May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, as designated by Congress in the early 1990s. (Prior to that, going back to 1978, its observance was a weeklong affair.)
As an acknowledgment of the myriad contributions of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, the occasion prompts both celebration and a moment's reflection. Within the music called jazz, born of the African American experience, there has always been a space for Asian-American contributions — but it's often been a marginal space, even a provisional one. And as Gary Fukushima thoughtfully explored in a recent article for DownBeat, pressure has only increased since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
With all of that in mind, WBGO is proud to stand in support of the Asian-American and Pacific community, and in particular those who share our commitment to the music. And throughout the month of May, we'll be celebrating their contributions in a number of ways — honoring stalwart accompanists, from Danny Barcelona to David Wong, as well as notable bandleaders, like Linda May Han Oh and Helen Sung.
We'll devote a wide range of our content and programming to AAPI artists and issues. Here are some of the other ways we'll be celebrating:
- Special editions of Take Five
- Tomoko Omura on The Pulse
- Vijay Iyer on Let Me Tell You 'Bout It
- Jen Shyu and Sunny Jain on The Checkout
- WBGO Journal: Eugene Marlow's Jazz in China
- Unsung on Afternoon Jazz: Akiko Tsuruga
- Latin Jazz Cruise: Tito Puente's Connection to Japan
- Makoto Ozone: a 2017 session with Rhonda Hamilton
- Helen Sung on Salon Sessions, from 2018
- Mark de Clive-Lowe on The Checkout, from 2019
- More to come!