Category: Partner News

New Partnership: Detroit Jazz Festival

Since 1980, the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation has honored Detroit’s vibrant jazz music history through year-round concerts; educational programs, scholarships and mentorships; and producing the world’s largest free-admission jazz festival during Labor Day weekend. Drawing more than 300,000 attendees over the four days – plus another 2.5 million live streamers in 42 countries – the… Read more »

“Jazz Profiles” Back on The Air!

Originally aired between 1995 and 2002, “Jazz Profiles” is a Peabody Award-winning documentary radio series chronicling the people, places, and themes of jazz. By combining interviews, archival recordings, music, and narration by singer Nancy Wilson, each program tells an informative and sometimes gripping story that celebrates our uniquely American art form and the people who… Read more »

New Partnership: The Jazz Syndicate

As America’s very first Jazz Studies program (est. 1946) – and consistently one of the world’s finest music schools – the University of North Texas has amassed a treasure trove of jazz history over the decades. The UNT Music Library’s Jazz Syndicate aims to make this material freely available to everybody. Forming a centralized online… Read more »

Kwame Dawes Named Jamaica’s New Poet Laureate

Congratulations, Kwame Dawes! The National Library of Jamaica has announced that he will be Jamaica’s new Poet Laureate. Often called “the busiest man in literature,” Kwame is the author of 20 books of poetry and numerous other books of fiction, criticism, and essays. We featured him as our 32 Bar Blues Voice of the Art several… Read more »

Watch Bob Weir Perform at “A Great Night in Harlem”

Grateful Dead/Dead & Company guitarist Bob Weir was among the honorees in last night’s “A Great Night In Harlem” all-star benefit concert at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York City. The gala supporting the nonprofit Jazz Foundation of America featured additional performances by the Sun Ra Arkestra, Chuck D and others. Weir was accompanied… Read more »

New Jazz, Blues Releases to Raise Holiday Spirits

Thank you, DownBeat Magazine, for the great write-up! Grab your Holiday CD (and T-shirt) today. All profits we receive from their sales go directly to the Jazz Foundation of America’s Musicians’ Emergency Fund. Various Artists In The Key Of Chiaroscuro–Holiday Jazz Mix (Chiaroscuro Records/32 Bar Blues) Jazz Foundation of America, 32 Bar Blues and Chiaroscuro… Read more »

A Great Night in Harlem

Thank you to the Jazz Foundation of America for inviting us to their annual “A Great Night in Harlem” benefit gala on March 30, 2023, at the historic Apollo Theater. Truly an unforgettable evening. Performers included the Titans of Jazz Bass (Buster Williams, Paul West, Reggie Workman, Rufus Reid, Cecil McBee), as well as Robert… Read more »

Rare Jazz Compilation Helps JFA’s Musicians’ Emergency Fund

Twenty years ago this fall, visionary jazz producer, record label owner, and Jazz Foundation of America honorary founders board member Hank O’Neal compiled a special charity album to promote and support the JFA’s Musicians’ Emergency Fund. Combing his archive of more than 200 jazz album productions, Hank selected 16 favorite pieces for the limited-edition “One… Read more »

32 Bar Blues Partners with Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping The Blues Alive

The past two years have had a devastating impact on education – particularly in areas like music education that rely heavily on hands-on technique and group interaction. And music programs were already suffering before the pandemic! The crisis sparked a special partnership between us and the nonprofit organization Keeping The Blues Alive. Founded in 2011… Read more »

JFA Honors Randy Newman, Lou Adler, Bennie Maupin and Smokey Robinson

The return of the Jazz Foundation of America’s annual West Coast benefit at Herb Alpert’s Vibrato club saw lifetime achievement awards being presented to four titans of the music world: Randy Newman, Bennie Maupin, Lou Adler, and Smokey Robinson. Joining in the tributes were luminaries Jackson Browne, Merry Clayton, Herbie Hancock, JFA Artistic Director Steve… Read more »