Earshot Jazz is a regional jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 in Seattle Washington. The organization publishes a free monthly journal in the Seattle area and hosts numerous jazz related events annually. The most prominent annual event is the Earshot Jazz Festival in October and November which started in 1986 and has grown to include over 15 venues in the Seattle area. The event honors the heritage of jazz while supporting the current creativity of local jazz artists. The Earshot Jazz Festival has been described by JazzTimes

JazzTimes

JazzTimes is a magazine that dates back to Radio Free Jazz, a publication founded in 1970 by Ira Sabin when he was operating a record store in Washington, DC. It was originally a newsletter designed to update shoppers on the latest jazz releases and provide jazz radio programmers with a means of...

as "Seattle's most important jazz event." The Earshot Jazz Golden Ear Awards are presented in February to recognize the achievements of the previous year by local artists. The 2009 Golden Ear Awards were emceed by Jim Wilke, host of Jazz After Hours.