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Art-&-Facts
Jazz Workshop, Inc. Dr. Jacqueline Young, Executive Director
The Jazz Workshop, Inc. (JWI) is a non-profit
501(c)(3) organization founded by the late Harold
Young, Sr. JWI is a music education and
performance based organization, which was
inducted in 1 973. It began as a means of
mentoring Black youth after the forced integration
of the two musicians' unions locals (471 and 60),
due to the Civil Rights Act of
1964. Mr. Young found that the
merger did not benefit the Black
youth because it lost its focus
toward providing them with proper
music education. Therefore, he
began teaching young people from
the Carnegie Library in
Homewood, and the rest is history.
The JWI has been teaching brass,
saxophone, bass, piano, drums and
vocals. Some of the first teachers
were Ducky Kemp, Abdul Karmin
and Kenny Fisher. They helped to Harold Young, Sr. Founder encouraging their sense of self-esteem.
lay down the foundation and to
pass on the tradition of America's classical music
genre known as Jazz.
Since its inception, thousands of individuals have
benefitted from either private lessons and/or
participation in the big band. Practically every
musician in the city of Pittsburgh, and many
national musicians have at one time or another
either taken lessons or performed at one of JWI's
functions.
Some of the Jazz greats who have participated at
JWI are Stanley Turrentine, Sonny Stitt, Joe
Henderson, George Benson, and more recently
Sean Jones. Last year, to celebrate 42 years of
excellence, JWI held its first annual Trilogy,
featuring Al Dowe and Etta Cox, the Women's' Jazz
Orchestra, with the late Donna Davis, and the Jazz
Workshop Big Band opening for the Variety band.
This year's Trilogy featured the great trumpeter, Jon
Faddis, saxophonist, Richie Cole, bassist
Christopher Dean Sullivan, drummer Roger
Humphries and Howard Alexander on piano. The
2nd concert rocked the house with the sounds of
Noel Quintana and his Latin Crew. The 3rd guest
appearance is going to be multi-reed player, Sonny
Fortune, on June 18th at the Carnegie Library in
Homewood.
During every Wednesday throughout the months of
June and July, JWI hosts the summer concert series
"Jazz on the Steps." This year opened with the
Kevin Howard band. The next act was the Stemtec
band. The rest of the Wednesday lineup was: the
Flow Band on June 15th, Carl and Floyd King,
June 22nd, Kenny Blake, June 29th,
Artistree, July 13th, Bashir Ansari, will be
on July 20th, and Tony Janflone, Jr. July
27th.
Dr. Jaki Young has become the new
Executive Director of the Jazz Workshop,
Inc. She is dedicated to carrying on the
legacy of that which was started by her
father Harold. It is important that children
are given the opportunity to take music
lessons because it enhances their lives in
so many ways, one of which is
Children socialize around music and feel
that it is "cool." So, taking music lessons is not
only a fun activity, it is also a productive activity.
We are working with the Pittsburgh School system
in terms of going into the schools and doing
workshops and assemblies. Many young people
have never even seen nor heard live music.
The Jazz Workshop, Inc. accepts tax-deductable
contributions. Please visit our website at
www.jazzworkshopinc.org and click on the donate
button. We look forward to several more decades
of fulfilling the music needs of the community
and the development of youth by enhancing their
creativity.