Description
Since its inception in 1996, Jazz Haven has promoted the culture of Jazz through unique collaborations with artists, organizations, schools and other groups. The skill and passion that its Board members have demonstrated for the culture of jazz encourages a growing network of organizations and programs that help promote jazz education as well as jazz as an art form.
With its beginnings as a series of performances at Artspace, Jazz Haven incorporated programming – always in collaboration with other organizations – that have included master classes with visiting artists at the Neighborhood Music School, concerts featuring internationally and locally known musicians, including the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 New Haven Jazz Festivals on the New Haven Green, tributes to late jazz masters, benefits for not-for-profit organizations, jazz concerts in senior centers, jazz at Long Wharf Theater, consultation for programming and technical support of other organizations with similar missions, and education.
Jazz Haven has organized and presented Jazz in the parks and other venues and presented educational programs in the New Haven Public Schools. Artists who perform at the New Haven Jazz Festivals also give workshops, master classes and performances for students at the Neighborhood Music School Summer Jazz Program.
This year, Jazz Haven, in cooperation with the City of New Haven’s Office of Arts, Culture and Tourism, produced the 2013 Jazz Festival on the New Haven Green and expanded it’s JAZZ WEEK offerings to more than 25 jazz performances in New Haven restaurants and venues, all throughout the city. We recently presented our second year of of piano concerts at Shoreline Piano; produced a series of jazz gigs at newly opened restaurants including Cave A Vin, Briq and ROIA; offered an eight-week jazz improv session for an after-school program at the New Haven Public Schools’ Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School and produced a concert series with St. Thomas’s Day School in New Haven. We also collaborated with Long Wharf Theatre to promote the very successful month long run of the play “Satchmo” in the fall of 2012 and with the University of New Haven to produce two major jazz concerts for the college community.