Jazz Association of Macon

05/27/2026

🎷 Today in Jazz – Remembering the Great Sonny Rollins

Presented by the Jazz Association of Macon

The jazz world lost one of its true giants this week as legendary tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins passed away on May 25, 2026, at the age of 95. Known around the globe as the “Saxophone Colossus,” Rollins wasn’t just one of the greatest sax players in jazz history… he was one of the greatest improvisers in the history of music itself.

Born Theodore Walter Rollins in Harlem in 1930 to parents from the Virgin Islands, Sonny came up during the golden age of bebop and shared stages and studio sessions with absolute giants like Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and so many more.

His albums became landmarks of modern jazz:
• Saxophone Colossus
• Tenor Madness
• The Bridge
• Way Out West

And his compositions like “St. Thomas,” “Oleo,” “Doxy,” and of course “Sonnymoon for Two” became jazz standards played by musicians all over the world.

One of the most legendary stories in jazz history came when Sonny stepped away from performing in 1959 because he wanted to improve. He famously practiced for hours alone on the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City, searching for a deeper sound and a deeper understanding of himself and the music. That dedication to growth and artistry became part of his legend.

Sonny’s sound could roar like a preacher, dance with Caribbean calypso rhythms, or whisper through a tender ballad. He could make you laugh, think, shout, and cry all in one solo. And through it all, he never stopped searching.

Rest easy, Sonny. Thank you for the music, the courage, the honesty, and the endless inspiration.

“Now’s the time.” 🎷

05/26/2026

🎺 Today in Jazz – Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Presented by the Jazz Association of Macon

Today we celebrate the 100th anniversary year of the birth of the legendary Miles Davis (1926–1991), one of the most influential and innovative artists in the history of jazz.

From Kind of Blue to Bi***es Brew, Miles constantly reinvented the sound of modern music and inspired generations of musicians through his fearless creativity, unmistakable tone, and groundbreaking collaborations.

“Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.”
— Miles Davis

🎷 Looking ahead in Macon…

Jazz & Arts on Riverdale 2026
📅 October 24, 2026
📍 Riverdale Drive, Macon, Georgia

Join the Jazz Association of Macon this fall for another exciting day of live jazz, local arts, food, community, and family fun.

🌐 www.maconjazz.org

***esBrew

05/23/2026

Happy Saturday, jazz fam!

It’s a beautiful Memorial Day weekend for live music, community, and jazz all across Georgia as the incredible Atlanta Jazz Festival rolls on today, tomorrow, and Monday in Piedmont Park.

Rain or shine, baby… the music rolls on. And honestly, we need the rain around here, so maybe Mother Nature will give folks just enough breaks to get out there and enjoy some FREE world-class jazz from artists including The Roots, Esperanza Spalding, Kamasi Washington, PJ Morton, Ravi Coltrane, and many more.

And while Atlanta is swinging this weekend, don’t forget we’ve got some wonderful jazz events coming up right here in Macon too:

Jazz in the Courtyard at the Douglass Theatre
May 24 • June 21 • July 26 • 7PM

The 23rd Annual Jazz & Arts on Riverdale
October 24, 2026

And just a friendly reminder, Jazz & Arts on Riverdale isn’t actually “on the river.” It takes place on Riverdale Street right here in Macon…one beautiful day of music, art, community, and jazz in our city.

Huge thanks to all the musicians, volunteers, educators, students, sponsors, and supporters helping keep jazz alive throughout Central Georgia and beyond.

Jazz is alive, y’all.

05/22/2026

Happy Friday and Memorial Day Weekend, jazz fam! 🎷☀️

This weekend, all roads lead to the incredible Atlanta Jazz Festival in Piedmont Park, one of the largest FREE jazz festivals in the entire country! Three full days of world-class music are headed to Atlanta May 23–25, with an amazing lineup featuring artists including The Roots, Esperanza Spalding, Kamasi Washington, PJ Morton, Ravi Coltrane, and many more. And yes, y’all… it’s completely FREE. (WABE)

What a beautiful reminder that jazz is alive, evolving, and bringing people together across generations and communities.

And while Atlanta is swinging this weekend, don’t forget we’ve got great jazz happenings coming up right here in Macon too:

🎶 Jazz in the Courtyard this summer at Douglass Theatre
May 24 • June 21 • July 26 • 7PM

🎶 The 23rd Annual Jazz & Arts on Riverdale
October 24, 2026

The Jazz Association of Macon wants to thank all the musicians, educators, volunteers, students, sponsors, and supporters who help keep jazz swinging here in Central Georgia year after year through performances, outreach, scholarships, and community events.

