00 - Philadelphia Jazz Heritage Award Presentation: Trudy Pitts

• Trudy Pitts Video Tribute
• Introduction by Tim Warfield
• Solo piano performance: Trudy Pitts

4:30 - J. Michael Harrison: Conversation with Jymie and Trudy

5:15 - Concluding remarks

About the Movie Screenings:

Brownie Speaks

A native of Wilmington, Delaware, jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown made an outstanding and influential contribution to music. In an era when many musicians were emulating Charlie Parker's drug abuse, Brown inspired others to achieve greatness while living a clean lifestyle. Ironically, he was killed in a car accident at the age of 25.

Brownie Speaks is the culmination of years of research by Wilmington-born jazz pianist Don Glanden, research that has included interviews with Brown's friends, family, contemporaries, and admirers. Glanden's son Brad edited Brownie Speaks using these interviews, along with archival materials and newly shot video footage.

The resulting feature-length documentary presents a richly detailed account of Brown's life, and examines his historical importance in the context of three criteria--innovation, influence, and individuality

Icons Among Us: jazz in the present tense

Icons Among Us: jazz in the present tense, a documentary film series, looks at the jazz music scene today. Through interviews, performance footage, and the voices of the musicians themselves, we explore this music and the divergent influences that are shaping the world of jazz at the beginning of the 21st century. Not a historical look at what has been called America;s music but a timely, vibrant trip through the clubs, festivals, and lives of this new generation of jazz musicians. Never before has jazz music been so many different things to so many different people, from Hip Hop to Bebop from Jam Band to Free Form, the music continues to grow and shape itself in ways as varied as the musicians who play it. Icons... is a look at all of this and more.

Related Links: Video Trailer | Episode Reviews | Interviews