• Greg Walker: One of Louisville’s Jazz Treasures

    Greg Walker is a man of many talents – singer, arranger and an amazing guitar player who can cover all genres, especially jazz, blues and rock. If you ever needed a friendly hand, Greg was there for you. He never questions why you might need help or what a gig pays. Greg has devoted his life to music and his friends.

    Now Greg is in trouble. He’s been battling a number of health issues. Jewish Hospital has been his home for more than two weeks. He wants to return to gigging but that doesn’t seem possible for a while.

    Please keep Greg in your thoughts and prayers; send him good juju or whatever you think will work. He’s one of the good guys and we need to let him know how much we care.

    If you care to send him cards, please send them to his address and his girlfriend will take them to him. His address is:

    Greg Walker
    1703 O’Daniel Ave
    Louisville, KY 40213

  • G2 Summit Ensemble: Dark And Lonely (A Covid Anthem)

    G2 Summit Ensemble: Dark And Lonely (A Covid Anthem)

    The 2021 G2 Summit Ensemble is an international collaboration between the Jazz departments of the University of Louisville and the Universidad El Bosque in Bogota Colombia. The students from the two schools have never met in person.

    Personnel/Personal:

    Alto Sax/Saxo Alto: Ben Sevy (UofL)
    Tenor Sax/Saxo Tenor: David Hernandéz García (UEB)
    Guitar/Guitarra: Santiago Andrés García (UEB)
    Piano: Matheus Pagliacci (UofL)
    Bass/Bajo: Chris Fitzgerald (UofL)
    Drums/Batería: Luisa Fernanda Goméz Lizcano (UEB)
    Director: Chris Fitzgerald (UofL)

    Dark And Lonely/Oscuro y Solitario
    Composer/Compositor: Chris Fitzgerald
    Audio and video mixing by Chris Fitzgerald

    Mission Statement:

    The G2 Summit Ensemble is an international musical outreach Initiative founded by the University of Louisville Jazz Studies Department. It features students from UofL performing asynchronously alongside students from music schools in distant countries with whom we have built previous musical relationships and exchanges. In each version of the project, two ensembles are created, one in each school, with faculty from each school leading the mixed ensemble and focusing on music native to their culture. In this time when international travel is difficult for many reasons, this project seeks to ensure that the music and cultural interchange will continue.

    El G2 Summit Ensemble es una iniciativa de divulgación Musical internacional fundada por el departamento de Estudios De Jazz de la Universidad de Louisville. Este proyecto presenta a estudiantes de Jazz de la UofL tocando de forma asincrónica junto a estudiantes de escuelas de música de diferentes países con los que hemos construido, de manera previa, relaciones e intercambios musicales. En cada versión del proyecto se crean dos ensambles, estando cada uno de ellos dirigidos por maestros de cada una de las universidades participantes, trabajando con estudiantes de diferentes escuelas, enfocándose en las músicas propias de cada unas de sus culturas. En este momento en que los viajes internacionales son difíciles por muchas razones, este Proyecto busca asegurar que el intercambio musical y cultural continúe.

  • COVID-19 can’t stop the music

    COVID-19 can’t stop the music

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville Jazz Studies Program refused to let a little thing like a global pandemic interfere with its international collaboration.While COVID-19 shut down travel, it could not shut down UofL working with the Universidad El Bosque of Bogota, Colombia. Under the direction of UofL Associate Professor of Music Chris Fitzgerald and Javier Perez of the Universidad El Bosque, students at both universities collaborated remotely to produce jazz performances.The result? Four YouTube performances – two from UofL and two from Universidad El Bosque – that show viewers the skill and expertise of the students from both schools.

    Online Now:

    Dropping Monday, July 26:

    The schools have collaborated in person before – both program directors are alumni of the UofL School of Music – but the pandemic required innovative thinking to enable students to work together this year.

    “Each student recorded their part in the performances separately,” Fitzgerald said. “Once I received my group of performances, I was able to use computer software to combine them. Javier did the same.”

    And while Fitzgerald and Perez are looking forward to resuming their in-person collaboration, the remote experience has provided new learning experiences for both faculty and students.

    “It’s been great to learn how to put together separate remote performances into one cohesive presentation,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s something we now can impart to our students going forward to further their education.”

    #WeAreUofL

    EDITOR’S NOTE; CUTLINE FOR ATTACHED PHOTO — Musicians from UofL and Universidad El Bosque perform “Dark and Lonely: A COVID Anthem.

    Jill Scoggins, 502-852-7461, jill.scoggins@louisville.edu

  • Preservation Hall Foundation Unveils Database Of Free Music Lessons For K–12 Students

    Preservation Hall Foundation Unveils Database Of Free Music Lessons For K–12 Students

    The Preservation Hall Foundation has unveiled Preservation Hall Lessons, a free series of online music lessons for K–12 students co-created by the foundation and members of the Preservation Hall community of musicians. Click below to visit their site and learn more.

  • LJS Response to Breonna Taylor Decision

    The decision reached in the Breonna Taylor case is one in a long line of cases where justice has eluded Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in the US. The Louisville Jazz Society (LJS) recognizes these injustices, aches in pain and dismay that needless deaths like Ms. Taylor’s continue to occur, and stand committed to supporting and fighting for true justice and equity for all. No matter how often our judicial, economic, and health systems fail our BIPOC sisters and brothers, the LJS is committed to doing our part in actively promoting truth, justice, and healing for all. We stand with our BIPOC brothers and sisters in proclaiming, “Black Lives Matter”!!

    Since its inception, Jazz has served as a sounding board for the expression of the African American experience, the relaying of injustices, a declaration of humanity and as a tonic for healing of the human soul. Charlie Parker stated, “Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn. They teach you there’s a boundary line to music. But, man, there’s no boundary line to art.” Let us strive to hear the experiences, thoughts, and wisdom of jazz and commit to erasing the boundary lines of injustice that currently exist in our collective humanity. In that spirit, we humbly offer this playlist—which is by no means exhaustive—but may be used as a starting point to learn about injustices experienced by BIPOC, seek context of those injustices, and receive the healing that is so central in our great music, Jazz.

    [video_gallery brands=”Jazz and Justice Playlist”]