Downtown San Diego: Oasis Contemporary Jazz Awards 2011

The Oasis Contemporary Jazz Awards for 2011 will be held in Downtown San Diego this March 10-March 13th.  There will be fantastic shows for those who love smooth jazz.  Our friend Denis Poole has written a great post and we thought we would share it.  You can also visit Denis's Smooth Jazz Therapy website for more details.

Oasis Awards Salute Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

Today, January 17, 2011 is Martin Luther King Day and I am indebted to my good friends at the Oasis Contemporary Jazz Awards for sharing the words of Dr King as they relate to Jazz. They are taken from his opening address to the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1964.

Remember, the Oasis Contemporary Jazz Awards for 2011 will take place in San Diego over the weekend of March 10 to 13. Over fifty artists will be appearing so, for more information and to purchase tickets, go to www.oasisjazzawards.com

God has wrought many things out of oppression. He has endowed his creatures with the capacity to create-and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many different situations.
Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life's difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.

This is triumphant music.

Modern jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated urban existence.

Click below to continue reading the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his instrument.

It is no wonder that so much of the search for identity among American Negroes was championed by Jazz musicians. Long before the modern essayists and scholars wrote of racial identity as a problem for a multiracial world, musicians were returning to their roots to affirm that which was stirring within their souls. Much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from this music. It has strengthened us with its sweet rhythms when courage began to fail. It has calmed us with its rich harmonies when spirits were down.

And now, Jazz is exported to the world. For in the particular struggle of the Negro in America there is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man. Everybody has the Blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved. Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith.

In music, especially this broad category called Jazz, there is a stepping stone towards all of these.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Downtown San Diego Condos: Oasis Music Awards 2011

Trust our good friend Denis Poole at Smooth Jazz Therapy to have the first update about the 2011 Oasis Music Awards.

Denis, and his wonderful wife Annette, came our way a couple of years ago when they wanted to purchase a second-home condo in Downtown San Diego.   The internet was fabulous because Denis and Annette found the exact unit they wanted over the internet.  They flew into San Diego for three days.  We scoured the Downtown San Diego condo marketplace, and they ended up with the first unit they saw in the Gaslamp District. 

Denis and Annette visit every few weeks and we always look forward to our time with them.  Denis is an expert on smooth jazz and has been nominated for an award that I will expound upon in a future posting.  Denis gave me permission to repost his blog on the Oasis Music Awards, so if you are interested in jazz, read Denis's blog Oasis Music Awards dated June 4, 2010 located at Smooth Jazz Therapy.

This is a series of articles by Sharyn and Victoria Crown, Downtown San Diego real estate agents specialzing in Downtown San Diego condos.  Visit us on  our San Diego Crowns Real Estate  Facebook page.  Text SDCROWN to 87778 to search properties on your mobile phone.

New Condos Downtown San Diego: Denis' view of Anthology

Check out Denis's take on Anthology and their music. Denis comes at it from the visitor's view and gives us an idea of why it is such a great idea to own a Downtown San Diego condo.

On India Street, on the southern fringes of Little Italy, the up market dinner and music venue Anthology is a most welcome addition to San Diego’s live entertainment scene. Boasting big screen projection and superb acoustics it provides dining on three levels and excellent views from all tables of the impressive stage on which some of the biggest international names of jazz and blues regularly perform.


In fact it is the perfect setting to enjoy a wonderful evening ‘out on the town’ and my recent visit coincided with a performance by the band Acoustic Alchemy who for the past twenty something years, and through several changes in personnel, have remained on the cutting edge of guitar driven contemporary jazz music. At its heart is the classic nylon and steel stringed guitar combinations of Greg Carmichael and Miles Gilderdale and at Anthology each used their very different but equally engaging quirky Englishness to connect positively with the packed crowd. Into the bargain, as well as delving generously into their extensive back catalog they also conjured up a selection of zesty Latin infused numbers that sat well with San Diego’s proximity to the border and sent the audience home more than happy.

For more details about Anthology and to find out what’s up and coming go to www.anthologysd.com

 
Denis Poole is an English music writer with a second home in Downtown San Diego. His work can be found on-line and in magazines worldwide. Check out Denis at www.smoothjazztherapy.com

By Sharyn & Victoria Crown, Downtown San Diego real estate brokers

This is part of a series of articles entitled, New Condos, Downtown San Diego Style

New Condos Downtown San Diego - Notes From Denis

Thanks to Valentin Sighinas for use of this photo

 Notes From Denis

The best thing about writing a blog is you can ask other people to write about their experiences. One of our client/friends is Denis Poole. Here is his first entry for us. We hope you enjoy as much as we enjoy it.

Spare, inexpensive and comfortable, Dizzy’s Jazz Club at 3^rd Avenue and K Street sits amidst the urban regeneration that typifies much of downtown San Diego. My visit to this appealing venue coincided with a celebration of the musical collaborations of French vocalist Henri Salvador & Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim performed by the outstanding Allegato Quintet. Featuring vocalist Allison Adams Tucker with Danny Green on piano, Duncan Moore drums, the excellent Evona Wascinski on upright and electric bass plus Tripp Sprague playing sax, flute and harmonica, the combo were well rehearsed and struck an instant chord with the small but appreciative crowd.

Not only that, the Allegato Quintet exemplifies the depth of local talent routinely on offer in San Diego. The linguistically dexterous Tucker recently released her own solo album ‘Come With Me’ which I have described elsewhere as indicating that great jazz is not always defined by what a song is but more by how it feels. At Dizzy’s she generously shared the limelight with her fellow players of whom the performance of Danny Green was particularly notable. In fact Greens debut CD ‘With You In Mind’ is now available and already catching the attention of those ‘in the know’. The sophisticated maturity that it displays suggests he has a promising career ahead of him.

As for Dizzys, it has existed as a music space since 2000 when owner Chuck Perrin struck a deal for a dusty storage room in an old 1911 warehouse across the street from where Petco Park now is. When in 2007 the city mandated that the old warehouse undergo a massive retrofit, Dizzy’s moved to its current location at the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center where patrons now have the added benefit of enjoying a glass of wine and a snack from the Center’s menu.For more, and to check out Dizzy’s schedule, go to www.dizzyssandiego.com

Denis Poole is an English music writer with a second home in downtown San Diego. His work can be found both on-line and in magazines worldwide. Check him out at www.smoothjazztherapy.com

By Sharyn & Victoria Crown, Downtown San Diego real estate agents

This is part of a series of articles entitled, New Condos, Downtown San Diego Style