All That Jazz

My alma mater will be receiving a unique honor from President George W. Bush today. The University of Idaho is the first public university to be awarded the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s most prestigious arts award. The prize is for the school's Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival.

For forty years, the Festival has been providing opportunities for professional musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Diana Krall, and Wynton Marsalis to mentor young musicians and singers through workshops and performances. Each February, up to 14,000 elementary to college-aged students flock to Moscow, Idaho, for four days of jazz education and appreciation.

My son is about to start piano lessons, and I hope some day he's interested in taking part in this amazing annual event here in the panhandle of North Idaho.

While I'm on the subject of jazz, I received this incredibly fun CD called Baby Loves Jazz, Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2. It's a double-disc collection of classic children's songs done in a bebop style of jazz. Songs like "Mary Had A Little Lamb" and "Hey Diddle Diddle" are given new life by a talented group of jazz musicians, including Aaron Goldberg and Sharon Jones. It's perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

This CD was just named a gold medal winner for Best Children's Recording of 2007 by the National Association of Parenting Publications, the most prestigious award in children's music! Another CD that I reviewed last month, Siente, also won a NAPPA Gold Medal.

GIVEAWAY! Since everybody seems to be getting some kind of prize or another, I might as well join in the fun. If you'd like to have the Baby Loves Jazz CD, leave a comment with a blog or email link and I'll pick a winner this weekend.