The Jazz Arts Foundation has awarded its 2017 Duke Madison Memorial Scholarship to Thomas Kikuchi. The son of Ken and Paige Kikuchi, Thomas is currently a Senior at Lafayette High School and is a member of the Central Kentucky Youth Jazz Arts Orchestra (CKYO JAO). His primary focus is the piano, but he is also accomplished on the drums. After graduation Thomas plans on majoring in engineering at Northwestern University. By accepting this award, Thomas will be granted tuition and lodging at Jamey Aebersold’s Summer 2017 Jazz Workshop in Louisville, KY. This workshop has the well-deserved reputation for producing the […]

There will be no board meeting in May as determined by the Executive Committee via email. The next board meeting date, time and location will be determined by the Executive Committee and conveyed to Directors via email and posting to this website.

The Bylaws committee submitted their recommendations for updating the JAF Bylaws at the March 1, 2017 Board Meeting and they were approved unanimously by the Directors present. One significant change is the addition of a formal Executive Committee (EC) including the definition of an EC, Membership in the EC and the Duties of EC members. You can view the new Bylaws in PDF format by clicking on the “Documents” tab and then clicking on the “JAF Bylaws” button or by clicking HERE.

Jazz Appreciation Month (fondly known as “JAM”) was created at the Smithsonian museum in 2002 to herald and celebrate the extraordinary heritage and history of jazz for the entire month of April. JAM is intended to stimulate and encourage people of all ages to participate in jazz – to study the music, attend concerts, listen to jazz on radio and recordings, read books about jazz, and more. This year, being the centennial of jazz icon Ella Fitzgerald, JAM 2017 will celebrate women in jazz. Beyond the traditional female vocalist, there are also many great composers, arrangers, orchestrators, and instrumentalists who […]

JAF has rescheduled the planned February Board Meeting to Wednesday, March 1st at 7PM in the Small Meeting Room at the Tates Creek Library, 3628 Walden Dr., Lexington, KY.

There will be no board meeting in January as determined by the Board of Directors at the November 16 meeting. The next board meeting date and time will be determined by the Executive Committee and conveyed to board members via email and posting to the website.

The Jazz Arts Foundation congratulates charter members and past board members Chester Grundy and Miles Osland for their recognition for their work with the Arts and Jazz at the 2016 Governor’s Awards in the Arts. Chester and his wife Msiba Ann received top honor – the Milner Award for outstanding philanthropic contributions to the Arts – for their contributions to the cultural life of Lexington and the University of Kentucky. Accepting the award, Chester spoke about the importance of the arts in a humane society – “Art nourishes the souls of our children and reveals to them the deepest levels […]

The September 25th Jazz on the Porch Series performance at Talon Winery, sponsored by O’Donnell Family Dentistry, and hosted by The Jazz Arts Foundation, Inc., was a huge success. Backbeat was the featured group for the afternoon and I am going to start this blog by giving you my first impression.  I pulled into an up front and close to the stage parking spot (like all parking at Talon Winery) opened the door of my vehicle and was immediately taken aback by the most rich soulful guitar sounds filled with the heat of the day and the hearts of the […]

Please note that the Executive Committee of JAF has cancelled the October 5, 2016 Board Meeting. The next Board Meeting has not been scheduled yet, but will be posted here and an email will be sent to all Board Members when it is.

The Jazz Arts Foundation, Inc. is deeply saddened to report that Charter Member and long time Board of Director, Frank Hamilton, passed away the morning of September 16, 2016. Frank and his wife, Helen, were staunch supporters of JAF and Jazz music and Frank will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Click HERE for the Lexington Herald-Leader obituary.