The sounds of jazz are resonating throughout Flagler County, FL this week. The Legacy Jazz Festival '08 marks the official 20th anniversary of the North East Florida Jazz Association (NEFJA), a not-for-profit all-volunteer group dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation of jazz, America's indigenous musical art form.
The highlight of the Festival will take place on Saturday, May 10 at the Pirates Auditorium at Mantanzas High School in Palm Coast with non-stop music on two stages beginning at 12 Noon and will feature internationally recognized jazz greats including Freddy Cole, Eddie Henderson, Javon Jackson and Doug Carn as well as a host of other popular regional performers and former NEFJA scholarship winners, including Vincent Gardner who now performs with Wynton Marsalis' Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as well as his own group. The other main event is on Sunday, May 11 when Carn, who also serves as NEFJA's vice president, will perform with his Fabulous Big Band and vocalist Marylouise during the Legacy Jazz Festival luncheon concert.
Palm Coast's City Council proclaimed the week of May 3 - 11 as NEFJA Legacy Jazz Week in recognition of the group's long-standing history of enriching the local culture by successfully executing their mission--to make live jazz performances accessible to local audiences at a reasonable cost and to provide scholarships for talented music students enrolled in a jazz studies program at a Florida college or university. To date, NEFJA has awarded $27,000 in scholarships and many recipients have gone on to become professional musicians or music educators.
“I think that it is absolutely wonderful that our organization received this high level of recognition from the City of Palm Coast," said NEFJA president, Muriel McCoy. In 1988, NEFJA was officially certified as a 501 (c)(3) organization. In reality, however, the group had been around for two years before that. In 1986, Muriel's husband, the late Eugene “Jeep" McCoy sent out letters to various organizations in Flagler County inviting jazz and other music lovers to come to their home to see if there was enough interest to start a local Jazz Society. Forty members of the community attended that first meeting. Today NEFJA has approximately 300 members from New Smyrna Beach to Jacksonville. In addition to presenting the annual NEFJA Legacy Jazz Festival, the group sponsors a series of concerts every year. The proceeds from the concerts are used to fund the Festival and NEFJA's scholarship program.
“Jeep would have been extremely proud of the proclamation by the City," McCoy commented, “It was his dream from the start that we would be able to have the same high quality of jazz here in Palm Coast that he had experienced in New York. This is a tangible validation of his legacy--as is the fact that, even though times are tough right now, NEFJA is still able to produce our third annual Jazz Festival."
Despite the struggling local economy and difficulties encountered raising funds, NEFJA has expanded the scope of the Festival this year. “We're offering a week of jazz performances and related activities at various venues throughout the county prior to the headlined events," McCoy said. She emphasized that many of these events are free to the public, “so even folks who are not familiar with jazz will have an opportunity to experience some excellent live jazz and learn more about this uniquely American musical genre."
Among the free activities, local jazz authority Henry Johnson will present a history of jazz at the Flagler County Public Library in Palm Coast followed by a live jazz performance by Bill Loomis and Just Friends. Additionally, there will be free concerts and jam sessions at the European Village nightly from Wednesday through Saturday. Earlier this week, Nature Scapes Garden Center, Landscape, and Florist in Bunnell was the site of the Legacy Jazz Festival kickoff reception that was followed by a special performance Flagler Auditorium featuring Kevin Sharpe and Linda Cole. The complete Festival schedule can be found at the Festival website www.legacyjazz.com as well as ticket information for the Saturday and Sunday main events.
The highlight of the Festival will take place on Saturday, May 10 at the Pirates Auditorium at Mantanzas High School in Palm Coast with non-stop music on two stages beginning at 12 Noon and will feature internationally recognized jazz greats including Freddy Cole, Eddie Henderson, Javon Jackson and Doug Carn as well as a host of other popular regional performers and former NEFJA scholarship winners, including Vincent Gardner who now performs with Wynton Marsalis' Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as well as his own group. The other main event is on Sunday, May 11 when Carn, who also serves as NEFJA's vice president, will perform with his Fabulous Big Band and vocalist Marylouise during the Legacy Jazz Festival luncheon concert.
Palm Coast's City Council proclaimed the week of May 3 - 11 as NEFJA Legacy Jazz Week in recognition of the group's long-standing history of enriching the local culture by successfully executing their mission--to make live jazz performances accessible to local audiences at a reasonable cost and to provide scholarships for talented music students enrolled in a jazz studies program at a Florida college or university. To date, NEFJA has awarded $27,000 in scholarships and many recipients have gone on to become professional musicians or music educators.
“I think that it is absolutely wonderful that our organization received this high level of recognition from the City of Palm Coast," said NEFJA president, Muriel McCoy. In 1988, NEFJA was officially certified as a 501 (c)(3) organization. In reality, however, the group had been around for two years before that. In 1986, Muriel's husband, the late Eugene “Jeep" McCoy sent out letters to various organizations in Flagler County inviting jazz and other music lovers to come to their home to see if there was enough interest to start a local Jazz Society. Forty members of the community attended that first meeting. Today NEFJA has approximately 300 members from New Smyrna Beach to Jacksonville. In addition to presenting the annual NEFJA Legacy Jazz Festival, the group sponsors a series of concerts every year. The proceeds from the concerts are used to fund the Festival and NEFJA's scholarship program.
“Jeep would have been extremely proud of the proclamation by the City," McCoy commented, “It was his dream from the start that we would be able to have the same high quality of jazz here in Palm Coast that he had experienced in New York. This is a tangible validation of his legacy--as is the fact that, even though times are tough right now, NEFJA is still able to produce our third annual Jazz Festival."
Despite the struggling local economy and difficulties encountered raising funds, NEFJA has expanded the scope of the Festival this year. “We're offering a week of jazz performances and related activities at various venues throughout the county prior to the headlined events," McCoy said. She emphasized that many of these events are free to the public, “so even folks who are not familiar with jazz will have an opportunity to experience some excellent live jazz and learn more about this uniquely American musical genre."
Among the free activities, local jazz authority Henry Johnson will present a history of jazz at the Flagler County Public Library in Palm Coast followed by a live jazz performance by Bill Loomis and Just Friends. Additionally, there will be free concerts and jam sessions at the European Village nightly from Wednesday through Saturday. Earlier this week, Nature Scapes Garden Center, Landscape, and Florist in Bunnell was the site of the Legacy Jazz Festival kickoff reception that was followed by a special performance Flagler Auditorium featuring Kevin Sharpe and Linda Cole. The complete Festival schedule can be found at the Festival website www.legacyjazz.com as well as ticket information for the Saturday and Sunday main events.
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