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10\/26\/2018 \u2013 JazzUSA went dark at the end of 2017, and at the time we thought it was permanent. But, because JazzUSA had been up and active for over 21 years, it only took a couple of months for us to be convinced (by many) that there is some obligation to try and keep all that material online and available to the jazz public.<\/p>\n\u201cThis is jazz history!\u201d<\/em> they said, \u201cYou can keep this inoration alive for almost free, so why not?\u201d<\/em> they said. <\/p>\n JazzUSA was conceived the night that Art Porter died in Thailand. I was in Chicago visiting with my friend Mark Ruffin when he got a call from one of Art\u2019s people telling him that Art was gone. Mark wrote it up and scooped everyone in Chicago, Art Porter\u2019s home town.<\/p>\n Mark published the article through one of the major Chicago media outlets, and I had the thought that there should be somewhere that jazz lovers could go to get news like this. At the time, the main vehicle for that type of information was the (now defunct) Jazz Central Station, but I felt there needed to be some sort of \u2018free press\u2019.<\/p>\n At that time I was in the business of web hosting and design, so developing and hosting it would only cost me time. I talked to Mark about it and he warned me that there was \u2018no money in jazz!\u2019 so I did it anyway\u2026 I just did it with no expectations of making money. He allowed me to use the Art Porter piece he had written as the very first story on JazzUSA, and the rest is history. Click to Read This Article<\/a><\/p>\n \u2013 S.H. Watkins, Sr.<\/p>\n THANK YOU<\/strong> to all of the writers that worked for little or nothing to help keep the jazz alive all those years, and the media outlets that were willing to share materials in exchange for credit and links:<\/p>\n
\nWe were quickly persuaded to bring the site back up as an ARCHIVE<\/a>.
\nWe are not posting new material, but the 21+ years of great reviews and interviews are still available in the JazzUSA archive<\/a>.<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nHistory<\/h2>\n
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\nThank You<\/b><\/h2>\n
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THANK YOU<\/strong> to all of the readers that kept coming back and remembered to tell their friends about JazzUSA and who signed up for the giveaways and contests and submitted user reviews! Keep supporting Jazz on the Internet.<\/p>\n
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The Terry Callier interview we posted years ago has been accessed 157 more times<\/b><\/i><\/u> than any other article posted during our 21+ years on line. When JazzUSA went dark we were overwhelmed by the number of requests we got inquiring when the article would again be available.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jazzusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Kind-of-Blue-300x300.jpg\")
Kind of Blue has been regarded by many as the greatest jazz record, Davis\u2019s masterpiece, and one of the best albums of all time. The influence \u2018Kind of Blue\u2019 had on music, including jazz, rock, and classical genres, has led writers to also deem it one of the most influential albums ever recorded.<\/p>\n![\"Bebop](\"https:\/\/jazzusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Bebop-Book-Stack-Transp.png\")
08\/18\/2020 \u2013 Congratulations! to former JazzUSA contributor Mark Ruffin<\/strong> on the release of his first novel, Bebop Fairy Tales.\u00a0 Mark was the Original<\/em> contributor! That\u2019s right, JazzUSA.Com was launched on that first, fateful, ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jazzusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/blackback.jpg\")
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