To bring jazz to the largest possible audience by producing concerts, festivals and special events worldwide
Headquarters
New York City
Services
Music concerts, festivals and special events
Jazzmobile, Inc. is based in New York City, and was founded in 1964 by Daphne Arnstein, an arts patron and founder of the Harlem Cultural Council and Dr. William "Billy" Taylor. It is a multifaceted, outreach organization committed to bringing "America's Classical Music"—Jazz—to the largest possible audience by producing concerts, festivals and special events worldwide. The Jazzmobile educational efforts are now being enhanced by the creation of a not-for-profit music publishing company and not-for-profit recording company.
Since 1964, Jazzmobile has been presenting Free Outdoor Summer Mobile Concerts, bringing jazz musicians to the five boroughs of New York City, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Essex County, New Jersey, Westchester County, and several cities in upstate New York. Concerts are funded by the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and corporate sponsors such as Anheuser-Busch, ASCAP Foundation, Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation and Billy Taylor Foundation. Jazzmobile presents, as part of its outdoor concert series, 5 to 10 Afro-Latin/Jazz bands on the Jazzmobile's mobile band stage, annually. Jazzmobile is not a membership organization. Using a multi-arts approach (music, dance, drama, poetry, visual and media arts), Jazzmobile's program is designed to teach and encourage students to express themselves through the creative arts.
Ronnie Mathews (piano), a graduate from the Manhattan School of Music, has performed with Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Dexter Gordon, and Johnny Griffin. He has appeared on Broadway as the pianist for the Tony Award winning Broadway musical, "Black and Blue" and recorded on Spike Lee's movie, "Mo' Better Blues." Aside from the string of solo recordings done with various labels, he also teaches jazz piano workshops, clinics and masterclasses at Long Island UniversityinNew York City. In addition, he has published his book, Easy Piano of Thelonious Monk (1989).