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Clubscene Writer Name: Jim Corcoran
While stationed in the U.S. Air Force in Tampa, Florida, he was recruited by a soul ‘a capella' band of four voices, ‘The High Boys', singing the music of the ‘Impressions', ‘The Temptations', ‘The Miracles', and others. This was extremely formative for Jim's cultural attachments. The other band members were African Americans. Upon returning home after military service, Jim found the cultural scene in his hometown of Hartford Conn. to be very fragmented; race relations were fairly hostile, and Jim felt that it wasn't home anymore. He wanted to see the West Coast, so he followed his younger brother out West and eventually settled in Oregon. He experienced the strong multi-racial jazz music scene in San Francisco, and Seattle, and when he settled in Eugene, he discovered a thriving jazz community. There was a public radio station there, and some die hard jazz fans running it. The clubs and halls were booking jazz greats, and the local musicians were developing into fine players. He was able to hear, in the space of several years, people like Jon Hendricks, Eberhart Weber, Bob Dorough, the group ‘Oregon', Bobby Hutcherson, Mose Allison, and Sonny and Nancy King, and many others. He created friendships with rising players like Warren Rand, Andre' St. James, Meredith D'Ambrosio and others who ended up leaving for bigger scenes like Portland, and New York City. He also befriended many of the national players who came to town. Years of raising a family made Jim a decent organizer, and he eventually discovered that his contacts were strong enough in the Eugene jazz community that he'd be able to mobilize them, so he founded the ‘Willamette Jazz Society'. After running the WJS for two years, and living in Eugene for 28 years, he moved to the bigger city of Portland. (The WJS is now thriving, with its own concert and clinic space in downtown Eugene, ‘The Jazz Station'!) Jim had been a member of the Portland based Jazz Society of Oregon, for years by the time he arrived in Portland, so it wasn't hard to become immersed in the scene. In 2004, in order to fulfill his wish to be a part of the regional and national community of jazz music, Jim started ‘New Land Jazz'. He put on a few concerts, and found ways to advocate for jazz music, and continues to support young musicians. Jim joined the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) and attended his first conference in NYC in January, 2004. What a revelation! Here were 7,000 jazz nuts of all ages, from thirty countries; his natural habitat! New Land Jazz now advocates for growing jazz musicians of all ages, providing coaching, an online bookstore and seminars. For more information about New Land Jazz, check out the website at www.newlandjazz.com. Jim still sings but only for fun, and his devotion to jazz music is stronger than ever. Being an active member of the Jazz Society of Oregon, and a member of the Clubscene writers' project gives Jim a lot of happiness. Contact Jim at .
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