Title
Recognizing and Celebrating the Formation of Jazz Philadelphia and Celebrating its Inaugural Philadelphia Jazz Summit on November 2nd and 3rd, 2018.
Body
WHEREAS, Jazz is a uniquely American art form, both contributing to and reflecting the nation’s history through melody, harmony, rhythm, and improvisation; and
WHEREAS, Jazz music is a driver for social justice and social change, providing a platform to address some of the nation’s most complex challenges; and
WHEREAS, For over one hundred years, Philadelphia has spawned some of America’s most vital jazz musicians, serving as a launch pad for the careers of luminaries such as John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Lee Morgan, Melody Gardot, Christian McBride, Grover Washington, Jr., and Sun Ra. Philadelphia continues to be a hotbed of established talent, and an incubator for exciting emerging artists; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia is in the midst of a citywide cultural renaissance, making it the perfect moment for increased investment in the City’s community of jazz artists, presenters and advocates with the goal of honoring the art form’s deep roots and bright future; and
WHEREAS, It is crucial for aspiring jazz students in Philadelphia to have equal access to music education, for the City’s jazz musicians to be able to perform and live here, for venue operators, presenters, technicians, radio stations, and other creative professionals in the jazz community to thrive, for regional audiences to enthusiastically celebrate Philadelphia’s homegrown talent, and for visitors from near and far to know and love Philadelphia as a jazz City; and
WHEREAS, Jazz Philadelphia will assemble community stakeholders to support music education, provide mentorship and professional development for jazz musicians, offer promotion of local musicians and venues, and connect the jazz community to valuable support resources; and
WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia celebrates the formation and launch of Jazz Philadelphia, a new, multifaceted effort to advance the development of the City’s thriving and vibrant local jazz scene and to gain recognition for Philadelphia as a world-class jazz destination; and
WHEREAS, Jazz Philadelphia will host its inaugural 2018 Philadelphia Jazz Summit on November 2nd and 3rd, gathering 250 jazz musicians, government officials, funders, and civic leaders to share forward-thinking ideas, valuable resources and to forge personal connections among members of the community; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby recognize and celebrate the formation of Jazz Philadelphia and its inaugural Philadelphia Jazz Summit on November 2nd and 3rd, 2018.
End