The Seventh Year of Con Alma - from 2019 to Now - the Scene

This weekend holds a big gala to celebrate and sustain Con Alma, the Pittsburgh Jazz Club - Sunday with an Orrin Evans led gala, February 1st from 5-9pm.

We revisit the history of Con Alma - starting as a dream by Josh Ross, Aimee Marshall and John Shannon with the small, beloved venue on Ellsworth Avenue, through COViD challenges, adding a location in downtown Pittsburgh and nearly 7 years of operation to the turning point of the story, now.

Music and conversation about the modern-day Pittsburgh jazz Mecca, Con Alma.

The Scene - Thursday at 6, Sunday at 5, Friday and Saturday at noon.

Weather Delays for the Weekend - but an Emphasis on Warmth & a Celebration of The International and Pittsburgh Nature of Jazz

Weather Delays for the Weekend - but an Emphasis on Warmth & a Celebration of The International and Pittsburgh Nature of Jazz

An Emphasis on warmth and Jazz - and improvising through adversity. Plus, we celebrate the spread of jazz on the radio - including internationally with hosts like Willis Conover of Voice of America.

Music and stories and screens on the Scene - Thursday at 6, Sunday at 5, Friday and Saturday at noon.

"This is Triumphant Music" - Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Inaugural JazzFest Berlin, 1964

"This is Triumphant Music" - Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Inaugural JazzFest Berlin, 1964

"This is Triumphant Music" - Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Inaugural JazzFest Berlin, 1964.

Dr. King’s Essay on the importance of Jazz to humanity and the Civil Rights movement was not a speech, but it was written at the request of the festival organizers. The words are powerful .

An excerpt:

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.