International Jazz Day AZ's mission is to promote, preserve, perpetuate, and encourage the music, culture, and heritage of communities in Arizona through producing festivals, music education programs, and other cultural, educational, civic, and economic activities. We provide free music classes and instruments to kids at Risk.

SAVE MESA'SJAZZDAY FESTIVAL

Celebrating Black History Month

The Mesa International Jazz Day Festival has filled Mesa, Arizona, with music, dance, and entertainment for seven unforgettable years. But next year's celebration is in jeopardy as the Mesa Arts Center faces financial constraints. This news has stunned organizers and locals who have come to love this event year after year. Now, local organizations are uniting to form Save Mesa's Jazz Festival Committee. Led by a group of pastors and community organizers, they're working tirelessly to find sponsorships and alternative resources to ensure the 8th anniversary of this special event isn't lost. We can preserve this cultural tradition and keep jazz alive in Mesa.

Read on to learn everything about the Mesa International Jazz Day Festival and Grassroots Movement and why it is our responsibility to SAVE it.

Giving students access to instruments and music education

Uniting Arizona around International Jazz Day

Providing Cultural Enrichment through festivals and events

SAVE THESE DATES APRIL 12th,
Mesa Amphitheater Center,
Scottsdale Center For the Arts (outside),
27th & 28th, 2024
SCOTTSDALE JAZZ FEST 2023
WAS A SUCCESS

Founder and Executive Director of Local Jazz Day AZ Foundation Joins Worldwide 'International Jazz Day' Organization as a Partner!

United States Delegate
William "Doc" Jones

International Jazz Day is made possible thanks to the voluntary efforts of organizers at all levels of civil society in more than 190 countries worldwide. Whether small or large, organizations have an important role to play in facilitating the global celebration, lending their resources and accumulated expertise to curate multifaceted programs that make significant impacts on the local community.

Thanks to these efforts, International Jazz Day has become a widely anticipated moment on municipal and regional cultural calendars, promoting capacity building in the relevant cultural sectors and increased awareness of jazz and its role as a vector for peace and intercultural dialogue. The International Jazz Day organization recognizes those institutions who have generously devoted their time and resources to ensuring that International Jazz Day is celebrated in a way that truly reflects its global identity.

Excerpts from a recent interview with 'International Jazz Day':

Tell us a little about your organization’s mission.
We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission to unite the state around a resolution proclaiming April 30 International Jazz Day in the State of Arizona.

Why does your organization celebrate International Jazz Day?
Not only have I been a professional jazz musician for 30 years, I have also been a music educator using jazz as a means to reduce crime in my community, as well as to promote staying in school for young people at risk.

Tell us about a favorite memory from International Jazz Day.
My favorite memory is when the full Arizona House and Senate, as well as the Governor and eight Mayors from around the State all presented us with a proclamation declaring April 30th International Jazz Day, as well as our 2nd “Jazz At Lunch Time” at the State Capitol.

How do you think jazz can improve people’s lives?
It allows those who are listening or playing this form of music the opportunity to be creative.

WHAT WE DO

The International Jazz Day AZ Foundation is an Arizona-based 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the virtues of jazz in education, economic development, and cultural enrichment.