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SFJAZZ Announces Innovative Artistic Director Program to Debut with the New SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco

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SFJAZZ ANNOUNCES INNOVATIVE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PROGRAM TO DEBUT WITH THE NEW SFJAZZ CENTER IN SAN FRANCISCO

SFJAZZ Partners With Five Award-Winning Jazz Legends to Oversee Programming and Performances Beginning Fall 2012 at its Permanent New Home in San Francisco

Inaugural SFJAZZ Artistic Directors: Regina Carter, Bill Frisell, Jason Moran, John Santos and Miguel Zenón


San Francisco—When the SFJAZZ Center makes its debut in October 2012, SFJAZZ will also debut a first-of-its kind artistic director program designed to be as innovative as its permanent new home in San Francisco's Hayes Valley. Featuring five globally acclaimed jazz musicians and composers, the Artistic Director program was created by SFJAZZ founder and executive artistic director Randall Kline to provide a unique programming approach for its state-of-the-art new facility. The program gives individual director-musicians the opportunity to program, curate and perform at the new SFJAZZ Center, the West Coast's first facility designed specifically for jazz music, and the country's first stand-alone building for jazz. Members of the director program were selected based on each artist's career, commitment to jazz and understanding of the SFJAZZ mission. The artistic directors were hand-selected by SFJAZZ Executive Director and Founder Randall Kline. The SFJAZZ premier artistic director lineup includes: pianist and MacArthur Fellow Jason Moran, violinist and MacArthur Fellow Regina Carter, Grammy-nominated guitarist and Artist Rasmuson Fellow Bill Frisell, Five-time Grammy-nominated percussionist and US Artists Fontanals Fellow John Santos and Grammy-nominated saxophonist and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenón.

“It's our goal as an organization to build one of the world's most comprehensive jazz centers," says Randall Kline, SFJAZZ founder and executive artistic director. “This artistic director program was created to help deepen the broad viewpoints of SFJAZZ. Throughout the season, each director will individually oversee two weeks of programming and performing at the SFJAZZ Center. During their two week term, each director will spend one week in residence collaborating with students, attending listening parties and performing for audiences. The current artistic directors will stay onboard with SFJAZZ for two years. After completing their term, SFJAZZ will introduce a new lineup of jazz luminaries to join the artistic director roster."

The SFJAZZ artistic director program will be launched in conjunction with the opening of the SFJAZZ Center, which is scheduled to break ground in spring of 2011 and open in San Francisco's Hayes Valley neighborhood in late 2012. The new facility will create a vibrant hub for jazz in San Francisco—a place where the public, musicians and students can come to listen, network and learn. The SFJAZZ Center will allow SFJAZZ to efficiently integrate its mission under one roof—presenting world class artists in concert throughout the year, nurturing young musicians' development and promoting music education through jazz outreach programs to Bay Area students and adults. Its purpose-built and site-sensitive design accommodates both the requirements of SFJAZZ and the surrounding neighborhood.

Each artistic director will be responsible for the following programming and performing at the SFJAZZ Center:

  • Participate as part of the SFJAZZ artistic team to develop programming for the SFJAZZ Center
  • Curate a four-night or weeklong series of performances
  • Perform their new or latest project for one four-night or weeklong series of performances
  • Participate in outreach and educational activities during their residencies, including: SFJAZZ High-School All-Stars, student clinics, panel discussions, listening parties, and more.

ABOUT THE SFJAZZ CENTER

The West Coast's first stand-alone facility designed expressly for jazz, The SFJAZZ Center is inspired by an anonymous lead gift of $20 million, the largest gift ever given to a jazz organization. With a goal of $60 million—including a $10 million endowment—the ongoing capital campaign has great momentum and currently has raised $42.5 million. With a broad donor base that includes the SFJAZZ Board of Trustees as well as fans of jazz and all of its musical extensions, the campaign has surpassed its halfway point. The new SFJAZZ Center will feature a flexible 700-seat performance hall, dedicated space for educational lectures, panel discussions, clinics, and professional development workshops; a digital music lab for teaching music technologies; and practice rooms for musicians and the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars.

As part of the campaign, SFJAZZ plans to expand its educational programming and outreach to students and adults. The Center also establishes a new home for the SFJAZZ Collective. The SFJAZZ Center is scheduled to open in late 2012 in San Francisco's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The SFJAZZ 2011 Spring Season continues through June 25, 2011. For more information, visit www.sfjazz.org.

ABOUT SFJAZZ

SFJAZZ, founded in 1983, is the largest nonprofit presenter of jazz in the western United States. SFJAZZ presents over 100 concerts a year to over 100,000 fans and is dedicated to advancing the art form of jazz and cultivating new jazz audiences through artistic and educational programming, including: The San Francisco Jazz Festival, SFJAZZ Spring Season, SFJAZZ Collective, SFJAZZ Summerfest, SFJAZZ Education, SFJAZZ Membership and SFJAZZ Hotplate (a new monthly nightclub series featuring the Bay Area's best musicians paying tribute to jazz legends). The SFJAZZ 2011 Spring Season continues through June 25, 2011.

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