Dear Friends
2022 has arrived and we have received an abundance of Happy New Year wishes, toasted to 2022, and possibly made a list of resolutions. However, this year is off to a bleak start with record numbers of Covid patients, mushrooming numbers of event cancellations and closings, and everyone's mental health in shambles. The promised happiness of 2022 is far away, it'll be a long road of recovery once it starts. What keeps us going? For me it's friends and family, creating music, and finding ways to make someone else's eyes sparkle. The last few years have taken me too far away from this mission - my 2022 will bring some major changes to get back on track. What about you? Would love to hear your updates, resolutions, directions, and wishing everyone love and health for 2022!
I'll be in Dallas at the Jazz Education Network Conference, January 5-8 - if you're there, let's have a meal or coffee together please! I'll also present some of my research and co-lead a panel on our upcoming Routledge Volume "Jazz and Gender" 12:30-2pm on Wednesday, Jan 5. Volume 3 of JAZZ (Jazz Education in Theory and Practice) is out, there will be copies at the JEN conference, and here is order info. I'm incredibly proud of the growth and quality of this journal and hope it can serve as a resource for many years to come.
We were able to record our Joni Mitchell arrangements in December with a band of master musicians featuring Janiece Jaffe on vocals, and Greg Ward on saxophone, Jeremy Allen on bass, Cassius Goens on drums, and special guest Carolyn Dutton on violin for a few numbers. Please mark your calendars for two very special concerts on Friday, March 4 at Merriman's Playhouse in South Bend, and Saturday, March 5 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in Bloomington in celebration of Women's History Month. Our 2022 Jazz Girls Day will be March 8 at Noblesville High School in collaboration with Grammy Educator of the Year nominated Bethany Robinson, signup info coming soon.
Below is the performance calendar - best wishes for 2022!
Monika
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The Old Year
The Old Year’s gone away
To nothingness and night:
We cannot find him all the day
Nor hear him in the night:
He left no footstep, mark or place
In either shade or sun:
The last year he’d a neighbour’s face,
In this he’s known by none.
All nothing everywhere:
Mists we on mornings see
Have more of substance when they’re here
And more of form than he.
He was a friend by every fire,
In every cot and hall–
A guest to every heart’s desire,
And now he’s nought at all.
Old papers thrown away,
Old garments cast aside,
The talk of yesterday,
Are things identified;
But time once torn away
No voices can recall:
The eve of New Year’s Day
Left the Old Year lost to all.
John Clare, 1900
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Ode to a New Year
from the album Peace on Earth
by Monika Herzig
I wrote this song on New Year's Eve 2006, during a rare hour of being alone in the house before my New Year's Eve engagement. My kids were small, 4 and 6 years old, and every day was full of new adventures - hence the changing meters and tumbling melodies - enjoy!
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UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
Every Tuesday, 5-9pm, Solo Piano, West Baden Springs Hotel Atrium
Friday, January 21, 7-9pm, Monika Herzig Trio
Friday, March 4, 7pm, The World of Joni Mitchell
Saturday, March 5, Women's History Month Celebration, BC-Theater, Bloomington
Tuesday, March 8, 4-8pm, Jazz Girls Day, Noblesville High School
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Talking Jazz - conversations and guided listening with today's leading jazz artists - can now be heard every Thursday 11am and Monday 7pm on WETF 105.7 South Bend, IN, Fridays 8pm on WICR, Indianapolis, IN. Many episodes are also available on youtube and my website - subscribe to my channel for weekly episode updates. Upcoming episodes include Cathy Morris, Ellen Rowe, Jay Rodriguez, Lena Bloch and more! Radio friends - let me know if you'd like to broadcast some of the episodes!
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Volume 3 of Jazz Education in Research and Practice is now available! JAZZ is a new journal with a variety of peer-reviewed articles exploring different aspects of jazz as an art form. Subscriptions or single copies can be ordered here. All full JEN members now have access to a digital copy here, after signing into the website.
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