Wherever you spend this Memorial Day weekend, we hope there’s a little jazz in your life. 🎹🎺☮️

Jazz is alive, y’al

05/19/2026

The Jazz Association of Macon is proud to support the next generation of musicians through our annual scholarship program, helping talented young artists across Middle Georgia continue their musical journeys. JAM offers multiple scholarship opportunities each year for students from middle school through college, with awards ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.

This year’s recipients of the Marc Whitten Memorial Scholarship are Marissa Clements of Mary Persons High School and Evan Bentzel of Middle Georgia State University. Marissa is pictured with the Whittens, her choral instructor Abby Hodges, and JAM’s Dr. Edward Clark. Evan is pictured with the Whittens and Dr. Clark at Middle Georgia State University, where the scholarship was presented.

The Bob Barnette Scholarship, presented on behalf of the Barnette family and JAM board member Annette Barnette, was awarded to Ashton Hodges of Jones County High School. In the photo are Annette Barnette, Dr. Clark, Ashton’s mom, and Ashton with his mighty bari sax.

We’d also like to recognize Drew Bragg, recipient of this year’s JAM Curry Scholarship. Pictured with Drew are JAM Board Chair Dr. Wendy Bell and JAM board member Janet Tidwell. Drew has already built an incredible resume as a young jazz saxophonist and plans to continue his studies in Jazz Performance at the collegiate level.

Congratulations to all four of these outstanding young musicians. The future of music in Middle Georgia is shining bright. 🎶

https://www.maconjazz.org/copy-of-scholarships

05/08/2026

🎷 Today in Jazz – May 8th

Presented by the Jazz Association of Macon

Today we celebrate a remarkable lineup of musical innovators whose influence continues to echo through jazz, blues, and beyond.

🎹 1910 – Mary Lou Williams was born in Atlanta, Georgia. A visionary pianist, composer, arranger, and mentor, she helped shape the evolution of jazz from swing to bebop and influenced generations of musicians along the way.

🎸 1911 – Robert Johnson was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. His legendary recordings and haunting blues style became foundational building blocks for modern blues, rock, and American roots music.

🎹 1945 – Keith Jarrett was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. From solo improvisations to groundbreaking trio recordings, Jarrett’s fearless creativity and emotional depth continue to inspire musicians around the world.

🎷 1968 – Ornette Coleman recorded Love Call alongside Dewey Redman, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones, further expanding the boundaries of free jazz and musical improvisation.

🎤 Quote of the Day

“I believe that a truly valuable artist must be an artist who realizes the impossibility of his task — and then continues to do it.”
— Keith Jarrett

And speaking of jazz greatness… the upcoming Atlanta Jazz Festival is once again bringing an incredible lineup of world-class artists to Piedmont Park for three days of outstanding live music later this month. Georgia’s jazz scene is alive and thriving, y’all. 🎶

And right here in Macon, we invite you to keep supporting live jazz through:
🎷 Jazz in the Courtyard at the Douglass Theatre - May 24, June 21, and July 26 at 7PM
🎷 The 23rd Annual Jazz & Arts on Riverdale - October 24, 2026

Thank you to all the musicians, educators, students, volunteers, sponsors, and supporters helping keep jazz swinging across Central Georgia and beyond.

Jazz is alive, y’all. ☮️🎶

04/30/2026

Happy International Jazz Day from the Jazz Association of Macon! 🎷🎹🌎

Today we’re celebrating with a little “Caravan” from the JAMbassadors at the 2025 Jazz & Arts on Riverdale festival last October here in MaconGa. Originally written by Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol, “Caravan” has been taking listeners on a musical journey for generations, and it was an absolute joy bringing it to life with so many incredible musicians from across Central Georgia.

This video is really a celebration of ALL the musicians, educators, students, volunteers, supporters, sponsors, audience members, and jazz lovers who help keep this music alive in our community year after year. Jazz is built on collaboration, mentorship, improvisation, and heart, and we are so thankful for everyone who supports the mission of the Jazz Association of Macon through performances, scholarships, educational outreach, JAMbassadors programs, and community events throughout the year.

And speaking of community… we’re already looking forward to the 23rd Annual Jazz & Arts on Riverdale coming up on October 24, 2026! 🎶 Mark those calendars now, because we can’t wait to celebrate another incredible day of music, art, education, and fellowship right here in Macon.

To every jazz musician in Macon and Central Georgia: thank you for sharing your gifts with the world. And to everyone who supports live music and the arts… thank you for helping this music continue to swing into the future.

Happy International Jazz Day, y’all! 🎺🎶☮️

04/30/2026

Happy International Jazz Day from all of us at the Jazz Association of Macon 🎷🎹💜

Today we celebrate a musical art form that continues to inspire, connect, educate, and bring people together across generations and cultures all around the world 🌎🎶

From the swing of Duke Ellington to the brilliance of Herbie Hancock, jazz has always been about creativity, collaboration, improvisation, and listening to one another.

