All That Jazz

New York and New Orleans aren’t the only cities for jazz. 

Right here in Philly is a vibrant jazz scene with a rich history and an ever-evolving generations of musicians. The city has been the home to jazz greats like John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and Christian McBride, all of whom have influenced the genre over the decades. 

Philly’s contribution to jazz is considerable, and many in the area wanted to recognize that fact. That desire ultimately led to the creation of Philly Jazz Month. 

Launched in 2025, Philly Jazz Month was created when a coalition of local music and arts organizations came together to dedicate the month of April — already nationally recognized as Jazz Appreciation Month — to all things Philly jazz. The initiative is led by Mid Atlantic Arts, Creative Philadelphia, WRTI, and Jazz Philadelphia, with four main goals, according to its website:

“Celebrate Philadelphia’s jazz community and historic legacy;” “support the local creative economy;” “share broader narratives of Philadelphia’s cultural identity;” and “promote cultural tourism in the Mid-Atlantic region.” 

“The month-long promotion of jazz and Philly is really coming from a place of love and deep admiration for these musicians,” says Ernest Stuart, the program director of jazz at Mid Atlantic Arts. 

As a Pennsauken, NJ native and trombonist, Stuart says he “grew up musically in Philly,” spending his teenage years traveling into the city for shows before attending Temple University.  He remained in Philly and became entwined in the city’s jazz scene, so much so that in 2012, he launched the Center City Jazz Festival, an influential prelude to Philly Jazz Month. 

That festival began as a day of diverse jazz performances across several walkable venues in the neighborhood. The experience taught Stuart how to run large-scale events, from fundraising to building meaningful connections. The festival ran until 2023, with a three-year hiatus due to Covid. During that time, Stuart earned a master’s degree in nonprofit management, which ultimately led him to his current position at Mid Atlantic Arts.

When he began thinking about expanding beyond a single-day event, his organization got together with Creative Philadelphia, the city’s office of arts and culture. Philly Jazz Month became one of the first major initiatives for Val Gay, Creative Philadelphia’s chief cultural officer and a multidisciplinary performer, who assumed the role in April 2024.

“I learned that Ernest and the Mid Atlantic Arts wanted to do something called Philly Jazz Week, where they would take their beautiful program…and turn it into something more active during a week and add an education component,” Gay says. “I basically came to them like, “Let’s partner.’”

Behind the scenes, Stuart, Gay, their colleagues, and the folks from Jazz Philadelphia and WRTI meet regularly outside of their standard work hours to make progress on the initiative. Building a schedule of events, securing grant funding for musicians and educators, and promoting the month are a few ways the team works to bring the month to life. 

Now, with two successful years completed, Philly Jazz Month has become a celebration filled with more than 30 performances and educational opportunities across the city. Latin jazz orchestras, a jazz crawl in East Passyunk, multi-day vinyl listening series, and a children’s literary event are just some of the diverse events that were featured this year.

 “One of the things we wanted to make sure was, ‘How are we engaging the overall community? Are we making sure that everyone can see themselves, and if so, how do we do that?’” Gay says. 

The Sunday Jazz Over the City event, held at Rail Park in Callowhill on April 19, was one example of how Philly Jazz Month’s programming reached the broader community. Philly saxophonist Mervin Toussaint and his band performed a vibrant concert in the park, drawing in listeners of all ages. While many attendees planned in advance to be at this free event, others stumbled across it.

“It’s so important to have accessible performances and places that people can go for free and hear music,” Stuart says. 

Here in Fishtown, the Black Squirrel Club — an eclectic music and private event venue set insidein a 1890s steam plant — hosts Monday night jazz jam sessions, bringing in new and old jazz musicians across the city and beyond. And for April, they hosted additional showcases. Local drummer Nazir Ebo performed an immersive set alongside his band on Sunday, April 14, bringing in a crowd of nearly 100 people. 

“It was electric. It had a really good vibe to it,” says Gabor Antalics, the owner of the venue. “And it was just really great to see new faces coming in that didn’t know about [the Black Squirrel], but are now coming in regularly.”