Dear Friends,
The following note is our latest missive to the world:
We wrote a week or so ago with a preview of coming attractions, namely
the artists you can expect to hear in the RJA’s coming season: Dave
Douglas Brass Ecstasy, Third Man Trio (Michael Moore, Will Holshouser
& Han Bennink), Ralph Alessi & This Against That, Myra Melford’s Be
Bread, Frank Kimbrough with Noah Preminger, Antonio Sanchez &
Migration. More details soon.
Talent like that doesn’t come cheap, we said. And that’s why we're
writing again tonight.
Part of what lets us keep ticket prices low is avid, open-eared jazz
fans like you who become members. Some of you signed on as "charter"
members last year, and for that we owe you our abiding thanks. (And a
few of you, we still owe a letter and a membership card—soon come!)
Summer is our fundraising season, and the more members we can line up
now, the firmer footing we'll be on in the fall. None of needs
reminding what tough times these are, and it’s already clear that some
of the good folks who’ve given us money in the past—local businesses,
Humboldt State—just may not be able to come through this year. But
you can make up the shortfall.
Seriously: if millions of small donations can send a jazz-loving
president to Washington (what other recent chief executive can you
name who has Coltrane on his iPod and brings Esperanza Spalding to
play the White House?), then dozens of small donations can keep world-
class jazz coming to Humboldt.
For a $40 tax-deductible contribution (we’re a registered 501 (c)(3)
charity), you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’ve played an
extra-ordinary part in bringing some major players on the contemporary
jazz and improvised music scene to the North Coast. And on the theory
that one good turn deserves another, four local merchants who are
friends of the RJA have volunteered to extend special favors to RJA
members. Present your 2009-10 membership card at our ticket outlets
all season long and receive
• 10% off jazz CDs at The Works (Arcata & Eureka locations)
• 10% off featured CDs by RJA guest artists at People’s Records
(Arcata Plaza)
• 10% all purchases at Missing Link Records (8th & J in Arcata, behind
the Co-Op)
Plus get 10% off one purchase of any amount at Northtown Books in
Arcata.
And starting this year, we’re bending our strict egalitarian principles
—just slightly—by offering members, donors, and sponsors a crack at
reserved seating (rather than our customary general admission) at all
shows they attend.
If you became a member last year: thanks again—really. Can we count
on you to renew? (If you joined at our after our final show of
2008-09, we’ll automatically extend your membership through 2009-10.)
If you’ve come to our shows and/or workshops without becoming a
member, and you feel as though you can spare a bit beyond the price of
a cheap ticket now and again: please join! (Or make a donation in
any amount that seems right.)
And if you or your business are in a position to plunk down a bit more
cash and become a bona fide sponsor, we’d love to talk to you about
that, too.
You can become a member, donor, or sponsor online at
http://www.redwoodjazzalliance.org/underwrtg.htm, or you can post a
check to: Redwood Jazz Alliance, P.O. Box 4443, Arcata CA 95518. If
you’ve got questions, please direct them to
rja@redwoodjazzalliance.org and we’ll gladly get back to you.
In any event: thanks for coming out to hear great music and signing
up for our list. It’s responses like yours that make us appreciate
what an amazing community we live in. Happy summer—and stay tuned for
news about Jazz Night at the Humboldt Folklife Festival and RJA Discs
of the Month.
Dan, Michael, Thomas, Eric, Michael, Loralei, and David
Redwood Jazz Alliance Board of Directors
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