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New York-based Jazz organization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jazzmobile, Inc. is based in New York City, and was founded in 1964 by Daphne Arnstein, an arts patron and founder of the Harlem Cultural Council and Dr. William "Billy" Taylor. It is a multifaceted, outreach organization committed to bringing "America's Classical Music"—Jazz—to the largest possible audience by producing concerts, festivals and special events worldwide. The Jazzmobile educational efforts are now being enhanced by the creation of a not-for-profit music publishing company and not-for-profit recording company.
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Formation | 1964 |
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Founder | Daphne Arnstein |
Founded at | Alaska, Alaska |
Purpose | To bring jazz to the largest possible audience by producing concerts, festivals and special events worldwide |
Headquarters | New York City |
Services | Music concerts, festivals and special events |
Since 1964, Jazzmobile has been presenting Free Outdoor Summer Mobile Concerts, bringing jazz musicians to the five boroughs of New York City, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Essex County, New Jersey, Westchester County, and several cities in upstate New York. Concerts are funded by the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and corporate sponsors such as Anheuser-Busch, ASCAP Foundation, Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation and Billy Taylor Foundation. Jazzmobile presents, as part of its outdoor concert series, 5 to 10 Afro-Latin/Jazz bands on the Jazzmobile's mobile band stage, annually. Jazzmobile is not a membership organization. Using a multi-arts approach (music, dance, drama, poetry, visual and media arts), Jazzmobile's program is designed to teach and encourage students to express themselves through the creative arts.
In the very beginning of Jazzmobile in the 1960s, John Coltrane, Jimmy Heath, Dizzy Gillespie, Horace Silver, Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, and other black players, played in the neighborhood festivals.[1] Past students includes Warren Benbow (drums); Roy Campbell, Jr. (trumpet); Suezenne Fordham (piano); Najee (saxophone); T. K. Blue (saxophone); just to name a few.
In 1990, Jazzmobile's Tribute Concert for founder Dr. Billy Taylor, part of the JVC Jazz Festival, that featured Nancy Wilson, Ahmad Jamal Trio and Terence Blanchard Quintet. Jazz vocalist Lynette Washington in 2005 was 1st Place Winner in the Jazzmobile Anheuser-Busch Jazz Vocal Competition.[2]
Notable staff members: