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“Jazz means working things out
musically with other people... It
teaches you that the world is big
enough to accommodate us all.”
-Wynton Marsalis
Michigan Jazz Trail
Press & Media Kit
Our
roots
The making of the
Michigan Jazz Trail
The Michigan Jazz Trail was begun in 2010
by the organization’s executive director, Molly
McFadden, out of a passion for jazz music. Molly
envisioned a statewide “trail” or network of multiday jazz festivals destined to provide summer
entertainment while educating community
members on the art of the jazz form.
With help from like-minded artists and
community members, the Michigan Jazz Trail
conducted its first event, an ambitious one-day
jazz concert as part of the Midland Center for
the Arts’ MATRIX:MIDLAND. The overwhelming
community support in terms of financial
contributions, collaborative partnerships, and
concert attendance resulted in a highly successful
first-time effort and confirmed Midland’s
appreciation of the organization’s vision.
Over the next year, the Michigan Jazz Trail
organized as a nonprofit and established a board
of directors to oversee the organization with
founder, Molly McFadden, becoming executive
director. Strategic planning then ensured a focus
and operating guidelines for the organization. The
organization’s mission statement was also created:
To celebrate the rich heritage and many facets
of jazz and build a diverse audience through
education and entertainment.
1
Michigan has a rich heritage in the jazz art form
and the grassroots beginnings of jazz creates
broad appeal, representing the ability of the arts
to help people express themselves, find meaning
in their lives, and ultimately impact the lives of
others. As a performing organization, Michigan
Jazz Trail offers the Great Lakes Bay region the
chance to experience jazz through performances
and school clinics. We bring high quality jazz
education and performance to communities
throughout the region, creating hubs of activity,
places filled with enrichment, education, and
entertainment. We are engaging community
leaders and arts enthusiasts in a collaborative
economic development effort, presenting the jazz
art form to a diverse audience that cuts across age,
economic, and cultural demographics.
Since 2012, the Michigan Jazz Trail has expanded
its focus on performances and education to
include the entire Great Lakes Bay region,
including festival (multi-day) and concert (single
performance) venues in Midland, Bay City,
Saginaw, Charlevoix, and Tawas. With a variety
of year round festivals and individual concerts
across the region, the Michigan Jazz Trail offers
mid-Michigan communities easy access to both
local and national artists. In addition, some
venues offer jam sessions and jazz clinics at the
local high schools providing students with an
opportunity to “learn from the pros.” •
2
Contact us
Molly McFadden
Executive Director, Michigan Jazz Trail
Email - [email protected]
Website - MichiganJazzTrail.org
•
Molly McFadden, the co-founder and Executive
Director of the Michigan Jazz Trail, is a 2001
transplant from New York City, where she sang jazz
and performed in cabarets. She and her husband
owned and operated Molly’s Bistro in downtown
Midland for eight years, which presented jazz
music every weekend — ranging from jazz trios,
guitar soloists and jazz horns to the Harlem String
Quartet.
3
• 2010 - MATRIX:MIDLAND concert at MCFTA with Kevin Cole
900 in attendance
• 2011 - incorporation and organizational development; high
school clinic in Midland with the Big Band (15 students);
John Pizzarelli in concert in Midland (800 in attendance)
• 2012 - Jazz clinic for area high school students at Meridian
High School in Midland County (20 students); 4th of July
Dixie and Summer Jazz at Memorial Presbyterian Church;
three-day summer festival featuring national artists Ramsey
Lewis, Patrick Yandall, and in Saginaw, Bay City, and
Midland
• 2013 - Concert venues expanded to include Tawas
(approximately 1,300 residents and tourists attended these
events); Saginaw Youth Jazz Ensemble featured in concert
in Bay City (with more than 20 high school members); ACTSO musicians, including 4 musicians and 2 vocalists, were
featured in Bay City and Midland concerts; Wynton Marsalis
and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra concert in Saginaw
(approximately 1,460 people attended this event); First
Presbyterian Church concert in Saginaw and Celebration
Halleluja Holiday Concert in Midland featured ACT-SO
ensemble (total attendance was 650 people)
Timeline
Highlights and milestones
• 2014 - Concert venues again expanded to include Charlevoix
(200 attendees) and Saginaw’s premier community
event, PRIDE (1,000 attended); Valentine show in Bay City
featured female vocalists (500 attended); Jazz on Jefferson
in Midland featured student saxophonist Keon Beigzadeh
(450 attended); and Tawas’ summer concert drew 1,700
attendees; Jazzistry workshops with Vincent York began in
Midland Public elementary schools for 300 third and fourth
grade students
4
In the
press
The Jazz Trail
making headlines
CONTINUED FROM
THE BAY CITY TIMES • NOV 4, 2014
THIS PAGE
Bringing the “wow factor”
all across the state is the
idea McFadden had when
she began the Michigan Jazz
Trail five years ago.
“This all started because I
would meet some of these
musicians on the campuses
of Central Michigan University, Delta and Saginaw
Valley State University,” she
said. “I would go to little
concerts, and think, ‘Wow,
these guys are really good.
What if we put together a
big band and celebrate what
they do?’ ”
Lo and behold, the Michigan
Jazz Trail Festival was
established.
____________________
THE SAGINAW NEWS - DEC 12th, 2012
Midland’s ‘Magic of Winter’ heralds change
for Michigan Jazz Trail Festival
AS THE HOLIDAYS come
to a close, the Michigan Jazz Trail Big Band
again will gather for an
evening of intoxicating
arrangements and engaging guest artists.
But the free “Music of
Winter,” beginning at 6
p.m. Friday, Dec. 28, at
Memorial Presbyterian
Church, 1310 Ashman,
hearkens more than a
seasonal fanfare, says organizer Molly McFadden.
It’s the first foray into a
revamped Michigan Jazz
Trail Festival that over
the course of the coming
year will expand its reach
around the state.
CONTINUED ON
THIS PAGE
Video
To view a video that describes the Michigan
Jazz Trail’s purpose, passion, and goals,
open this YouTube link.
Photos
Click to open a full-resolution image in
your web browser. These images are free
for use to accompany articles or press releases related to the Michigan Jazz Trail.