CBJC Festival Magazine 2016

In Memoriam
CBJC/PJM would like to take
a few moments to reach back
and acknowlege our founders
all except one have made their
transition to the ancestors.
However their dream lives on
with the continued operation
of CBJC. In 2016 its future
looks bright however we refuse
forget how we got here...
Alma Carroll, Rosland Blair,
Torrie McCartney and Viola
Plummer founded the origination
with the dream of keeping
Jazz alive in Central Brooklyn.
In 1999 the founders now scetup
for operations requested
Jitu Weusi to serve as the originations
first chair.
Together they created, planned,
financed, promoted and delivered
the first CBJC Jazz festival
in 2000. Today we honor them
with the continuation of that
dream by producing the 17th
Annual CBJC Jazz Festival.
Alma Caroll
Jitu Weusi
Torrie McCartney
Alma Carroll - A founding member of Central
Brooklyn Jazz Consortium, lived as she believed
Love of community, family, friends and Jazz are
all that mattered. In her spirit and memory, we
must “Keep Jazz Alive.” Godmother of Central
Brooklyn Jazz; grand lady of community activism;
tireless warrior for aging populations; in
the pantheon of great women visionaries who
placed Bedford-Stuyvesant on the global map
her other true loves, Joe Carroll and Jazz. Together
they founded the Jazzpazazz Preservation
Society to give tribute to the Jazz greats of
yesteryear.
Jitu Weusi the first chairperson of CBJC was an
arts and cultural icon in Brooklyn whose musical
influence reached throughout the U.S. and into
Africa. He created and lead many arts organizations
including the EAST Cultural Center and
the International African Arts Festival Brother
Jitu encouraged creativity in thousands of performing
artists. He established a beautiful venue
in his beloved community Bedford-Stuyvesant,
FOR MY SWEET and his wife Angela continues
his legacy of making jazz available at an affordable
price at For My Sweet. His hearty smile and
warm embrace is missed.
Remember The East?
One of the founders of CBJC Torrie also established
the Dubios West African Ghanaian Jazz
Festival and facilitated The Jazz Festival at Medgar
Evers Collage. A renaissance woman who’s
dream was to place the culture on a pedestals,
l have activists and organizers collaborate with
artists and audiences. Have business and children
benefit from the results, and remind the
diaspora that we are one.
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