Spirit of Jazz & Democracy

The Spirit of Jazz & Democracy (SJD) is a dynamic interdisciplinary program of lectures, workshops, masterclasses, and concerts illuminating what jazz teaches about promoting inclusive democracy, the peaceful exploration and embracing of differences, and innovation and positive progress. At the center of the program are fully improvised concerts by master musicians, Paul F. Murphy and Larry Willis, with guest performances by poet laureate, Jere Carroll and multi-instrumentalist, Dominic Fragman. The music has been recognized as a new direction in jazz and art by Oxford's Grove Music Dictionary. SJD has partnered for programming with St. Mary's College of Maryland, Regis University Denver, Loyola University New Orleans, the Voice of America, the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, and others.