Successful Motema Music and Jazz Singer/Songwriter Rondi Charleston ....

Significant Contribution Generated as a Result of 8,500 YouTube Views—almost 500 views every day during the special promotion period—of Charleston’s Live Performance of her Original Song “DNA”

SOURCE: GOMEDIA PR, Published: 2014-01-15

Thinking creatively, Charleston and her label, Motema Music, agreed in mid- December to donate $1 to the Jazz Drama Program (JDP) for every view of “DNA,” a track from Charleston’s critically acclaimed 2013 release, Signs of Life; the YouTube video captured a live performance from August of last year at Yoshi’s in San Francisco.

“Jana Herzen, the Founder and President of Motema Music, and I could not think of a better way to end an extremely successful 2013 than to share our “DNA” from a wonderful show at Yoshi’s with our friends and fans and at the same time support an important and inspiring organization like the Jazz Drama Program,” says Rondi. “We were thrilled to see the number of views increase significantly every day during these busy two weeks, showing the power of the special community of jazz fans and supporters.”

Eli Yamin, the JDP’s Artist Director and Founding Board President, says that the entire organization was energized about the unique collaboration with Rondi and Motema Music. The generous donation will fund the recording of Message from Saturn, a jazz musical for children about the healing power of the blues, written by Yamin and Clifford Carlson. Jazz Times called Message From Saturn “the hippest move in jazz education, ever!” It was first workshopped at the Louis Armstrong Middle School in Queens, NY in 2001 and has been performed by over 100 students for an audience of over 3000 students, parents and members of the school community.

The planned recording of the soundtrack to Message From Saturn will feature a professional jazz quintet with Todd Williams, saxophone, Tom Dempsey, guitar, Ari Roland, bass, Alvin Atkinson, drums, a string section and professionally trained young singers, ages 10-20 from the New York City metro area. Yamin plans to release the Message from Saturn soundtrack in the fall of 2014 and hopes that it will serve as a model for students around the world who wish to perform the musical in their community.

Read more: http://news.allaboutjazz.com/news.php?id=108059#.Ut2qVnkiifQ