
JALC education program participants at Frederick P. Rose Hall, courtesy of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) has long stood as a global steward of jazz, the music that shaped American identity, and which the organization believes is a metaphor for democracy. Through its partnership with the NBA Foundation, JALC continues to extend the power of jazz to the next generation, connecting young Black musicians with opportunity, mentorship and community through programs rooted in excellence.
From early childhood learning and international high school festivals to college-level intensives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), the foundation’s support helps Jazz at Lincoln Center deliver more than music education; it creates lasting cultural infrastructure for Black talent to thrive.
“We’re not just teaching notes,” said Todd Stoll, Vice President of Education at Jazz at Lincoln Center. “We’re teaching voice, we’re teaching dignity and we’re teaching possibility.”

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, courtesy of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Serving the city that swings
While Jazz at Lincoln Center’s impact spans the world, its roots run deep in New York City. Each year, thousands of local students and families engage with JALC programs right at home. Whether through curricula for all ages, in-school concerts in all five boroughs, free workshops at the organization’s home Frederick P. Rose Hall, or community classes in libraries and neighborhood centers, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and the organization’s education faculty are reshaping how jazz performance and appreciation are taught.
In the 2023-24 season alone, JALC hosted over 2,600 classes, concerts, workshops and presentations, including more than 300 Let Freedom Swing concerts in nine cities, and nearly 500 classes across three Middle School Jazz Academy (MSJA) locations in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn. These programs were offered free of charge to more than 45,000 students and families, many in under-resourced urban neighborhoods.
JALC’s MSJA program provides over 60 New York middle school students each year with intensive instruction in jazz language, ensemble performance, and improvisation. Classes run for 26 weeks and culminate in live performances at JALC’s venues.
Early learners participate in WeBop, a jazz education program for children under seven and their caregivers, which now runs over 15 weekly classes per term with enrollment near full capacity. The curriculum blends music, movement and storytelling to introduce children to jazz legends like Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong while building community among families.
And through Let Freedom Swing, JALC brings live music and history into NYC public schools, connecting jazz to lessons in democracy, identity, and civil rights.
These programs are not one-time experiences; they’re long-term investments. Students return year after year. Families build traditions around concerts. And schools count on JALC’s presence as a cornerstone of arts education.

Alphonso Horne performs, courtesy of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
A national pipeline for young musicians
Beyond New York, Jazz at Lincoln Center works to make jazz education a national standard. Through programs like Jazz for Young People and Essentially Ellington, JALC equips schools, educators and students across the country with the tools to build their own jazz ecosystems.
Essentially Ellington, now in its 30th year, provides students with access to professional-level arrangements, rehearsal recordings, educator guides, and workshops. This year alone, the program reached over 39,000 students across 1,400+ ensembles, many in public and Title I schools.
The program culminates in an annual international festival at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s home in Manhattan, where the world’s top high school age bands are selected to perform and are mentored by JLCO members on the same stage that has welcomed generations of jazz legends.
“Essentially Ellington isn’t just a program, it’s a rite of passage,” Stoll said. “It gives students around the world the chance to learn this music at the highest level, regardless of their background.”
Supporting the next generation of HBCU leaders
The NBA Foundation has also been instrumental in launching Jazz Mentors, a growing initiative that brings JALC’s teaching artists directly to HBCU campuses. In its first year, the program engaged 15 partner schools, delivering in-person clinics, sectional training and professional development workshops for both students and band directors.
In April, Jazz Mentors hosted a multi-day Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra & Virginia Arts Festival residency in Norfolk, VA, where 12 HBCUs gathered for mentoring, competition and community building. Florida A&M University emerged as the top band and opened for the JLCO, joined on stage by trombonist and Florida A&M University alum Vincent Gardner.
In total, Jazz Mentors impacted over 2,000 participants and attendees, with plans to expand even further in the coming year. Through this initiative, Jazz at Lincoln Center is building an intentional pipeline to support Black musicians at every stage of their journey, from public school student to collegiate artist to professional performer or educator.

Wynton Marsalis (fifth from right) meets with HBCU band directors, courtesy of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Where history meets innovation
Black Music Month is not only a time to honor the past, but to invest in the future. Jazz at Lincoln Center’s collaboration with the NBA Foundation does both, celebrating the legacy of jazz while giving young people the tools to carry it forward.
This season, Jazz at Lincoln Center added 141 new works to its performance library, including 20 commissioned compositions and 74 new arrangements, many of which are already in use across its education programs. In preserving these works and archiving concerts, JALC is actively building the most comprehensive living record of jazz in the world.
It’s not only preserving the culture, it’s pushing it forward.
Together, the NBA Foundation and Jazz at Lincoln Center are shaping a new landscape, one where jazz isn’t just remembered, it’s lived. Through mentorship, visibility and access, they are helping young people find their sound and place in the tradition.
Jazz isn’t a museum piece. It’s a living, breathing language of freedom. And this partnership ensures it will keep evolving, led by young Black artists who embody its future.