Love jazz and want to get involved?
Jazz St. Louis offers many more ways for you to embrace the music outside of the performances. As the foremost jazz presenter in St. Louis and throughout the region, we maintain strong connections within our community and provide a variety of engaging programs.
Take a look below to see how you can immerse yourself in a community of like-minded jazz enthusiasts, academics, and musicians:
Volunteer with Us
Volunteers play a critical role in helping us bring Jazz to our community, and we are grateful for their dedication to Jazz St. Louis. We offer a variety meaningful ways for volunteers to share their talents and time in support of our mission. Throughout the year, volunteers can take up roles in two capacities: for the Ferring Jazz Bistro and for our Special Events.
Whitaker Jazz Speaks Performance & Lecture Series
The Whitaker Jazz Speaks Performance & Lecture Series gives jazz music a voice through which to share stories, draw connections, and generate new meaning for this treasured American art form. Curated for the audience to experience relevant social, historical, and cultural topics through the lens of jazz, each program includes a deep dive into a historical or social aspect of jazz in various mediums led by a subject expert and includes a live-music performance.
Book Club
The Jazz St. Louis book club is facilitated by Dr. Gerald Early. Early is a Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters, Professor of English and of African and Afro-American Studies, Director of the Center for Humanities, and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences at Washington University. This book club season features six reads that have been carefully selected by Early to highlight important jazz figures.
The Next Set
Produced by St. Louis Public Radio in partnership with Jazz St. Louis, The Next Set: From Jazz St. Louis brings the improvisational art of live jazz music, performed from the Ferring Jazz Bistro stage, into the ears of listeners across the region. The show includes interviews with local and national artists.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, a community of lifelong learners age 50+, Jazz St. Louis present an 8-week course entitled Why Jazz Matters. This course provides a captivating exploration into the essence of jazz music and its significant role in 20th century history. Participants will engage with the unique characteristics of jazz and its influence on various music genres, deepening their understanding of this transformative art form.
Clark Terry Jazz Ambassador Award
In celebrating the legacy of St. Louis’ own jazz legend Clark Terry, the annual Clark Terry Jazz Ambassador Award recognizes someone in the St. Louis region who inspires and furthers a love of jazz in young people. Nominees use jazz as a vehicle to positively influence the lives of young people, and the winner is chosen by JSL staff and members of JSL’s Education Advisory Board.