As the year draws to a close and we embrace the season of joy, we want to take a moment to reflect on the unforgettable love and support we received from our community. Your commitment has been a melody of hope and resilience in our efforts. All of us at Jazz Arts Project are deeply grateful.
So, on behalf of myself, the Jazz Arts team, our board members, volunteers, students, and all our visiting professional musicians, we wish you a wonderful holiday season filled with warmth, joy, and the sounds of great jazz.
Recently, I was surprised to realize that this coming year, 2025, will be our 20th year as a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring, presenting, and teaching about Jazz. This is a significant milestone for us, and we are eager to celebrate it with all of you as we plan new pathways towards improved capacity and community service.
Jazz – with its improvisational nature and spirit – mirrors our mission and helps us to adapt, innovate, and create opportunities for everyone we serve. For these two decades, our honor has been to provide profound musical experiences through our programs and initiatives. Our concerts showcase incredible talent, creating unforgettable evenings filled with music steeped in history and innovation.
But our mission extends far beyond the concert stage. We believe in the transformative power of music education. Through our workshops and mentorship programs, we help local youth explore their creativity, learn the fundamentals of jazz, and find their own musical voices. From providing gifted children with trumpets, guitars, and other musical instruments to creating world-class concert events at accessible and affordable venues, our goal is to uplift and enrich the lives of individuals and families everywhere with the joys of jazz. We create pathways to artistic expression, nurturing not only the possible next generation of musicians, composers, and innovative thinkers but also a future audience who may remember learning to play with fondness so that they may make it a lifelong love. With every note played and every lesson taught, we empower our young people to dream bigger and reach higher.
This past summer, a young trumpet student—fittingly named Gabriel—attended our middle school summer music camp program. This camp is designed for fresh start beginners and beginning/intermediate-level students so that they may have a positive impact experience with music making and learning on a more immersive level. This full-day, every-weekday program usually serves anywhere from 50 to 85 young students. It is offered free of charge to all area middle school students. Well, this year, Gabriel’s trumpet playing stood out, and our instructors noticed something in him that was quite promising. We invited him to join our high school-level Jazz Arts Academy session the following week. Although apprehensive and shy at first, Gabe soon got his footing and managed to keep up with the rest of the more experienced group. Initially it was quite challenging for him, but he admitted later that he learned so much and had a great time. When it came time for the showcase concert as part of our summer Jazz Café series, Gabe’s horn played loud and proud. His parents were astonished by how far he had come and were bowled over by our program. They thanked us profusely for giving Gabe the opportunity as well as for the need-based scholarship to attend. … yet another happy camper.
We continually strive to instill and develop a unique love of music and an extraordinary confidence that comes directly from the students' creative minds and expressive hearts when they learn to participate in this special art form. Jazz isn’t just music; it is an expressive art form laden with historical and cultural significance. It represents freedom and reflects true democratic ideals through its unique melodies and rhythms, serving as a powerful reminder of the resilience and creativity within us all.
More recently, we witnessed more of our Jazz Arts Academy student's successes first-hand during our “Joys of Jazz” showcase concert at the Two River Theater. In partnership with Red Bank’s Triumph Restaurant & Brewery this year, we presented our annual holiday concert event with special guests, jazz great Wycliffe Gordon and his quartet. Wycliffe is an award-winning recording artist and an original member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. These talented students were also featured in what has become a tradition we call “Legends & Lions” in jazz.” This event is where the students play side by side on stage with a jazz master musician. Wycliff’s performance and interaction with the students and the audience was an inspiring moment for all of us in attendance.
The arts are essential; they connect us, inspire us, and elevate the cultural landscape of our communities.
At Jazz Arts Project, we strive to foster an inclusive environment where creativity knows no boundaries, enriching lives and building bridges between people through the universal language of jazz.
We are proud of our achievements over the past two decades. We have repeatedly demonstrated the incredible impact our organization has had in the community, which has been made possible by the support of so many of you, our audience, our generous donors, sponsors, and foundation partners.
We are committed to furthering our mission and growth into the future and we are excited about what lies ahead. Thank you for believing in our vision and for your continued support. Together, let us foster a vibrant jazz community that entertains, uplifts, and inspires.
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season filled with warmth, joy, and the sounds of great jazz.
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