“Jazz Education is an important part of our mission here at Wharton Arts and we are committed to offering our students high-level opportunities to learn and perform jazz throughout the year. The free Jazz Listening Series is a way for us to extend an invitation to the wider community to learn about jazz history and celebrate the legacies of early Black jazz artists, recognizing jazz as the foundation of popular music such as rock n’ roll, R&B, soul, and more.”- Helen H. Cha-Pyo, Artistic Director-Principal Conductor

The Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts (WIPA) celebrates Black History Month with a virtual Jazz History and Masters Listening Hour Series every Saturday from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. EST during the month of February. Learn about the origins and development of jazz genres, including historical icons and their influence on particular jazz styles and trends, as well as an exploration of jazz’s social implications in a broader historical context. Led by award-winning saxophonist Dave Schumacher, the Jazz History and Masters Listening Hour Series is free and open to the public. To register to attend, visit WhartonArts.org

“I hope many people will join our esteemed jazz faculty, Dave Schumacher, on Saturday mornings in February,”, continued Cha-Pyo, “and listen to this ‘triumphant music’ as best described by Martin Luther King, Jr.: ’Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life’s difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph. This is triumphant music.’”

Jazz History & Masters Listening Hour Series

All classes take place at 9:00 a.m. EST via Zoom. Classes are FREE.

 Saturday, February 6: Jazz History and Listening Survey I

Part I of a survey of the history of Jazz music through listening, briefly touching on each of the eras from Early Jazz in the late 19th century through the Bebop Era ending in the ’50s.

Saturday, February 13: Jazz History and Listening Survey II

Part II of a survey of the history of Jazz music through listening, briefly touching on each of the eras of Jazz from the mid-50s Hard Bop/Cool eras through the present.

 Saturday, February 20: Jazz Masters Series – Louis Armstrong

An examination through listening and commentary of Jazz Master Louis Armstrong, considered by many the greatest soloist and one of the most influential Jazz artists of all time.

Saturday, February 27: Jazz Masters Series – Mary Lou Williams

An examination through listening and commentary of Jazz Master Mary Lou Williams. Williams was a great pianist, arranger and informal educator who influenced many younger Jazz musicians including Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, and Tadd Dameron at informal sessions at her apartment. Mary Lou Williams came to prominence in the 1930s when very few women in Jazz received their due.

About Dave Schumacher

Chicago native Dave Schumacher has been a key player in the New York jazz scene for more than three decades, touring throughout the United States and internationally with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, the Art Blakely Big Band, T.S. Monk on Monk Ensemble, Nicholas Payton’s Louis Armstrong Tribute Big Band, and as an original member of the Harry Connick, Jr. Orchestra. To learn more, visit jazzbarisac.com

About WIPA

The Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts’ (WIPA) mission is to provide the highest quality performing arts education to a wide range of students in a supportive and inclusive environment, where striving for personal excellence inspires and connects those they teach to the communities they serve.

Wharton is New Jersey’s largest independent non-profit community performing arts education center serving over 1,200 students through a range of classes and ensembles including the 15 ensembles of the New Jersey Youth Symphony, which serve 500 students in grades 3 – 12 by audition. WIPA is located in Berkeley Heights, New Providence and Paterson, NJ and reaches students from 10 counties. All of Wharton’s extraordinary faculty members and conductors hold degrees in their teaching specialty and have been vetted and trained to enable their students to achieve their personal best. To learn more, visit WhartonArts.org

 Events of Note

Jews and Blacks in the Civil Rights Era and Now — Fact and Fiction

Why were there Jews on both sides, and the sidelines, of the civil rights movement? What was the role of Judaism in the activism of young people in the 1960s? What are the implications for the streets of America today? Explore these questions and others on the reality of the relationship between the Jewish and Black communities in this session led by Billy Planer, director and founder of Etgar 36

Tue, Feb 9 pm, 7–8:15 pm, Free. To register, visit

 mmjccm.org/programs/jews-and-blacks-civil-rights-era-and-now-fact-and-fiction#utm_source=CSR&utm_medium=JIAmulti1-28-21&utm_campaign=jbcivilrights

Justice in Action: Desegregating NYC’s Public Schools

 New York City public schools are among the most segregated in the nation, more than 65 years after Brown vs Board of Education. Students, educators, and activists have been organizing for the past five years to demand change. Join JCC Social Justice Activist in Residence Ruth Messinger and NYC Council Member Brad Lander for a virtual conversation on NYC’s history of school segregation and what it would take to build a better and fairer school system.

Thu, Feb 18, 7:30–8:30 pm, Free. For tickets, visit

mmjccm.org/programs/justice-action-desegregating-nycs-public-schools#utm_source=CSR&utm_medium=JIAmulti1-28-21&utm_campaign=desegregating

(Mabel Pais writes on Social Issues, The Arts and Entertainment, Spirituality, and Health & Wellness)