While many regard New York as the jazz capital of the US, few people would think of Flushing Town Hall as part of that picture. Yet through a program developed in co-operation with the Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts--a member of the Cultural Institution Group of New York City and an Affiliate Member of the Smithsonian Institution--the team at the town hall presents an array of arts and educational programs at the facility every year that includes some high quality jazz presentations. T

The National Flute Association, founded in 1973, is the largest flute organization in the world. According to its website, (www.nfaonline.org): "It was founded to encourage a higher standard of artistic excellence for the flute, its performers, and its literature. It has more than 5,500 members from more than 50 countries, including leading soloists, orchestral players, college and university professors, adult amateurs, and students of all ages." The NFA's activities reflect the

With jazz venues closing, or at least struggling, in the D.C. Area, Twins Jazz seems to be thriving. Whatever the formula is--location, food, location, music, location . . . --it seems to work. It is also close to a Metro station so I solved the parking problem by jumping on a train, and enjoyed an evening with flutist Jamie Baum and the cooperative quartet, Timepiece Jamie Baum's reputation has been growing steadily over the last decade, primarily as a flutist, but also

Like many orchestras, the Baltimore Symphony has learned that interesting programming is one of the keys to survival. To build a successful season the orchestra seeks to intersperse the staple repertoire of Handel, Beethoven and Mendelssohn with more exotic offerings, this year including works by Chinese composer Tan Dun, a Halloween tribute to Frankenstein by HK Gruber, a concert by Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, selections from Star Trek (narrated by Mr. Sulu!), Charlie Chaplin's sco

Now in its twelfth year, the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival continues to showcase some fine women musicians. The evening I caught this year--there were only tickets available for Thursday's performance--also brought into focus some issues that still plague jazz, however. One, ironically, is the continuing gender gap within the music. For the first of the three shows the headline artists presented were certainly women, but they were the only women seen on the stage. The other ten musici