I N - T H I S - I S S U E :

SEMJA Award to Bess Bonnier

he 2003 SEMJA Award will be given to Bess Bonnier for her contributions to the Detroit jazz community as a pianist and educator over the last half century. She is part of the Detroit piano school and has been recognized as such at Detroit piano summits in the Big Apple. To celebrate Bonnier, SEMJA invites everyone to Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit on Sunday, November 16, from 2 to 5 p.m. for food, music, and an award presentation. Master of Ceremonies will be Jim Gallert, jazz writer and Detroit radio voice. Music will be provided by Bess Bonnier and one of her long-time bassists, Dan Jordan. SEMJA will charge $10 at the door to cover the costs of food and music. Any surplus will go to SEMJA for its jazz education activities. Baker's is located at 20510 Livernois, just south of Eight Mile Road. You can reach the club at 313-345-6300. Any questions about the event can also be directed to SEMJA at 734-662-8514.

Bonnier is part of the second generation of beboppers who emerged in Detroit in the 1950s. While attending Northern High School she met one of the leading lights of this remarkable group of musicians, Tommy Flanagan, and later became close to two other Detroit piano giants: Barry Harris and Roland Hanna. She formed her own trio in the mid-1950s and recorded for Argo Records in Chicago in 1958. For half of the 1960s she teemed up with vibraphonist Jack Brokensha and his quartet at his club in the New Center area.

Bonnier has been an active jazz educator since the seventies, when she worked at Detroit's Cass Technical High School as an artist-in-residence. Her most recent recordings are Love Notes and Suite William on Noteworks Records. The former features the quartet of younger musicians she has played with in the last ten years, including bassist Paul Keller. The latter is a unique tribute to Shakespeare where her tunes combine a jazz sextet and a variety of voices. It is the logical artistic outcome for someone with an English degree and bebop mentoring from some of the masters of the craft..

I N - T H I S - I S S U E :
1. SEMJA AWARD 2003- 2. PAUL KELLER RETURNS- -
3. FORD DETROIT PHOTOS- 4. MICHIGAN JAZZ FEST PHOTOS
5. RECENT RECORDINGS- 6. HARRY P. GUY
7. CHANGES AT RUSTY'S
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