Big Apple Dance

SC Jazz History: Big Apple Dance

“When the steps came together in a joyous dance, it had the power to bring people together.” Big band jazz otherwise known as Swing is the music that gets people moving. While big bands of Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Count Basie were swinging the tunes, people were surely dancing around the room. Another famous … Read more

Gift of Story and Song

The “gift of story and song” runs through the African-American experience from slavery to the speeches of the first black president of the United States—and a portion of it emerged from the South Carolina lowcountry. Performed by Gullah people, slave songs such as “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore,” “Roll, Jordan, Roll,” “Nobody Knows the Trouble … Read more

Amazon Prime Jazz Films

Amazon Prime Jazz Films

Check out the amazing jazz films on Amazon Prime! Great jazz movies and jazz documentaries for your enjoyment and edutainment! Here are a few of our picks… The Jazz Ambassadors Bolden Bill Evans Time Remembered Count Basie – At Carnegie Hall Icons Among Us The Case Of The Three Sided Dream Sun Ra – A … Read more

ColaJazz Summer Camp 2020

ColaJazz Camp 2020 Announced

We are so excited to be entering our 4th year offering a world-class summer jazz camp! SAVE THE DATE: July 16-19, 2020 Join the ColaJazz Camp’s Facebook page: https://facebook.com/colajazzcamp Stay up-to-date with ColaJazz announcements and join our Newsletter: https://colajazz.com/contact/ Do more. Be more. JAZZ more! The ColaJazz Camp is our premier jazz education event welcoming … Read more

JABBO SMITH

SC Jazz History: Jabbo Smith

Jabbo Smith (December 24, 1908 – January 16, 1991) was born Cladys Smith in Pembroke, Georgia. He was mentioned in a previous post as being the #2 trumpeter in Jazz, which is pretty incredible considering the many talented horn players of the genre. Jabbo learned to play at the famed Jenkins Orphanage and was also … Read more

ColaJaz SC Public Radio Mark Rapp

Jazz Musicians in Demand

On July 10, 2019, the Founder and CEO of ColaJazz, Mark Rapp, interviewed with Mike Switzer on his popular program the “South Carolina Business Review“. The South Carolina Business Review focuses on news from South Carolina’s business community with interviews of leaders from around the state. “It was an honor to speak with Mike Switzer … Read more

SC Jazz History: Eartha Mae Kitt

Eartha Kitt was a magnetic soul who lit up the stage, screen, and room wherever she appeared. A pop-culture icon, Kitt is forever remembered for playing Catwoman in a 60s Batman series. During her career, her first song recordings were done in Paris with a jazz trio. In 2006, she sang at the Monterey Jazz … Read more

ColaJazz Jazz at Lincoln Center After-school Content

Jazz at Lincoln Center Visits Columbia

ColaJazz in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands, the Auntie Karen Foundation and Jazz at Lincoln Center presented their 2nd after-school jazz enrichment workshop with some amazing kids at Midway Elementary in Cassatt, SC (a small town located 1-hour outside of Columbia). ColaJazz was chosen to offer the Jazz at Lincoln … Read more