Meet JSL President & CEO Victor Goines

Jazz St. Louis is pleased to have appointment of distinguished musician, composer, and educator, Victor Goines as our new President & Chief Executive Officer.

A renowned jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, Goines has been a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and the Wynton Marsalis Septet since 1993 and was recommended for the position by Marsalis. Goines succeeds Gene Dobbs Bradford, who led the organization for 23 years.

A son of New Orleans, Goines’ lengthy and impressive music career has more than 200 original works to his credit as composer; and as performer, he appears on numerous film scores including Ken Burns’ Jazz, and dozens of albums including ten as leader. In addition to his tenure with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Goines has performed with some of the top names in music including Terence Blanchard, Bob Dylan, Dizzy Gillespie, Dianne Reeves, Branford Marsalis, Diana Ross, Wayne Shorter, Chucho Valdez, and Stevie Wonder.

Goines will continue to perform around the world. “I will always be a part of the JALC family, returning to perform—especially the parts written for me like The Abyssinian Mass, Swing Symphony (official recording with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra), or The Music of Duke Ellington,” he says.

Goines most recently served as Director of Jazz Studies and Professor of Music at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. In his 14 years with Northwestern, he stewarded the Jazz Studies program into becoming one of the top programs internationally. Prior to Northwestern, Goines served for seven years as Artistic Director of Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School creating the curriculum and vision for what is now The Juilliard Jazz Studies Program. He has served as Education Consultant to Jazz at Lincoln Center since 1995.

Photo by Cedric Ellsworth

Not a newcomer to St. Louis or Jazz St. Louis, he says, “I remember the earliest days of JSL in the Hotel Majestic, to hanging in the back of the original Bistro, and performing with Wynton for the grand opening of the Harold and Dorothy Steward Center for Jazz.” His personal connections go even deeper having such St. Louis jazz luminaries as Jeremy Davenport as a student and Peter Martin as the pianist in the first band Goines led. “St. Louis’ connection to jazz runs deep and I look forward to working with the musicians and institutions of St. Louis to promote that fact to national audiences.”

“Jazz is alive and everywhere,” Goines said, “and we want people to see this city for what it is. It’s up to us to push the boundaries by listening to the various communities and meet them where they are with music.”

“As we look to the future of Jazz St. Louis, we are thrilled to have Victor at the helm with his extensive knowledge and connections to the jazz world,” said Bill Higley, previous Chair of the JSL Board of Directors. “His career in education and leadership in building programs with such storied institutions as Northwestern University and Julliard places him in the perfect place and time in Jazz St. Louis’ trajectory.”

Goines assumed his role as President and CEO in September of 2022. The St. Louis community’s first opportunity to meet and mingle with him as such was in October of 2022 at Jazz St. Louis’ fundraiser, Homecoming, hosted by Ozzie Smith and Yolonda Lankford.

Photo by Sarah Escarraz

In The News

St. Louis Public Radio | by Jeremy D. Goodwin

Jazz musician Victor Goines named president of Jazz St. Louis

St. Louis Post-Dispatch | by Kevin C. Johnson

JazzTimes | by Lee Mergner

Big 550 KTRS | by Ray Hartmann

St. Louis Business Journal | by Diana Barr