Eclipse Jazz was a student-run committee within the University Activities Center at theUniversity of Michigan inAnn Arbor, Michigan. From 1975 to 1993 it operated under the auspices of the University’s Major Events Office, showcasingjazz performers[1] and giving students hands-on experience in theperforming arts business.[2]
Eclipse presented prominent, internationally recognized jazz artists,[3] attracting large audiences and gaining recognition for the range of music it curated.[4] Eclipse presented over 170 concerts over its 18 years. It also offered free educational workshops with many of its artists to help the audience understand and appreciate the music. These achievements brought Ann Arbor to national importance in the jazz community.[5]
For its first concert on November 2, 1975, Eclipse Jazz presentedMcCoy Tyner, the pianist from theJohn Coltrane Quartet,[6] who returned to Eclipse in 1985 for its 10th Anniversary concert.[7]
In September 1978, Eclipse Jazz presented its first festival over four days at Ann Arbor's largest concert hall, U-M's 4100-seatHill Auditorium.[8] Dedicated toDuke Ellington, the festival featuredMose Allison,Art Blakey,Kenny Burrell, a commissioned work fromCharles Mingus premiered by theMercer Ellington Orchestra,Dexter Gordon andJohnny Griffin,[9]Freddie Hubbard,Max Roach and theSun Ra Arkestra.[10][11]
In addition to the artists already named, Eclipse presentedCarla Bley,[12]Ray Charles,Ornette Coleman,Chick Corea andHerbie Hancock (included in the 1978 Columbia recording,An Evening with Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea: In Concert);[13]Dirty Dozen Brass Band,[14]Ella Fitzgerald,[15]Dizzy Gillespie,[16]Bob James,Keith Jarrett,Earl Klugh,[17]Steve Lacy,Pat Metheny,Charles Mingus,Old and New Dreams,[18]Jaco Pastorius,Oscar Peterson,Weather Report and theWorld Saxophone Quartet.[19] When he came out of retirement in 1981, Eclipse presented trumpeterMiles Davis atHill Auditorium, his only university stop in a handful of tour dates.[20]
Eclipse Jazz opened its concert seasons with broadly recognized artists, booking more experimental music later in each series.[21] Commercially viable artists (e.g.Jean-Luc Ponty) generated profits to subsidize performers who were less well-known, such as theArt Ensemble of Chicago. This exposed audiences tojazz that was new to them, thereby increasing their knowledge of the art form.[22]
Beginning in 1977, Eclipse hosted a series of smaller shows called Bright Moments (dedicated to the memory ofRahsaan Roland Kirk), which presentedavant-garde jazz in intimate settings including the University of Michigan Residential College and the University Club in theMichigan Union. Many members of the Chicago-basedAssociation for the Advancement of Creative Musicians were featured includingRoscoe Mitchell andFamoudou Don Moye as well asfree funk drummer/composerRonald Shannon Jackson and reed menOliver Lake andJulius Hemphill.[23]
Eclipse Jazz received four grants from theNational Endowment for the Arts to underwrite its programming.[24] They helped pave the way for the expansion of activities and venues including lectures and films, sound engineering classes, a free coffeehouse series called "Java and Jazz",[25] jam sessions and free outdoor summer concerts during the award-winningAnn Arbor Art Fairs. The Art Fair concerts were broadcast live on Eclipse’s principal media partner,WCBN-FM 88.3 Ann Arbor.[26]
On April 18, 2016, the 40th anniversary of Eclipse Jazz was marked by theAnn Arbor District Library with "Eclipse Jazz: 40 Years On", a 90-minute panel discussion which brought together and featured 16 past members of the Eclipse organization fromNew York City,Los Angeles,Philadelphia,Boston,Detroit,Cleveland, Ann Arbor and Venice, Florida.