Christmas and the New Year are upon us – at the moment, we are busy compiling the results of the year and preparing for new projects. We are satisfied with the achievements –Jazz Art concludes a successful season and, in full sway, prepares the next sequel of the JAM 2012 project. The recently published annual JAM Bulletin provides our readers with an extensive overview of events and projects we made possible throughout 2011 (Jazz Appreciation Month in Montenegro, the Montenegrin tour of this year’s
prestigious French award Victoire du Jazz winners, Eric Legnini Trio; as well as the first Montenegrin performance of the legendary American composer and guitar player, Ralph Towner); observes the activities of international institutions, musicians and critics; and many other things. The Bulletin is very important to us, it serves to boost our communication with the community, especially the people who admire and practice jazz music, and the cultural values associated with it. At the encouragement of the Central National Library of Montenegro, our publication has been deemed worthy of cataloging, and it enters the regular procedure starting next
year, enabling its further international connections. Currently, the JAM Bulletin copies are available for free at the American Corners in Podgorica and Pljevlja, and the following Podgorica-based bookstores: Karver, Krug, Mamut, Gradska knjizara and Narodna knjiga, as well as at the jazz club Sejdefa. JAM, our main project, is still alive: the video recording of the musical Nora’s Ark is available on Crnogoski Telekom’s Extra TV (under Miscellaneous), from October to December. In November, the Jazz Journalist Association website published an article by Virgil Mihaiu, a renowned publicist and music critic, and our guest this April: http://news.jazzjournalists.org/2011/11/jazz-appreciation-month-2011-in-montenegro-2/ As an exquisite jazz connoisseur and associate of many international associations and editorials, Mihaiu also published an extensive reminiscence on his Montenegrin jazz experience, entitled “Meeting Montenegro (Again) in Jazz Glory,” in a Romanian magazine for arts and culture, STEAUA, as part of his column Jazz Context (July/August 2011 issue). These echoes remind us
that our projects continues to exist all year round and they show our dedication to
the exchange of ideas, communication, cooperation, creativity, and education, as well as to the development of young talents in music. A big THANK YOU to all who contributed to this year’s activities of Jazz Art Association, our partners, associates and audience! To be continued…