Jazz and Politics: Harmony and Discourse Concerts

Location: ArtsXChange at the Warehouse Arts District Association

Dates: November 3, December 1

presented by Warehouse Arts District Association, Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association, EMIT, Jazz on Arts Axis Florida & WUSF.

November 3 - The Instrument of Hope with panel discussion on gun violence

December 1 - Holiday Swinging with the Helios Big Band Orchestra featuring Fred Johnson with a panel discussion on food insecurity on St. Pete

About WADA: The Warehouse Arts District Association (WADA) started with a dream of a creative corridor. Abandoned warehouses in St Petersburgs Midtown neighborhood help promise. Artists needed reasonably priced workspace were already moving into the area, reclaiming building that once housed tomato and seafood packing plants, a large commercial laundry, a sewer equipment manufacturer and a deserted railway station.

As time passed, a major concern was that there is a history nationwide of artists moving into an undesirable area, they make the place “cool” and then rental prices go through the roof until artists can no longer afford space.

In early 2012, a group of interested people was held at the Morean Center for Clay. The idea was to form an organization that could represent artists, studios and galleries in the city of St Petersburg and work to preserve affordable studio space. That is how the organization came to be. Later that year, it organized as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to creating a vibrant arts community in and around St. Petersburg, FL and to develop and grow as an energetic group that creates jobs, attracts artists participates in the local community and provides arts education opportunities.

About EMIT: For the past twenty-seven years, over 500 events involving new music, jazz, world music, interactive electronics, improvisation and interdisciplinary art forms that incorporate sound have been featured in the EMIT series. EMIT (a registered nonprofit arts organization) brings adventurous music and educational activities to the Tampa Bay area. EMIT is presenter of the annual St. Petersburg Jazz Festival, Recording Arts Program with Boys & Girls Club students at the Royal Theater in Midtown, EMIT Latin Jazz Fest and supporter of the 18-member Helios Jazz Orchestra.

About the Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association: The start of The Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association can be traced to the joint efforts of Al Downing and the late Ernie Calhoun, renowned saxophonist and humanitarian from Tampa, Florida. Its beginnings were in 1981 and emerged from two jazz organizations in 1989. Today it provides jazz opportunities for enthusiasts throughout the Tampa Bay area.

The primary focus of the association is to encourage the understanding and appreciation of jazz.

The ADTBJA:

• Promotes the understanding of jazz, its origins and evolution
  
• Presents live jazz performances
  
• Works with youths who are interested in learning to explore and perform jazz
  
• Informs the public about jazz clinics, festivals, performances, events and club scenes
  
• Provides scholarships to students who plan to further their jazz studies

About Jazz on Arts Axis Florida: Jazz on Arts Axis Florida provides digital resources and advertising opportunities for jazz musicians, organizations, and venues throughout Florida and is committed to showcasing diverse jazz voices through original and shared content. Shaped out of 56 years of history under WUSF and its long-running All Night Jazz program, Jazz on Arts Axis Florida is the hub for all-things local for jazz music.