Concert honors Clarence Acox, a titan of Seattle jazz education- Seattle Times- by Eric Olson
BIG, HUGE Thanks to Eric Olson for covering this fantastic event honoring Clarence Acox!
Clarence Acox leads a rehearsal of the Garfield High School jazz band. On Feb. 5, there will be a fundraiser gala in honor of Acox, who retired as the school’s jazz band director in 2019. (John Lok / The Seattle Times, 2010)
By
Special to The Seattle Times
Bronze statues are an ultimate sign of honor and respect. Now, some local organizations are hoping to raise funds to create a statue in honor of one of Seattle’s greatest jazz educators.
Under Clarence Acox’s 40-year tutelage, from 1979 to his retirement in 2019, the Garfield High School jazz band became one of the most celebrated high school jazz bands in the country, with a remarkable four first-place finishes at the prestigious Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival at New York’s Lincoln Center. Initially recruited to lead Garfield’s marching band, Acox relocated to Seattle in 1971 from Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. He’s drummed for many local groups as well, spending a notable 27 years behind the kit in Floyd Standifer’s Legacy Band at the New Orleans Creole Restaurant in Pioneer Square.
Raising money for a sculpture in Acox’s honor is one of the goals of the First Annual Clarence Acox Gala — A Legacy Fundraiser at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley on Feb. 5. Hosted by Onyx Fine Arts Collective, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle JazzEd, the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra and the Garfield Jazz Foundation, the gala is the brainchild of Robert Radford, a former Seattle elementary school principal who had Acox’s Garfield bands rehearse in front of his young students. “In some cases,” Radford recalled, “their lives changed right away.” In this spirit, the majority of gala proceeds (organizers hope to raise $500,000) will benefit local jazz education programs co-founded and/or favored by Acox: Seattle JazzEd, which Acox co-founded with Laurie de Koch; the Garfield Jazz Foundation; and the Clarence Acox Jazz Scholars program (under the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra).
CLICK HERE for original article in the Seattle Times.
