FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ASPS Inaugural Benefit Concert

Contact: Ronald Kaplan
Executive Director
American Songbook Preservation Society
…Singing the Great American Songbook
(831) 687-0278
info@greatamericansongbook.org
9051-A Soquel Drive Aptos, Ca 95003
www.greatamericansongbook.org

The American Songbook Preservation Society will hold it’s inaugural benefit concert at 7:00 P.M. on Thursday August 4th, 2005 at the world famous Kuumbwa Jazz Center 320 Cedar Street Santa Cruz, California 95060 (831) 427-2227.

The concert will feature San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay Singers Paula West www.paulawest.net and Ron Kaplan www.ronkaplan.com . The theme is an evening with the Great American Songbook showcasing the music of the composers and lyricists Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Harold Arlen.

The concert benefits the American Songbook Preservation Society, a not-for-profit 501 (c) 3 Foundation dedicated to continuing the legacy of this uniquely American body of work primarily consisting of the Broadway Revues and Musicals of Broadway and Hollywood. The Mission of the Foundation is: “To preserve our cultural treasure known as the Great American Songbook by presenting this music to the public at home and abroad as Ambassadors of Song”.

The goal of the Foundation is to continue the legacy of this music for future generations and enjoys a personal pledge of support from Wynton Marsalis, Musical Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Our financial goal is 25 million dollars, which will endow the Foundation in perpetuity. Donate online and help to build a Foundation to stand the test of time www.greatamericansongbook.org/make_a_donation.htm

$25 reservations include dinner as part of the “cookin’ at the Kuumbwa” Jazz series. Kuumbwa Jazz Center 320 Cedar Street Santa Cruz. www.kuumbwajazz.org Call (831) 427-2227.

Advance concert tickets are $14 or $16 at the door. Tickets are also available at Logos Books and Records 1117 Pacific Avenue Santa Cruz (831) 427-5100 or www.ticketweb.com

For additional information contact American Songbook Preservation Society (831) 687-0278 www.greatamericansongbook.org

For More Information Contact:

American Songbook Preservation Society
9051- A Soquel Drive Aptos, California 95003
Tel: 831.687.0278
FAX: 831.685.2609
Internet: info@greatamericansongbook.org

Dear Friends and Music Lovers!

As many of you know, I am a singer and a great fan of America’s Classical music…Jazz and the Great American Songbook, known and loved around the world. As I write this letter I am listening to the wonderful music and musicianship of Louis Armstong and Ella Fitzgerald singing some of the Great American Songbook standards accompanied by the Oscar Peterson Trio as recorded in 1956. Although Ella and Louis are no longer with us, their legacy is.

Will you help me build a Foundation dedicated to continuing this legacy for future generations?

Our Mission:
To preserve our cultural treasure known as the Great American Songbook by presenting this music to the public at home and abroad as Ambassadors of Song.The American Songbook Preservation Society seeks to carry the torch of the great musical works of this period in the grand tradition of the master songsmiths, lyricists, and singers who have given us this legacy and have now departed from the scene.Time is fading fast to capture performances and interviews with the remaining legendary artists and pass the torch to a new group of caretakers of the craft and it’s artistry as performers.

You can help me achieve this mission with your generous donation.The American Songbook Preservation Society is a California Charitable Corporation, exempt from taxation under section 501 (C) 3 of the Internal Revenue code. As such, your donations are fully tax-deductible as allowed by law.

Please mail your donation to ASPS Foundation
9051-A Soquel Drive Aptos, Ca. 95003
Donate on line at www.greatamericansongbook.org
Email us at: info@greatamericansongbook.org or call
us at (831) 687-0278. Thank you for your support!

Ronald Kaplan
Executive Director

”In a hundred to a hundred and fifty years from now, I believe that people will recognize
the music of Gershwin and Ellington as the classical music of our time”… Tony Bennett