Afro Latin Jazz Alliance Merges with Music for Tomorrow, Uniting Two Standout Music Nonprofits
New York, NY, December 13, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Two seminal music nonprofits, Afro Latin Jazz Alliance (ALJA) and Music for Tomorrow (MFT), merge in an effort to bolster their compatible missions of aiding in the prosperity and future of jazz music. Based in NYC, ALJA is dedicated to preserving the music and heritage of Afro Latin jazz, supporting its performance for new audiences, and educating youth in the understanding of this important cultural treasure. MFT is a New Orleans-focused organization that initially assisted displaced musicians in returning to post-Katrina New Orleans but now helps jazz artists across America find meaningful performance opportunities. Marietta Ulacia, ALJA’s Executive Director, is available for interviews.
"We started MFT to promote jazz musicians, and we’ve done just that – booking hundreds of gigs and generating thousands of dollars in income for musicians,” says Kabir Sehgal, co-founder of MFT. “It’s a sustainable model that enables musicians to do what they love. I am proud of what our all-volunteer team has accomplished,” says Kabir Sehgal, co-founder of MFT.
Richard Casavechia, Chairman of MFT, states, “We are excited to partner with the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, an organization that shares our goals and is blessed with terrific leadership, so we can take our efforts to the next level. The merger is also a symbol of the shared heritage of jazz, and how the music of New Orleans has been influenced by Latin music for over a hundred years."
Arturo O’Farrill, founder of ALJA adds, “It’s a true pleasure to join forces with Music forTomorrow. Their team has afforded the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance the privilege of assuming some of the responsibilities of this great organization. MFT provides a unique framework for real musicians who play creative music, in both connecting them with performance opportunities and creating new streams of culture. We're very happy with this new partnership, which provides a platform for the Alliance to expand its reach and services to the field."
About Music For Tomorrow
Music For Tomorrow (MFT) is a non-profit 501c3 organization whose mission is to stimulate the creative economy by fostering performance opportunities for jazz musicians across the country. Through these efforts, it seeks to raise public awareness of the beauty of jazz music, as well as the extraordinary culture it offers.
MFT launched in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. In an effort to help displaced jazz musicians, MFT created performance opportunities for jazz musicians and raise awareness about jazz music. It was founded by Kabir Sehgal, Brent Reidy, Alexa Pulitzer, Jude Law and Kashi Sehgal.
Today, MFT’s online band booking service provides performance opportunities while connecting jazz musicians with audiences. MFT enables folks to find and book musicians quickly and within budget, creating more access to jazz music while extending the music's reach. MFT has demonstrated significant impact, generating over 200 gigs and over $75,000 in income for musicians.
In keeping with the mission to help the creative economy, MFT requests a voluntary donation for each gig booked. These donations perpetuate MFT's band booking service, which ensures more performance opportunities and jobs, for musicians, while growing the jazz audience and celebrating the traditions of New Orleans.
Over the years, MFT has garnered notable supporters such as Dave Matthews, Wynton Marsalis, Blythe Danner, and Michel Camilo, who serve on the Board of Advisors.
For more information on Music For Tomorrow, please visit: www.musicfortomorrow.org
About Afro Latin Jazz Alliance
The non-profit Afro Latin Jazz Alliance (ALJA) was established by Arturo O'Farrill in 2007 to promote Afro Latin Jazz through a comprehensive array of performances, educational programs, recordings and international cultural diplomacy initiatives. ALJA self produces the Orchestra's annual performance season at Symphony Space (2007 - 2014), and maintains a weekly engagement for the Orchestra at the famed jazz club Birdland. The Alliance also maintains a world-class collection of Latin Jazz musical scores and recordings. ALJA's education initiatives include the Afro Latin Jazz Academy of Music in-school residency program serving public schools citywide with instrumental and ensemble instruction, and the pre-professional youth orchestra, the Fat Afro Latin Jazz Cats, which prepares the next generation of musicians. The Afro Latin Jazz Alliance is a partner project of the Fund for the City of New York and maintains an administrative office at the Harlem School of the Arts -- The Herb Alpert Center where O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra are currently artists-in-residence.
Arturo O'Farrill's debut album with the Orchestra, Una Noche Inolvidable, earned a GRAMMY® Award nomination in 2006 and the Orchestra's second album, Song for Chico, (ZOHO) earned a GRAMMY® Award for "Best Latin Jazz Album" in 2009. In February 2011, Mr. O'Farrill and the ALJO released their third GRAMMY® nominated album, 40 Acres and a Burro (ZOHO). In 2011, O'Farrill released his first solo album, The Noguchi Sessions, (ZOHO). On May 6, 2014, O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra released their latest album, The Offense of the Drum, on Motéma Music, which is nominated for a GRAMMY® for "Best Latin Jazz Album." Chico O'Farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra's Final Night at Birdland(ZOHO) won the 2014 Latin GRAMMY® Award for "Best Instrumental Album".
