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The Jazz Foundation of America is a non-profit 501( c)(3) service organization based in Manhattan, New York. The JFA’s programs help musicians in need of emergency funds and connect those who are still able to play with performance opportunities in schools and the community. The organization works to bridge the gap between social and medical resources and the jazz legends whose careers did not ensure this kind of support.

The Jazz Musician Emergency Fund, established with the help of [E*TRADE Financial], specifically helps freelance musicians who don’t have standard benefits, a pension plan or health insurance to cover one-time expenses. Often, the musicians grow older and due to life tragedies or health problems, can no longer work steadily and find themselves unable to make ends meet. Musicians can apply to JFA social workers for assistance with rent, housing, mortgage payments, healthcare, and more. The Jazz Foundation of America has also created a volunteer network of other professionals (and caring jazz enthusiasts) throughout the United States who provide free legal, dental, and other health services when needed.

The JFA’s Agnes Varis/Jazz in the Schools program extends through eight states and operates as both a tool for educational outreach and as an employment service. Jazz in the Schools offers free hour-long performances by jazz quartets of accredited musicians, incorporating lessons about instrumentation and jazz music history. In return, the musicians are paid fair wages by the JFA made possible by grants and "Saint" Agnes Varis, President of Agvar Chemicals, Inc.

Besides major donors Agnes Varis, E*TRADE Financial and TimeWarner, the JFA derives much of its funding from its annual fundraiser, "A Great Night in Harlem," held each May for the past seven years. This gala event features a sponsor dinner and all-star concert at the Apollo Theater, and has been hosted by celebrities such as Danny Glover, Bill Cosby, Gil Noble and Danny Aiello. Past performers include Odetta, Dr. John, Henry Butler, Dr. Michael White, Regina Carter, Elvis Costello, Arturo O'Farrill, Candido Camero, Sweet Georgia Brown, Davell Crawford, and more.

History

The organization began with founder Herb Storfer and friends Ann Ruckert, Pheobe Jacobs and Dr. Billy Taylor in 1989. Shortly after incorporation in 1990, the newly-titled Jazz Foundation of America held a fundraising event at Town Hall, raising over sixty thousand dollars to establish the Jazz Emergency Fund. Shortly after, two established jazz musicians, Jamil Nassar and Jimmy Owens, became the organization’s outreach network, connecting musicians in need of rent money or medical payments to the organization’s founder. The committee of founders began to network with other service organizations who shared similar objectives--the Actor’s Fund and MusiCares provided part-time social workers for the JFA’s substance abuse programs.

From 1997 to 2000, a new executive director worked up one or two assessments a day and helped about 35 musicians in a year. The JFA offered substance abuse programs and began their Monday night jam sessions as a way of recruiting musicians in need. This took place in the basement of St. Peter’s Church, and the jam sessions continue to take place to this day at the Local 802 building in midtown Manhattan.

When the Jazz Foundation became official in 1990, they recruited a substantial 64-member Board of Directors and associates made up of friends and supportive acquaintances who offered in-kind services, gave advice and volunteered time. When jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie passed away in 1993, and one of his last requests was that any jazz musician in need of medical care be treated for free at Englewood Medical Hospital, his initial request was that a doctor would provide free treatment to one musician per year. This evolved into a pro bono network of physicians at Englewood Hospital & Health Center to treat a growing number of musicians. Dr. Frank Forte, Dr. Bob Litwick and Dr. Ron Tikofsky headed up the Dizzie Gillespie Memorial Fund, and the JFA referred clients to the hospital for treatment. The organization’s growing network of generous pro bono doctors continues to grow.

The organization moved into an office in the Local 802 branch of the American Federation of Musicians. In 2000, Wendy Oxenhorn accepted the position as Executive Director and immediately revived the JFA’s waning accounts with a fundraising gala at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. The fundraiser took place 13 days before September 11, 2001 and, with backing from E*TRADE COO Jarrett Lilien, it was a raging success. "A Great Night in Harlem" has become an annual spring event at the Apollo Theater. Wendy worked to shift the organization’s strategy from solution-based to prevention-based methods: instead of offering last-resort funds for musicians in dire straits, she began to create a supportive network that would prevent them from reaching that point. She sought ways to by provide employment for these living jazz legends, as well as a sense of purpose and meaning in their everyday lives.

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, many musicians found is exponentially more difficult to find work in a community and economy afflicted. The JFA assisted musicians in the New York community, helping to pay mortgages and utilities and finding new venues of employment for the artists. Wendy contacted local clubs and set up performances for musicians who needed work; this benefited both the morale of lower Manhattan and the musicians and their families of musicians who needed money. As word of the services spread, the JFA's case load expanded from 35 cases in a year to over 500. Donor "Saint" Agnes Varis and grant money allowed for the creation of Jazz in the Schools, in which musicians were paid fair fees to play one-hour educational performances in local schools. In this mutually beneficial relationship, students receive a live musical education at no cost to the school, and the musicians are able to earn their own income and share their gifts with the younger generation.

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005 left the nation’s most lively jazz center, New Orleans, crippled and broken. Many musicians lost their instruments, their sole tool for creating and sharing their art as well as earning income. While JFA normally assists up to 600 clients a year, the incident left the organization servicing over 1,100 misplaced musicians and their families to find housing, employment, and new instruments. The JFA shifted its focus out-of-state, expanding resources to include other communities of musicians equally vital to those in NYC. The staff traveled to New Orleans to work face-to-face with musicians, offering aid in a hands-on manner and with the utmost concern for their well-being. Agnes Varis, president and founder of Agvar Chemicals, Inc. and Aegis Pharmaceuticals, donated half a million dollars toward employing musicians in New Orleans, and thus began the Agnes Varis/Jazz in the Schools program in the south. In addition, the JFA collected $250,000 of donated top-shelf instruments to replace those lost in the flooding, even providing Fats Domino with a new piano.

The JFA has earned a solid reputation for the quality of service they provide, inspiring more donors and volunteers and allowing the organization to grow. Their reputation of service passes among musicians most often by word-of-mouth, and some of the most famous, long-standing musicians have received assistance. The nature of the jazz industry lends itself to instability--record contracts, club owners, and fluctuating performance opportunities plague even more established players. Musicians and actors such as Danny Glover, Wynton Marsalis, Bonnie Raitt, Whoopi Goldberg, Paul Shaffer, Bill Cosby, and Elvis Costello have supported the foundation with their time and money. The JFA has been featured in People Magazine and on The Early Morning Show.

Sources

http://www.jazzfoundation.org

Interview with Wendy Atlas Oxenhorn, November 1, 2006

Making Sure Musicians Don't Get The Blues (New York Times, 12/26/2002)

Not Much Traffic, But A Steady Jam (New York Times, 08/11/2005)

Keeping Jazz -- And It's Musicians -- Alive (Wall Street Journal, 10/21/2004)

Advocate Works Night and Day to Assist Needy Jazz Musicians (Chronicle of Philanthropy, 02/19/2004)

Getting Their Groove Back (People Magazine, October 3, 2005)

Keeping New Orleans Musicians Alive (Stereophile, October 2005)

In Katrina's Wake, Wendy Comes To The Jazzmen's Rescue (Wall Street Journal, October 2005)