President's Corner

If Jazz at the Lincoln Center is the hub of the global jazz community, Kansas City should be considered a satellite of that hub. Adrian Ellis, the Executive Director of the JALC considers jazz education at all levels vital to the future of jazz. The Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors are an important part of that satellite. Jazz education in our community not only teaches the music but also the jazz heritage of our city. The KCJA consider jazz education at all levels a part of our mission and thanks to generous donations and volunteer efforts we are able to meet goals. While we encourage jazz education at all levels we also try to meet any special needs our great local musicians might have through MEAF. Again generous donations and volunteer efforts make it possible to honor all requests for assistance.

JAM is certainly a priority and the mainstay of the Jazz Ambassadors. We are very proud of our magazine
and the people who help make it all possible. Check those names out on page 2. The magazine continues to
gain recognition locally and around the world. Along with reviews, stories and ads we are able to use our magazine to brag about all the wonderful jazz artists who live and perform in Kansas City.

The Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors have created a profile on DonorEdge—a part of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. This format gives many specifics about the Jazz Ambassadors and offers you an opportunity to donate to our jazz heritage. Membership is the core of the existence of the Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors—they enable all the things we stand for in the community. If you are reading this and are not a member please join us....look for the application in JAM.

The Jazz Ambassadors have a new website, www.kcjazzambassadors.com. We hope to keep you up to
date (in Kansas City) on all things jazz at this site as well as making the site available to the jazz community as an advertising source and for the Jazz Ambassadors a revenue source. Check us out and give us a call with your ideas.

Support is the big word for all of the above and last but certainly not least are the jazz venues here in Kansas City that hire our great jazz artists to perform for us almost every night of the week. We, the jazz lovers, need to get out and visit the clubs to keep them alive and in business. Can you really imagine NOT having these places to go to hear jazz?
I guess this satellite needs lots of support - like all great things.