For more information on the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, please visit www.afrolatinjazz.org.
"We started MFT to promote jazz musicians, and we’ve done just that – booking hundreds of gigs and generating thousands of dollars in income for musicians,” says Kabir Sehgal, co-founder of MFT. “It’s a sustainable model that enables musicians to do what they love. I am proud of what our all-volunteer team has accomplished,” says Kabir Sehgal, co-founder of MFT.
Richard Casavechia, Chairman of MFT, states, “We are excited to partner with the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, an organization that shares our goals and is blessed with terrific leadership, so we can take our efforts to the next level. The merger is also a symbol of the shared heritage of jazz, and how the music of New Orleans has been influenced by Latin music for over a hundred years."
Arturo O’Farrill, founder of ALJA adds, “It’s a true pleasure to join forces with Music forTomorrow. Their team has afforded the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance the privilege of assuming some of the responsibilities of this great organization. MFT provides a unique framework for real musicians who play creative music, in both connecting them with performance opportunities and creating new streams of culture. We're very happy with this new partnership, which provides a platform for the Alliance to expand its reach and services to the field."
About Music For Tomorrow
Music For Tomorrow (MFT) is a non-profit 501c3 organization whose mission is to stimulate the creative economy by fostering performance opportunities for jazz musicians across the country. Through these efforts, it seeks to raise public awareness of the beauty of jazz music, as well as the extraordinary culture it offers.
MFT launched in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. In an effort to help displaced jazz musicians, MFT created performance opportunities for jazz musicians and raise awareness about jazz music. It was founded by Kabir Sehgal, Brent Reidy, Alexa Pulitzer, Jude Law and Kashi Sehgal.
Today, MFT’s online band booking service provides performance opportunities while connecting jazz musicians with audiences. MFT enables folks to find and book musicians quickly and within budget, creating more access to jazz music while extending the music's reach. MFT has demonstrated significant impact, generating over 200 gigs and over $75,000 in income for musicians.
In keeping with the mission to help the creative economy, MFT requests a voluntary donation for each gig booked. These donations perpetuate MFT's band booking service, which ensures more performance opportunities and jobs, for musicians, while growing the jazz audience and celebrating the traditions of New Orleans.
Over the years, MFT has garnered notable supporters such as Dave Matthews, Wynton Marsalis, Blythe Danner, and Michel Camilo, who serve on the Board of Advisors.
For more information on Music For Tomorrow, please visit: www.musicfortomorrow.org
About Afro Latin Jazz Alliance
The non-profit Afro Latin Jazz Alliance (ALJA) was established by Arturo O'Farrill in 2007 to promote Afro Latin Jazz through a comprehensive array of performances, educational programs, recordings and international cultural diplomacy initiatives. ALJA self produces the Orchestra's annual performance season at Symphony Space (2007 - 2014), and maintains a weekly engagement for the Orchestra at the famed jazz club Birdland. The Alliance also maintains a world-class collection of Latin Jazz musical scores and recordings. ALJA's education initiatives include the Afro Latin Jazz Academy of Music in-school residency program serving public schools citywide with instrumental and ensemble instruction, and the pre-professional youth orchestra, the Fat Afro Latin Jazz Cats, which prepares the next generation of musicians. The Afro Latin Jazz Alliance is a partner project of the Fund for the City of New York and maintains an administrative office at the Harlem School of the Arts -- The Herb Alpert Center where O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra are currently artists-in-residence.
Arturo O'Farrill's debut album with the Orchestra, Una Noche Inolvidable, earned a GRAMMY® Award nomination in 2006 and the Orchestra's second album, Song for Chico, (ZOHO) earned a GRAMMY® Award for "Best Latin Jazz Album" in 2009. In February 2011, Mr. O'Farrill and the ALJO released their third GRAMMY® nominated album, 40 Acres and a Burro (ZOHO). In 2011, O'Farrill released his first solo album, The Noguchi Sessions, (ZOHO). On May 6, 2014, O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra released their latest album, The Offense of the Drum, on Motéma Music, which is nominated for a GRAMMY® for "Best Latin Jazz Album." Chico O'Farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra's Final Night at Birdland(ZOHO) won the 2014 Latin GRAMMY® Award for "Best Instrumental Album".
For more information on the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, please visit www.afrolatinjazz.org.
Contact
Afro Latin Jazz Alliance
Nina Gale Olson
212.283.4086
www.musicfortomorrow.org
Nina Gale Olson
212.283.4086
www.musicfortomorrow.org
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