Jazz Is Society of Alberta

JazzYYC is Calgary’s jazz collaborative. There’s strength when we work together. JazzYYC presents, supports and promotes jazz in Calgary year around.

Vision: To serve and nourish the growing and vibrant jazz community in Calgary and beyond.

Mission: A sustainable society creating and facilitating accessible, memorable jazz experiences.

The jazz community in Calgary represents a diverse collection of audience members, musicians, venues, educators, presenters, promoters and financiers, who share a common desire for a vibrant jazz scene where they can hear, perform and study jazz year-round.

JazzYYC supports the presentation of high quality jazz performance, the education of jazz musicians and the appreciation of the jazz genre through our core programs:
• The JazzYYC Youth Lab Band nurtures the next generation of artists with professional instruction, mentoring and performance opportunities.
• The Illuminate concert series brings together Canadian and international touring acts as well as local and regional jazz artists. The series emphasizes special projects and collaborations from September through June.
• The JazzYYC Canadian Jazz Festival in November focuses on established and emerging Canadian artists living in Calgary, Canada and abroad.
• UN International Jazz Day brings the global jazz party to Calgary on April 30th each year. Through collaboration with roughly 30 organizations, we take jazz across Calgary . The week-long Celebration of Youth in Jazz showcases Calgary’s youth jazz bands working with some of North America’s top jazz musicians.
• The JazzYYC Summer Festival in June celebrates leading local, national and international jazz artists. The Summer Festival also offers and extensive education and outreach program.

JazzYYC promotes jazz events and facilitates the connection between musicians and audience through our jazz listings at www.jazzyyc.com and our free weekly newsletter.

JazzYYC encourages community partnerships and education programs for young jazz musicians throughout the city.

Our programming mandate emphasizes improving the accessibility of the music, facilitated by: i) diversity in programming; ii) diversity in audience; iii) a broad mix of local, regional, national and international artists; and, iv) artist collaboration. The underlying core value in all programming and expansion is a measured, sustainable and transparent financial approach.

Eduction
Education for jazz artists is a high priority for JazzYYC as it is critical in the development of the next generation of jazz musicians. Our jazz education program includes training, mentoring and performance for young artists, scholarships and professional development opportunities for established artists and opportunities for public performance and collaboration with touring artists (Illuminate). Together, these artist and audience programs will preserve the jazz genre by enhancing the artistic merit of jazz performance and developing a more knowledgeable and appreciative jazz audience.

The JazzYYC Youth Lab Band, created in 2013, lets outstanding secondary students advance their jazz skills by studying with professional jazz musicians and educators. Participants must be enrolled in a school band program. Weekly rehearsals are held from September to June and several performances are given. Workshops are organized with the leading jazz musicians performing in the JazzYYC Illuminate series.

JazzYYC works closely with other jazz presenters in Calgary to capitalize on jazz education opportunities that come with touring artists. Our collaborations with CADME and MRU provide performance opportunities for other Calgary student ensembles by featuring them as opening acts at our series and festival concerts.

Professional development for established artists includes a scholarship program, performances and creative collaborations. Artistic collaborations through JazzYYC presentations have provided established musicians the opportunity to meet, play with and benefit from the ideas and expertise of the broader, global jazz community. Working with very advanced jazz performers and composers enriches the professional and artistic lives of the musicians involved, and the community as a whole.

Governance
JazzYYC was formed as the Jazz Is Society of Alberta in 1999 and has operated under the trade name, JazzYYC, since 2012. Our mandate was shaped through extensive community consultations in 2011. JazzYYC is led by a strong Board of Directors and supported by volunteers who give their time to work on various committees and support our events. All of the Board members share a vision of what jazz can contribute to the cultural fabric of Calgary. In addition to the Board, we have working committees for programming, education, event coordination, marketing, membership, volunteer coordination and fundraising.

JazzYYC is a registered charity.