MPTF’s Jazz Across America Brings Jazz to All During Jazz Appreciation Month

March 1, 2025

Dan Beck  -  Trustee, Music Performance Trust Fund

As we all began to escape the COVID nightmare in early 2022, reorganizing live events and reactivating community programs was a huge challenge. It took time to regain traction. Meanwhile, the Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF) was experiencing an upswing in annual revenue, and we were eager to find ways to distribute our grants in a meaningful way.

We had often discussed the difficulties that jazz musicians faced, particularly in the various pockets of regional jazz throughout the US and Canada. Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) is celebrated in April. And April happens to be the last month of our fiscal year for grant giving.

To that end, we opened our policies and announced 100% grants for JAM. The response was beyond our expectations. In April 2022, we funded 270 admission-free jazz performances with grants totaling over $250,000. In 2023, grants for 575 performances totaled over $783,000. We were amazed by the response from AFM locals and their ability to organize these concerts successfully.

As we reviewed this success afterwards, we found lots of local press coverage. However, there was no major story about our success. Shortly thereafter, I read a quote from a major jazz celebrity lamenting that the jazz artform was disappearing. Had we just made a huge commitment to the genre and its musicians, but the music wasn’t loud enough?

I began looking for a media partner for 2024. Unfortunately, I could not get a response from the most well-known jazz brands. I Googled to see if there was someone out there who could help. Fortunately, I found Michael Ricci, founder of www.allaboutjazz.com and www.jazznearyou.com. He immediately recognized the possibilities, and after a follow-up meeting, his websites became our media partners. The AllAboutJazz site emphasized the editorial side of the music and the musicians, while JazzNearYou provided a calendar to list April 2024 performances.

Last year, our “Jazz Across America” campaign for JAM expanded to over 750 performances with an MPTF grant investment of over $1.1 million. We listed 600 performances on the www.jazznearyou.com website. The remaining 150 shows were in senior centers, assisted living facilities, or part of school programs.

There was another opportunity available to the musicians and to those who love to discover them. In April 2024, we produced 75 live streams via the MusicPerformanceTrustFund Facebook page. Never had there been such an effortless way to enjoy the talent that resonates with the many corners of our continent. This year, we invite you to find these treasures and enjoy the spirit of JAM.

Again this year, we anticipate exceeding the $1 million mark in support of jazz musicians. In reaching this mark, it will bring the MPTF JAM total to over 2,300 performances and a grant total of over $3.1 million since the last days of the pandemic. This year’s JAM initiative will represent about 20% of our annual grants for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

The jazz genre and regional jazz performers are alive and well! Help us celebrate your musicians and JAM with MPTF’s 2025 Jazz Across America.

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Music Performance Trust Fund Student Scholarships

The MPTF Scholarship initiative supports the children of musicians through Music Family Scholarships, and helps future musicians through Music’s Future Scholarships. A minimum of $150,000 will be awarded to students in fall 2025 through two scholarship programs:

➤Music Family Scholarships of $1,000 will be awarded to up to 75 recipients. This category is open to children of AFM members in good standing who plan to attend a college or trade school in fall 2025.

➤Music’s Future Scholarship is specifically for students majoring in music. A total of 30 recipients will each receive $2,500 toward their music degree.

Applications for 2025 scholarships will be accepted through May 31. Apply Now!

For more information and application forms, visit www.musicpf.org/home/scholarships

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