Jazz Jottings March 2018

After 32 years of service, John Edward Haase has stepped down as Curator of American Music at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and been given the lifetime title of Curator Emeritus. Citing major accomplishments during his tenure at the Smithsonian, he listed the acquisition of the Duke Ellington Collection, which included 100,000 pages of unpublished music composed by Ellington and Billy Strayhorn for Duke’s orchestra; the creation of Jazz Appreciation Month, now celebrated in all 50 states and more than 40 countries; and the founding of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, now in its 26th year of performance and tours. ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ New Orleans pianist John Royen will be returning to home territory when he headlines the March 11 gathering of the Potomac River Jazz Society at the Calvary Lutheran Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. Joining him on the bandstand will be trombonist David Sager, who spent 12 years performing in NOLA and is now the curator of the Library of Congress’s National Jukebox Service. A Washington, DC native, Royen was pianist for the Preservation Hall JB for 25 years and has played, toured and recorded with groups and individuals such as the DUKES of Dixieland, the late clarinet legend Pete Fountain and Tim Laughlin. John’s non-musical call is that of a naturalist who conducts guided tours of Louisiana’s swamps and bay