Congratulations to our very own Omrao Brown, Owner, General Manager & jazz man extraordinaire (Bohemian Caverns), for his
FANTASTIC achievements in service to the community and preserving the legacy of jazz in the District - recently named the 2012 John Conyers, Jr. Jazz Advocacy Award recipient by the DC Jazz Festival. What a compliment! DC thanks you for your commitment to our community, week after week bringing authentic jazz, passionate artistry and most importantly for building relationships on U Street. You are appreciated.
In 1987, the Honorable John Conyers, Jr., Congressman (D-MI) a champion of jazz, introduced a bill to the House and the Senate that cited the critical need to have America’s most unique and original art form afforded a status commensurate with its value and importance in the United States.
The bill passed unanimously: Jazz is hereby designated a rare and valuable national American treasure to which we should devote our attention, support and resources to make certain it is preserved, understood and promulgated.
Congressman Conyers received the DC Jazz Festival’s first jazz advocacy award in recognition of his long years of devotion and commitment to jazz and his tireless efforts to ensure its rightful place in America’s history.
Past John Conyers Jr. Jazz Advocacy Award Recipients are:
La Maison Francaise/The Embassy of France (2011)Thomas Hale Boggs, Jr., Chairman of Patton Boggs, LLP (2010)
The Government of the District of Columbia (2009)
Dana Gioia, Chairman of the National Endowment of Arts (2008)
Congressman John Conyers Jr. (2007)
