All That Philly Jazz is a digital history project at the intersection of technology, public art and civic engagement. We are telling the story of Philadelphia’s rich jazz heritage from bebop to hip-hop. We are mapping jazz spots and landmarks, historical markers, murals, Walk of Fame plaques, and jazz-related cultural assets.
Much of Philadelphia’s jazz history has been erased. Few structures remain. Jazz spots fell victim to the 1964 race riots in North Philly, urban renewal and gentrification. To preserve Philly's jazz heritage for future generations, the project is crowdsourced. Community members and jazz enthusiasts anywhere in the world are invited to share their stories, images and videos of Philadelphia's jazz scene back in the day.
All That Philly Jazz is about community beautification. Vacant lots will be transformed into vibrant places. Through mobile technology and low-cost public art, the community will be empowered to reimagine the vacant spaces as what they used to be — community assets.
We are developing a mobile app, All That Philly Jazz Walk, a self-guided walking tour that will begin at 11th and Market Streets, the former location of the Earle Theater, and end at Broad and Carpenter Streets, the former location of Union Local 274, the black musicians union whose members included Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, McCoy Tyner, Philly Joe Jones, among other jazz greats.
All That Philly Jazz stems from Music Hack Day, a music-related hackathon held at Drexel University.
In 2017, All That Philly Jazz was named one of the top 50 jazz blogs and websites. https://phillyjazz.us/2017/02/01/philly-jazz-named-one-best-jazz-blogs-planet
To learn more about what we've been up to, check out "ICYMI: All That Philly Jazz in the News." https://phillyjazz.us/category/in-the-news
If you haven't already, please visit us at PhillyJazz.us.
The next phase of the project is to develop a mobile app, All That Philly Jazz Walk, a self-guided walking tour that would start at 11th and Market streets, the former location of the Earle Theater, and end at Broad and Carpenter streets, the former location of Union Local 274, the black musicians union whose members included Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane and Nina Simone. I would like to launch a prototype during DesignPhiladelphia (October 2015).
If you're jazzed about jazz, cultural heritage preservation or mobile apps, please join the project team!
Share stories, preserve history with All That Philly Jazz app <http://www.phillytrib.com/entertainment/share-stories-preserve-history-with-all-that-philly-jazz-app/article_ad33e0d3-3e78-5511-8b43-e804ee081824.html>
All That Philly Jazz documents region’s rich jazz legacy from bebop to hip-hop <http://www.examiner.com/article/all-that-philly-jazz-documents-region-s-rich-jazz-legacy-from-bebop-to-hip-hop?CID=examiner_aler>
All That Philly Jazz app breathes life into the local jazz scene <http://thekey.xpn.org/2013/08/28/all-that-philly-jazz-app-breathes-life-into-the-local-jazz-scene>
Philly Jazz App: app to map Philly’s jazz history <http://technical.ly/philly/2013/08/28/philly-jazz-app-app-to-map-phillys-jazz-history>
