The Jazz Gallery - International Jazz Cultural Center

The Jazz Gallery, located in downtown Manhattan, is an international cultural center and not-for-profit organization that nurtures the youngest generation of professional jazz musicians by giving them an audience for their performances and a stage upon which to assemble their bands. The Gallery is open 3 to 5 nights per week, 50 weeks per year and produces more than 150 events per year.

The Jazz Gallery has a rich history, beginning in 1995 when it served as the incubator through which Roy Hargrove's Big Band was born. From 1995 to 2000 it was known for live music presented in thematic series linked to its visual art and historical exhibitions. In 2000 it shifted its focus to be a performance venue, concentrating on emerging professional jazz musicians. With funding in 2009 and 2010 from Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Jerome Foundation, the Greenwall Foundation, New York Community Trust, Meet the Composer, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and The National Endowment for the Arts, The Jazz Gallery offers multiple programs ‐ performances, commissions, and composers workshops. It is known as "The most imaginatively booked jazz club in New York." (NY Times) and "The best place to hear live music in New York." (TimeOut NY). It has now presented nine of the last ten winners of the Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition PRIOR to their winning this competition and in 2008 another Jazz Gallery artist, Miguel Zenon, was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship Award.
The Jazz Gallery serves a diverse community and utilizes a multi‐pronged approach to promote events and musicians. Events are regularly recommended and reviewed in publications such as The New York Times, TimeOut New York, the Village Voice, the Newark Star‐Ledger, the Amsterdam News, the Daily News, the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal.

Every jazz musician appearing at The Jazz Gallery, emerging and established, knows that this is a venue where they can take risks, try out new material, and grow and develop as artists. The Jazz Gallery's 2009/2010 season includes, among many others, emerging artists such as John Ellis, Gretchen Parlato, Gerald Clayton, Pedro Giraudo, Ambrose Akinmusire, Darcy James Argue, John Escreet, Marcus Gilmore, Johnathan Blake, Ben Wendel, Yosvany Terry and Ben Williams as well as established artists such as Steve Coleman, Ravi Coltrane, Roy Hargrove, and Henry Threadgill. One of the best bargains in New York City, The Gallery's admission is usually $15/general audience and $10/members.