Why the CJO?
As we celebrate our 40th year, we’re sharing stories and memories from CJO board members (current and former) and fans.
Judie & Bruce Amsel
CJO donors
Judie and Bruce Amsel
What was your introduction to jazz?
Bruce: When I was in junior high school, I began to listen to Dave Hawthorne's nightly jazz show on WJW radio and would fall asleep to it every night. I found the music to be wonderful and relaxing. I wanted to hear more of it and so I started researching jazz, found Count Basie and haven’t stopped since then.
Judie: While I didn’t particularly classify it as jazz, I began liking and collecting jazz recordings when I was in college in the early 1960s. Among the many LPs I collected are three of Ahmad Jamal’s recordings which he autographed when he was in Cleveland a few years ago. He put smiley faces in his Js.
“I began following the CJO in the 1980s when they were performing at Tri-C Metro and have been following them ever since.”
What is one of your fondest memories of attending a jazz concert?
Bruce: In 1975 I was stationed in West Berlin with the 298th Army Band. A Jazz at the Philharmonic concert was being performed and it included performances by bassists Ray Brown and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. The two of them performed as a duo on stage for 20 minutes without a stop and my ears were dazzled with the performance. In 1976, I was stationed with the 1st Armored Division Band in W. Germany. We were chosen to perform at the Pori, Finland International Jazz Festival. One evening, we were on the same bill as Herbie Hancock. After he completed his portion of the concert, he joined our band for dinner and discussed many different phases of jazz with all of us.
Judie: It was a concert of Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied only by piano, which I attended in San Francisco in 1984. Even though she was showing signs of aging, she sang for 90 minutes without intermission.
How long have you been a fan of the CJO?
Bruce: I began following the CJO in the 1980s when they were performing at Tri-C Metro and have been following them ever since.
Judie: I became familiar with CJO musicians when they were adjudicators at the Lakeland Jazz Festivals in the mid-1990s through 2010. I was a volunteer while Bruce announced the student shows.
“I hope the CJO continues to expand its outreach to students and adults to learn and experience the benefits of the many facets of jazz.”
What do you hope for the future of the CJO?
Bruce: I hope that the CJO is able to use its influence to excite high school and college performers and bring them into the jazz orbit.
Judie: I hope the CJO continues to expand its outreach to students and adults to learn and experience the benefits of the many facets of jazz.
“Listening to the CJO perform original music composed/arranged by its members. This music can be played by others and influence jazz aficionados all around the world.”
What do you think is unique or different about the CJO?
Bruce: Listening to the CJO perform original music composed/arranged by its members. This music can be played by others and influence jazz aficionados all around the world.
Judie: The band is comprised primarily of local artists who form several groups, work with students, give newbies opportunities to be part of the group, and compose and arrange a wide variety of selections. Supporters also have the opportunity to have an original composed for them by winning a silent auction.
As we wrap up our 40th anniversary season, and we look forward to our next chapter, we are launching a fundraising CHALLENGE!!!
From now until midnight of June 22nd, the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra Board will match all donations up to $5,000.