Blues Alley Jazz Society

The Blues Alley Jazz Society ("Society") was founded in 1985 by then internationally-renowned jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and its corresponding nightclub namesake located in here our Nation's Capitol. The Blues Alley Jazz Society is dedicated to the musical philosophy of youth, jazz and education and tries to achieve that ambition.

Now in its 20 th anniversary year it has singularly been responsible for the formation of the Blues Alley Youth Orchestra designed to benefit Washington area student musicians, Blues Alley "Summer Jazz Camp" at Carter Barron in cooperation with the Mayor's Youth Employment Program, the BIG BAND JAM! during Jazz Appreciation Month© annually in April and is creating an educational partnership with the venerable Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Through a series of systemic partnerships with leading area agencies and institutions it has formulated alliances with the National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, National Endowment for the Arts, DC Commission on the Arts and others including many jazz-industry giants. The Society places a premium on youth, jazz education through the formulation of public-private partnerships by providing a free and open performance-oriented opportunity for children of the Washington metropolitan area.

Sponsors of their programs have historically included parks, museums, banks, embassies, corporations, municipal and social service agencies and other non-profit organizations similarly dedicated to musical arts education. In an era in which funding for musical arts education has sadly disappeared the Society continues to extend itself to those less fortunate or disenfranchised from society's mainstream and invites you to do so too.

Contributions are appreciated and can be made directly on-line or mailed to the Society also. The Blues Alley Jazz Society is a fully-recognized, tax-deductible, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with its offices registered in the District of Columbia. For more information on how to contribute please contact us at ExecutiveDirector@BluesAlley.org.