NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT: Mark Baszak, 413.545.3530,

mbaszak@admin.umass.edu

To download photographs, a bookfair voucher, press release text, or sound sample, visit the events and press page at: www.suchsweetthunder.com

For release April 1 through April 16, 2004

JAZZ IN JULY & 5-ALONE PRESENT

A NIGHT OF VOCAL MUSIC AND READINGS FROM

SUCH SWEET THUNDER

Jazz in July Summer Music Programs is collaborating with the a cappella vocal quintet 5-Alone and Barnes & Noble Booksellers for a special performance and bookfair, in conjunction with a book signing and reading from Such Sweet Thunder: Views on Black American Music by author/editor Mark Baszak and photographer Edward Cohen on Friday, April 16 from 7:00 – 8:30 pm at Barnes & Noble in Holyoke.

Events begins with a special performance by 5-Alone, a jazz-based a cappella quintet from the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts High School (PVPA) directed by Tony Lechner. Recent honors include Downbeat Magazine’s Student Music Awards for “Best Jazz Vocal Group” in 2003, and “Outstanding Performance” in the blues/pop/rock category in 2002 and 2003. The group has performed at the International Association of Jazz Educators annual conference in Long Beach, CA, the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Hillsdale, New York, the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, and was recently invited to participate in the 2004 Monterey Jazz Festival.

5-Alone’s performance will be followed by readings from Such Sweet Thunder: Views on Black American Music, which the Fine Arts Center published to critical acclaim in 2003. In his review, Grammy-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef said, “I have been inspired and enlightened by this book, which comes as a welcome and valuable adjunct to the expanding archive of literature concerned with black American music.” Academy Award-nominated film director Jean Bach (A Great Day in Harlem) said, “Such Sweet Thunder is a triumph, and Baszak and Cohen are to be congratulated.” The book’s authors will be present to sign copies of their book.

Throughout the weekend of Friday, April 16 through Sunday, April 18, Barnes & Noble will be donating a percentage of its sales to Jazz in July and PVPA for each bookfair voucher presented at registers with purchases from both the Holyoke and Hadley stores. Vouchers are available at the Fine Arts Center Box Office and can be downloaded online at suchsweetthunder.com.

Jazz in July Summer Music Programs (July 12 – 23, 2004) teaches improvisation to talented musicians of all ages and in various stages of training and musical backgrounds. The application deadline has been extended until June 1^st. For more information, including an application, visit www.jazzinjuly.com, or phone: 413.545.3530. For more information about 5-Alone, visit www.FiveAlone.com.

-end-