We’ve got a lot of great pictures from last week’s May Day protest below!  All photos by Walter Karling:

Special thanks to the fan who made this video!

Join us tonight to fight for justice!

Friends,

This year May 1 will echo throughout the canyons of Lower Manhattan as musicians take to the streets – fighting against rampant inequality.  May Day 2012 will make history, as people come together nationwide in this movement for economic justice.

With your presence, the Associated Musicians of Greater NY, Local 802 will play a significant role here in New York City as people meet in Union Square and march towards the Battery through the financial district and then afterwards participate in a Justice for Jazz Artists! action in the West Village.

Below please find our upcoming schedule.

In Solidarity,

Local 802 Officers & Staff

**WHAT:           May Day Sign-Painting Party

**WHEN:           Wednesday, April 25, at 4pm – 8pm

**WHERE:         322 W. 48th Street, 5th Floor Trial Board Room

**************

**WHAT:           May Day Rally & March

**WHEN:           Tuesday, May 1, from 4pm – 7pm

**WHERE:         Union Square, northwest corner of park (meeting point)

**************

**WHAT:           May Day Justice for Jazz Artist! Rally & March

**WHEN:           Tuesday, May 1, from 8pm – 10pm

**WHERE:         Washington Square Park, underneath memorial arch (meeting point)

Attention New Yorkers:

Master Jazz Bassist Bob Cranshaw (currently with Sonny Rollins) will be interviewed live today, April 18, 2012 at 2PM by Michael G. Haskins on radio station 99.5 FM WBAI. Bob will be joined by Local 802 AFM, Jazz Rep Todd Bryant Weeks. They will discuss the Justice for Jazz Artists campaign and their efforts to secure collective bargaining rights in NYC live music venues.

Tune in if you can!

Many thanks to all for an incredibly successful Day and Night of Action! The new J4JA website is getting great traffic, our hard-hitting ads are running, and jazz fans are “Liking” Justice for Jazz Artists on Facebook, Tweeting on Twitter and Google +-ing away! Last night, Justice for Jazz Artists supporters and jazz luminaries like Bob Cranshaw, Bernard Purdie, Bertha Hope and Keisha St. Joan gathered outside New York’s City’s top jazz clubs to explain the mission of Justice for Jazz Artists to club patrons—the great majority of whom pledged support for the men and women who sacrifice so much to keep this great American art form alive.

Going forward, we will be ramping up the energy and continuing the J4JA presence outside jazz venues. If you are able to volunteer, please get in touch! And of course, keep “trumpeting” the good word!

Tonight, March 1, Justice for Jazz Artists (J4JA) expands its growing campaign to make sure that older musicians are not forced into poverty. Join us in asking the owners of New York City’s six top Jazz Clubs—

Birdland, the Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, the Iridium, the Jazz Standard and the Village Vanguard—to contribute a small amount into a pension fund that would allow jazz musicians to retire with dignity.

These clubs all enjoy a special tax break passed into law by the NY State Legislature expressly to help club owners contribute to musician pensions—but not one of these wealthy owners has contributed a dime to help the players they profit from every night!

Tell club owners that hardworking musicians deserve better.  Send an email! Volunteer! Sign the petition!

And look for the Justice for Jazz Artists ads in major jazz publications.

On Monday, December 26th, jazz vocalist Keisha St. Joan and Local 802 Recording Vice President John O’Connor appeared on the NYC radio program Building Bridges Radio: Your Community & Labor Report, produced and Hosted by Mimi Rosenberg & Ken Nash over WBAI,99.5FM.

In the segment, St. Joan, as always, is particulalry eloquent regarding the injustices suffered by musicians at the hands of club owners, and O’Connor fully explains the current J4JA! campaign in detail. The segment runs about 25 minutes–and features a rare instance of a jazz artist (St. Joan) and a folk performer (O’Connor) performing a vocal duet!

You can also hear the voices of Jimmy Owens, Randy Weston, Bernard Purdie, Dr. Billy Taylor (RIP), Junior Mance, Andy Schwartz, Reggie Workman, Bennie Powell (RIP) and Bob Cranshaw speaking out on this vital subject.

BTW, the fantastic music at the end of the segment was composed by trumpeter/educator and NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Owens and features Owens, trombonist Benny Powell, bassist Kenny Davis , drummer Bernard Purdie and pianist Danny Mixon.

Here’s the web address of the WBAI broadcast:

http://buildingbridgesradio.blogspot.com/2012/01/justice-for-jazz-artists-what-no.html

Enjoy!
Yours in Solidarity,
Todd Bryant Weeks
J4JA!