Eclipse Jazz Organizational History, c. 1985
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- Eclipse Jazz Organizational History, c. 1985
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Eclipse Jazz was founded in the fall of 1975 by a group of Univer~ity
of
Michigan students who wanted input in University
concert progr,amming: Ja~z -was
chosen as a focal point because of the lack of this type of programming in
Southeastern
Michigan. The debut season featured performances by McCoy Tyner,
Les McCann, Keith Jarrett,
Weather Report and Dave I:riebman's Lookout Farm. and
the Cecil Taylor Unit. Artist's
workshops were held in conjunction
wi~h those
concerts.
The response from the community was strong, and the programming was
expanded. The 1976-77 school year featured appearances by Charles Mingus, Taj
Mahal, Anthony Braxton, Sonny Stitt,
Gary Burton, Eberhard Weber and Sun Ra.
During Eclipse's
third year,
1977-78, an expanded number of concerts ~as
presented in a series format (with low-priced series tickets).
The series
included both commercially viable and non-viable
performers.
Profitable
acts
such as Chick Corea/Herbie Hancock and Oscar Peterson were booked in tandem with
lesser known artists
such as Sam Rivers and Barry Harris. This allowed Eclipse
to expose its audience to unfamiliar
artists
who deserve recognition.
Toward
this end, Eclipse implemented a series of concerts and workshops entitled
"Bright Moments", dedicated to the memory of Rahsaan Roland Kirk. This series,
in the intimacy of the 230 seat Residential
College Auditorium, presented
artists
in a setting free of commercial restraints.
Artists
such as Marion
Brown, Leroy Jenkins, and Air have appeared in this series.
There were free
workshops in the afternoon in conjunction
with the evening's concert for every
Bright Moments shows.
The summer of 1978 saw the initiation
of several educational
programs. Among
these were weekly workshops for beginning and advanced musicians in jazz
improvisation
and theory, bi-monthly jam sessions which allow developing jazz
musicians to play with a professional
rhythm section in front of an audience,
and a sound engineering class. Also, the first outdoor summer concert series,
featuring
local musicians, was produced in downtown parks and plazas.
Finally,
a
quarterly
newsletter
was started,
reaching over 5,000 people in Southeastern
Michigan. The newsletter
carried informative
articles
about jazz on both the
local as well a~ the national scene. It also provided an excellent
means of
promoting &lipse's
activities.
All of these programs served to enrich the
educational
experience Eclipse could offer its staff and audience. The
workshops, jam, sessions,
and free concerts also provided employment to local
jazz musicians, further strengthening
jazz in the area.
The fall of 1978 marked yet another turning point for Eclipse.
In September, the
first Ann Arbor Jazz Festival was produced. It included performances by Mary Lou
Williams, Stan Getz, Max Roach and Archie Shepp, Stanley Turrentine,
Chico
Fr~em~n, Hubert Laws, Mose Al~ison, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers,
Johnny
Griffin,
Dexter Gordon, Freddie Hubbard, and the Duke Ellington
Orchestra under
the direc ion ~f Mercer Ellington.
The festival
was a huge success artistically,
but no~ financially,
due perhaps to over ambitious booking and unrealistically
low p~ice 7 ($~.50, $3.50 and $5.50). The festival
incurred a $4,000.00 loss. The
organization
incurred further losses throughout the 1978-79 season, and by the
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end of the year, found itself
fwith a serious deficit.
The 'mistakes made in
programming that year were translated
into valuable lessons for the future.
First, that ticket prices were unrealistically
low in the face of rising artist
fees and production costs. Eclipse still
finds it essential
to maintain low
ticket prices in order to attract
and maintain a reasonable
audience; however,
we have raised ticket prices to realistic
levels.
Another valuable lesson
learned regards the changing market conditions
within the Ann Arbor area.
Whereas during &lipse's
early years. it was possible to draw 1,800 peop[le to a
Sam Rivers concert,
by 1979 other kinds of music, such as new wave, rock, and
reggae, were making inroads into the college student market, and it became
increasingly
difficult
to get st~dents to experiment with relatively
obscure
jazz. Consequently,
&.lipse realized
that more popular artists
must be booked,
not only to draw attention
to smaller shows, but also to raise enough revenue to
make it feasible
to present artists
who can no longer break even at the box
office.
In 1979-80, with increased
ticket
prices,
a somewhat less ambitious Jazz
Festival (three days, seven acts) and more cohesively
booked Fall and Winter
seasons, Eclipse finished
the year in the black without significantly
reducing
the vital educational
aspects of the organization.
The most significant
change
occurred in the Bright Moments ser-ies, which was moved from the Residential
College Auditorium to the University
Club, a.225 seat Unviersity-owned
bar
located in the Student Union. The focus of the series was widened.
