Sounding Off with JOI

By Kendall Hardin

Kicking Off a Year Ahead

The Jazz Outreach Initiative — known as JOI — kicks off its Annual Fall Fundraising Campaign with a goal of $50,000 to fund its educational programs, festivals, guest artists and exceptional performances throughout the year.

The campaign starts at JOI’s performance at Notoriety on Sept. 2 and concludes after its Nov. 14 performance at the Starbright Theatre in Summerlin.

Summer’s Jammin’ with JOI

This month also brings to a close the sixth “Jammin’ with JOI” Summer Jazz Intensive, offered to kids over the summer as an introduction to the language of jazz music, improvisation and arranging. Grants from both the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts underwrite this free program for Las Vegas youth.

The classes are welcoming and nonthreatening, allowing kids to learn at their own pace — serving as a magnet for young musicians to join JOI’s Las Vegas Youth Jazz Orchestra (LVYJO).

Every Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m., Lucino’s Pizza on the East Side becomes the hot spot for JOI’s “Student & Pro Jam Sessions,” giving kids a chance to play onstage with a live local combo of professional musicians and mentors. Plus, the pizza’s great!

Saturday night jamming at Lucino’s Pizza

Mark Your Calendars Now!

JOI’s fall and spring calendar is already packed! Visit JOI’s website for full details and tickets.

On the first Wednesday each month, JOI presents its stellar Jazz Vegas Orchestra (JVO) — comprised of the finest jazz virtuosos in town — at Notoriety’s posh setting in Downtown Las Vegas.
Sept. 29 — JOI and Jazz Vegas Orchestra present “The Golden Age of Late Night — with Original Music of the Tonight Show Band!” at Myron’s at The Smith Center.
Nov. 14 — As a “Musical Salute to Veterans,” JOI and Jazz Vegas Orchestra present a “USO”-style musical big band concert at Summerlin’s Starbright Theatre.
Dec. 8 — JOI presents the sixth annual performance of “The Nutcracker Suite” by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, along with holiday classics and guest artists at Myron’s at The Smith Center.
Dec. 13 — JOI students in the Las Vegas Youth Jazz Orchestra and Combos present their Fall Semester Concert at CSN’s Morrison Recital Hall. At the concert, JOI reveals its “Jazz Routes” students, who receive free donated instruments along with donor-supported, yearlong private lessons they otherwise could not afford.
Feb. 12-13 — On Presidents Day weekend, the eighth annual Las Vegas Regional Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Festival takes place at UNLV. Licensed by Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, it is the most prestigious of more than two dozen regional Essentially Ellington festivals across the country. The event also includes clinics, master classes, jam sessions and opportunities to learn from world-renowned jazz musicians and educators.
Feb. 14 — JOI produces its Band Director Academy with full-day courses licensed by Jazz at Lincoln Center that “teach the teachers” how to improve jazz programs in their schools. The academy is approved for teacher licensure, step pay increases and even university credit.

Musician Eddie Rich mentors a student during "Jammin’ with JOI"

Changing Lives Through Jazz

According to JOI’s Executive Director Donny Thompson, “Jazz Outreach Initiative will continue to connect the language of music to the language of life — through education, outreach and performance programs for nearly 10,000 local kids a year. Much of this comes from partnerships with CSN and UNLV Schools of Music and our largest community partner, The Smith Center Education and Outreach Division, which sponsors JOI’s impressive in-school programs, such as ‘Buzzin' in Brass’ and ‘Swingin’ Strings,’ made available free of charge to exclusively Title I at-risk elementary schools.”

The annual “Jazz for Young People” concerts, licensed to Jazz Outreach Initiative by Jazz at Lincoln Center, bring in around 4,000 local students from across the Clark County School District to Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center with programs such as “What is Jazz?,” “Who is Ella Fitzgerald?” and this spring’s “What is Latin Jazz?”

“Jazz for Young People” features the acclaimed Jazz Vegas Orchestra and world-renowned guests, as students learn about jazz not only by listening but also by participating in the experience.

The “Jazz for Young People” concert at The Smith Center featuring “Who is Ella Fitzgerald?”

Approaching Its First Decade

JOI will celebrate its 10th anniversary in March 2027. It was founded in March 2017 by veteran musician and educator Gary Cordell and Las Vegas native, Jazz at Lincoln Center trumpeter and educator Kenny Rampton. Thompson joined them as JOI’s founding executive director.

With the backing of JOI’s board, community donors and local sponsors, in addition to well-earned grants from foundations and the public sector, JOI has flourished by showcasing the jazz legacy of Las Vegas, highlighting today’s jazz masters and building a future for young jazz artists while enriching the cultural music scene for jazz aficionados and new audiences.

Give JOI a Hand

You can applaud JOI’s ongoing success by becoming an ardent audience member, joining JOI’s mailing list, donating to its mission in the community or learning more about its programs at jazzoutreachinitiative.org.