Teachers and administrators have told me that demand for musical-theater training has risen steadily in the last 10 to 15 years: applications to college programs are increasing, and dance schools have seen musical-theater workshops overtake traditional jazz classes in popularity.

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Other nominees on the list include Ronnie Scott's club in Soho and Club Eleven, which was closed following a police raid in 1950 after running for just two years, but which is seen as the crucible of modern British jazz.

BBC: Palace hits right note with fans

He had seen the movie Young Man with a Horn with Kirk Douglas, and African-American jazz was a beacon of freedom to him.

NPR: Hugh Masekela at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival

Mr. STEVEN IVORY (Music Critic, Los Angeles): Well, what we hadn't seen was someone who dared blend gospel, rock, and soul, and a little bit of jazz even, all together.

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