Tonight’s global International Jazz Day concert will be hosted by Herbie Hancock live from Chicago and streamed worldwide beginning at 8 PM Eastern 🎹🌎

You can watch here:
https://jazzday.com/global-concert-2026/

Here in Middle Georgia, we’re proud to continue supporting jazz through performance, education, scholarships, community outreach, and our amazing JAMbassadors program bringing jazz directly into schools and the community 🎺🥁🎷🎹

A huge THANK YOU to all the musicians, educators, students, supporters, venues, volunteers, and jazz lovers who help keep this music alive and thriving 🙏

As Art Blakey once said:
“Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life.”

And there’s plenty of great jazz still ahead 🎶👇

• Herbie Hancock live at Atlanta Symphony Hall on May 5th
• Atlanta Jazz Festival returns Memorial Day Weekend in Piedmont Park
• Jazz in the Courtyard at the Douglass Theatre on May 24, June 21, and July 26 at 7 PM
• The 23rd annual Jazz & Arts on Riverdale coming October 24 right here in Macon 🎷🎨
• And continued live jazz, education, and community events all across Middle Georgia 🙌

Keep swinging, keep listening, and keep supporting live jazz, y’all 🎶💜

Chicago to host 2026 International Jazz Day Global Concert, marking the 15th anniversary of Jazz Day “I am delighted to announce that Chicago will host the 2026 International Jazz Day concert. A major hub of this music and art of living for over a century, this legendary American city has seen the...

12/19/2025

Merry Christmas from the JAMbassadors! 🎶🎄

The holidays came alive in a beautiful way Wednesday morning at Bernd Elementary, where the JAMbassadors shared a special Christmas performance as part of our Arts & Education program.

We invited the students and teachers to join us for a jazzed-up, swing-style version of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” — and what happened next was pure magic. Led by the incredible vocals and s**t stylings of Dr.Edward Kearfott Clark, the kids jumped right in, learned the rhythms, sang along, and helped turn this classic tune into a nearly 15-minute jazz celebration full of joy, laughter, and energy.

(Spoiler: We did another 15 minutes at Southfield later that afternoon — so Santa definitely got his groove on!)

The clip we’re sharing this morning is from the live stream at Bernd — wide lens, stream compression, real-time classroom chaos and all — but it captures exactly what makes these visits so special: young people discovering music, the teachers joining in, and the room filling up with Christmas spirit through jazz.

Performing were:
🎷 Dr. Ed Clark – vocals & alto sax
🎺 Evan Jones – flugelhorn/trumpet/harmonica
🎸 KMo – bass
🥁 Jim Blanton – drums
🎸 Rob Walker – guitar
🎹 Nicky2Shoes – piano/keys

To all the students, teachers, staff, and administrators at Bernd Elementary — thank you for making this such a memorable holiday moment. And to everyone across Middle Georgia and beyond:

Merry Christmas from the Jazz Association of Macon and the JAMbassadors!
May your season swing brightly. 🎄✨🎶

12/18/2025

🎶 JAMbassadors in the Schools – 25 Years Strong 🎶

Yesterday (December 17, 2025), the JAMbassadors from the Jazz Association of Macon had the honor and joy of visiting two Bibb County Schools: Bernd Elementary and Southfield Elementary.

For 25 years now, our Arts & Education program has been bringing jazz directly into Middle Georgia classrooms — helping young people discover America’s original art form by hearing it live, learning where it came from, and exploring what makes this music so special.

At each visit, we not only share a brief history of jazz… we also break down the building blocks of a song:
🎹 the harmony and color from piano & guitar
🎸 the pulse and foundation from bass
🥁 the heartbeat from the drums
🎺🎷 and the melody soaring through the horns

From there, we build a tune right in front of the students, showing how each voice fits into the whole. Yesterday’s featured tune was “Now’s the Time” — the Charlie Parker classic.

We’re grateful to the wonderful students, teachers, administrators, faculty, and staff at both schools for welcoming us so warmly. The curiosity, attention, and enthusiasm from these young learners was inspiring — and a reminder of why we do this work. It’s a privilege to share jazz with the next generation, especially with students who may be hearing this style for the very first time.

Performing yesterday were:
🎷 Dr. Ed Clark – alto sax, vocals & program lead
🎺 Evan Jones – flugelhorn/trumpet/harmonica
🎸 KMo – bass
🥁 Jim Blanton – drums
🎸 Rob Walker – guitar
🎹 Nicky2Shoes – piano/keys

On behalf of the Jazz Association of Macon — thank you, Bernd Elementary and Southfield Elementary, and thank you Bibb County Schools, for supporting music, arts, culture, and creativity in the classroom.

We’ll be back. 🎶
The JAMbassadors love you.
— Jazz Association of Macon / Nicky2Shoes