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Producer Caramoor Jazz Festival
We're fortunate to have Jim Luce as producer of the Caramoor's Jazz Festival. This was Luce's tenth Caramoor Jazz Festival (Festival 2004). "When Paul Rosenblum (Caramoor's Managing Director) asked me to produce jazz for Caramoor, I jumped at the chance because the setting here is just perfect for a truly memorable jazz experience," says Luce. "On a very primal level, every one of your senses gets nourished: You come to this special place where, historically, music was always important, and you find the surroundings are beautiful. You picnic, then the music starts, and you get right into it. Each set is better than the last."
Music has always been the most important part of Luce's life, and jazz has always been his passion. Luce was the executive producer of the Duke Ellington Centennial Project, carried on 150 radio stations nationwide. To find material, he traveled around the world, talking to people, scavenging through piles and piles of stuff and foraging in basements for Ellington gold. In 2001, he organized a similar series of programs for the 100th anniversary of Louis Armstrong's birth. "Satchmo: The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong" aired on several NPR stations in early September. The 11-episode series was co-produced by Luce and Tim Owens of NPR, and included archival interviews, performances, history and commentary. Sixty five-minute modules were then distributed to about 200 stations nationwide.
"I consider myself blessed," said Luce in an interview with the LA Times, "to have had the opportunity to deal with Ellington and Armstrong on their centennials. It may sound corny, but I'm proud to know that, if I knew I were going to die tomorrow, I could say that I have done this work."
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