Traditionally,
Bright Moments shows featured almost exclusively
artists
from
within the AACMand avant garde idiom. Beginning with the March 1980 appearance
of the Old and New Dreams, Bright Moments has presented a diverse selection
of
artists
including Sippie Wallace, Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding
Society, Bird-Trane-Seo-Now,
the Mandingo Griot. Society, as well as AAQt artists
Adegoke and Iqua Colson.
During the 1981-82 season, the Bright Moments series featured return engagements
with the Mandingo Griot Society and with Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding
Society, as well as a special evening featuring
a combined jam session and
concert performrance by trumpeter Ted Curson. The Bright Moments series suffered
during the 1981-82 season due to lack of funding and unexpected losses in our
major concert series.
There were several reasons for Eclipse's
losses during its major concert series.
Due to a last-minute
contractual
breakthrough,
Eclipse was priviledged
to
present the legendary Miles Davis, the only university
concert promoters to do
so. Unfortulately,
the contractual
negotiations
were closed too close to the
concert date to allow for adequate promotion. Eclipse was also hurt by
cancellations.
James "Blood" Ulmer cancelled twice, and Earl Klugh and Oscar
Peterson once each.
On a positive note, during 1981-92 Eclipse allied itself
rather closely
William Monroe Trotter Bouse, the University of Michigan's Minority
with the
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Cultural Center. The Trotter House becamethe homeof Eclipse's national
artist workshops (featuring Bob James, Betty Carter, Ted Cu~son, Or~ett~
Coleman,WoodyShaw, and Ronald ShannonJackson). In addition, Eclipses
weekly local Jazz improvisation workshopswere also movedto the Trotter House.
1982-1983was a dynamicyear for Eclipse. Seventeen concerts were
presented, including seven Bright Momentsshows. The year was.also t~e
begining of the "Jazz at the Club" s~ries? a bi-weekly_progr~mfeatu~1ng .
local and national artists at the Un1vers1ty Club. This series was 1ncred1bly
popular and has continued sucessfully.
·Eclipse
fanned a support organization, "Friends of Eclipse", during_l982-83.
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"Friends began fundraising efforts that included an 11,000 piece promotional
mailing, a membershipdrive, and new merchandising campaigns. The organization
plans to expand its activities in the future.
In honor of its outstanding work within the University, and within the
AnnArbor communityat large, Eclipse was chosen as the recipient of the
University of Michigan's Group Student AchievementAward.
The 1983-1984season saw the introduction of Eclipse's "History of Jazz 11
lecture series. This series \vas taught by 1oca1 experts and open to the
general public. Lecturers included Hazen Schumacherand Jazz film collector
David Chertok.
The 83-84 season also saw the continuation of all preexisting projects.
Major concerts included both mainstream and lesser knownartists of superior
quality. Ray Charles, David Grisman, and the Henery Threadgill Sextet all
played to highly enthusiastic crowds. Also-we were able to present some
very special events •. In Novemberwe were able to present the World Saxophone
Quartet without the aid of electric amplification in an intimate setting.
In February we reunited pianist/composer Toshiko Akiyoshi and her early
mentor, drull'fllerJ.C. Heard, on stage for the first time in thirty years. Our
Bright Momentsseries preserved its fine reputation by featuring such lesser
knownartists as percussionist Jerome Cooper, cornet wizard Olu Dara, guitarist
Vernon Reid, and Detroit's own Griot Galaxy. The variety of this years season
\'Jouldnot have been possible without the support of the tJEA.
The 1984 - 1985 season was strengthened by financially successful concerts
such as Pat Metheny, Spyro Gyra, and George Winston which covered an otherwise arduous year. Due to a difficulty in the University Club's liquor
license, only University staff, students, and alumnae were allowed access· As
a result, jam sessions and improvisation workshopswere temporarily canceiled
and manyof our shows were forced to other venues. The Ark, a local club
of comparable size, was used for the first time with encouraging success in
presenting OdeanPope, BobbyMcferrin, and Jack DeJohnette's Special Ediiion.
Eclips used MendelssohnTheater for the first time as well in an enthusiastic
presentation of Abdullah Ibrahim and Ekaya, in one of their two Midwest
appearances. The Michigan League Ballroom, used infrequently in the past
was contracted for the Aboriginal Percussion.Choir with Roy Brooks. A co~cert
and workshopwere recordeC.for later radio and television broadcast.
In11addition to ?ur c?ncert ~chedulei Eclipse continued its "History
of Jazz lec~ure series with top1c~ rang1ng from Jazz Videos, Techniques of
Jazz Percuss1on to the HarlemRena1ssance. A sound reinforcement class
also offered ~o ~ncourage the technical base for the production of Jazz ~~s
Southeaster M1ch1gan. Both classes were well attendee and received.
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m1ch 48109
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