Eli with Jazz Power Youth

It’s amazing to see this dream come this far–Jazz Power Initiative, the non profit I co-founded in 2003 with Clifford Carlson, is turning 15 years old. Jazz Power is one feisty teenager, let me tell you. Based in upper Manhattan, our uptown programs in Harlem and Washington Heights are thriving with 30 teens receiving scholarships to attend our 12-week training in piano keyboard, singing, dancing and acting. We also continue to host our monthly Intergenerational Jazz Jams at National Jazz Museum in Harlem on the second Sunday and we are gearing up for our 5th Annual Jazz Power Institute, a two-day training for artists and teachers on teaching jazz across the curriculum.

I’ve turned 50 this year and take great delight in seeing youngsters coming up through our programs, embracing jazz culture and sharing the responsibility to spread the brilliance of this music to the next generation as well as our elders. Together we are doing all we can to make a positive difference in the world by bringing joy and fellowship through music. I hope you can join us at our 15th Anniversary Celebration, or another one of our programs or by making a financial contribution to this work I hold so dear at Jazz Power Initiative.