September 9 - 7:30 PM
ABOUT US
The Jazz Mentors Foundation is a Salt Lake City, Utah based non-profit 501(c)(3) organization established in 2023 to:
Encourage junior high, high school and university student musicians to study and play jazz.
Encourage awareness and appreciation for jazz in our community. Provide clinics for student musicians and concerts for our community featuring internationally recognized professional musicians
We came together to host a jazz concert series, with top-tier jazz musicians, including local talent. For each concert, the artist will provide a workshop for high school, university and junior high students, free of charge. Students are invited to attend the concerts free of charge.
Jazz music, while being the foundation of most modern music and one of the great American art forms that is rooted in the African diaspora, is in decline. It currently represents less than 1% of streaming music volume in the U.S.. We believe that by exposing students to excellent jazz musicians and concerts, we can revitalize this incredibly important and fun art form in Utah.
SPECIAL THANKS
Special thanks to Woodbury Corporation, Excellence in the Community Concert Series, Daynes Music and Robinette Sound for making this event possible through their generous support.
BECOME A DONOR
Help us continue to make opportunities like this available and accessible to student musicians by making a contribution of any size at jazzmentorsfoundation.ticketspice.com/donate
MEET OUR GUEST ARTIST
MATTHEW WHITAKER
Matthew's musical journey began at age 3 with a keyboard gift from his grandfather. He's now an artist, captivating audiences globally and appearing on notable T.V. shows like Showtime at the Apollo, the Today Show, Ellen, and a feature on 60 Minutes. Matthew is a versatile artist, starring, producing, and scoring the All-Arts Emmynominated documentary "About Tomorrow" and scoring the film "Starkeisha," which is currently streaming on Hulu. Matthew made his musical director debut for the award winning "Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For." A musical on the life of pianist and composer Billy Strayhorn. He’s had guest soloist appearances with orchestras and symphonies including Aspen Chamber Symphony, under the baton of guest conductor, Marin Alsop, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, CN, Alexander Shelley, conductor. He also composed a song for the 82-piece Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra, in Sofia, Bulgaria, which was included in the aforementioned All-Arts documentary, “About Tomorrow.” Matthew believes that music connects us all and that every child should have access to music education. Beyond music, Matthew advocates for persons with disabilities, consulting with companies to improve accessibility features. He is a three-time ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award winner, with three studio albums as a leader; "Outta The Box," "Now Hear This," and "Connections." Matthew has collaborated with industry greats like pianist, multiple Grammy-award winning composer, vocalist, and band leader Jon Batiste; Grammy-winning bassist Christian McBride; NEA Jazz Master, violinist Regina Carter; pianist, composer, and musical director Ray Chew, and bassist, composer, producer Derrick Hodge.
MATTHEW WHITAKER IS A YAMAHA ARTIST.
FEATURING
MARCOS ROBINSON
LIANY MATEO
IVAN LLANES MONTEJO
JOHN STEELE
