MENTOR SERIES

Mentorship has always been a key theme in jazz history. Most of today’s great jazz musicians were raised through informal channels and gained invaluable experience working alongside their heroes. Future generations of great jazz will depend on the continuation of this community-minded mentoring tradition that is, unfortunately, becoming less common as jazz education has become more formalized in conservatory and university settings.

The Jazz Gallery developed its Mentorship Program to cultivate a group of senior-level jazz musicians as mentors and to provide aspiring musicians with the opportunity to learn the music and business of jazz under the guidance of their contemporary heroes.

These young musicians will have the opportunity to learn by preparing for and performing in 4 concerts that are booked as a mini-tour, which will provide mentees with the opportunity to deepen their creative practice and performance skills. This will also teach mentees more practical skills of being working artists—skills set that are not taught in conservatory classrooms.

Mentors, along with their regular collaborators, will work with their mentees to prepare the young artists for four professional performances that will be presented at The Jazz Gallery and our partnering presenters in the NY, CT, and PA area​. Mentees are thrown into unknown and high-level musical situations surrounded by senior-level artists. With guidance from their mentors, mentees will develop not only their musicianship, but also learn about managing their career in music and about professional conduct.

TJG PROGRAMS

MENTOR SERIES

DIRECTIONS IN 21ST CENTURY JAZZ

WOODSHED

JAZZ COMPOSERS SHOWCASE

MARGARET WHITTON AWARD

TJG FELLOWSHIP