A Tribe For Jazz Launches in Columbus, Ohio to Bring Global Attention to Jazz Musicians

A Tribe For Jazz is a new non-profit organization in Columbus, Ohio, whose mission is to preserve the legacy and advance the future of jazz through visual storytelling, live and virtual performances, education, and community engagement. The organization is awaiting their 501c3 letter of determination.

A Tribe for Jazz tells universal human-interest stories of talented jazz artists who are highly respected for their craft, but have yet to receive mass exposure. The organization’s vision is that these stories will resonate with existing jazz fans and reach new ones, ultimately leading audiences to start conversations and take purposeful action.

A Tribe for Jazz offers a range of services that allow musicians to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Through storytelling, they work with artists to create unique cinematic content and performances that are compelling and complex. Additional services include rebranding which includes the refreshing of visual, digital and virtual content as well as social media management. The organization also offers artists a no-cost booking service to help them expand into the educational marketplace with a focus on tours, performances, residencies, lectures, and masterclasses at secondary schools, colleges, universities, and performing arts centers.

“Understandably, most artists focus their time and energy on their craft, not telling their stories. That’s where we come in. We offer the support they need to spread their great work far and wide, thereby preserving the art-form,” said Stephanie Matthews, Executive Director at A Tribe For Jazz. “As master storytellers, we produce outstanding content and events that inspire, elevate and educate new and existing audiences.”

A Tribe for Jazz’s inaugural project, LEGACY Jon Irabagon, A Solo Tenor Odyssey, is a cinematic performance film featuring Chicago-born improvisational sax master, Jon Irabagon. A first-generation Filipino-American saxophonist, Irabagon has a passionate fan-base in Austria, Norway, Sweeden, Germany, France, and Argentina, where he has previously recorded and toured.

LEGACY Jon Irabagon, A Solo Tenor Odyssey is a 40-minute tour de force featuring original compositions drawn from just about every stage in his career. The film features Irabagon in a beautifully lit, artistically shot black-box theater environment and also features The Columbus Dance Theatre, Garden Manor House, Le Meridien Columbus, Columbus Athletic Club, Lincoln Social, and The Guild House. The vibrant, cinematic performance serves as an intimate exploration of life, love and legacy. LEGACY Jon Irabagon, A Solo Tenor Odyssey features seven original compositions spanning Irabagon’s entire recorded output, including two previously unreleased songs, “Greebles” and “Alliance.” The cinematic performance is directed by Los Angeles-based Director/Cinematographer Julian Melanson and produced by Stephanie Matthews, Executive Director of A Tribe for Jazz.

The VIP premiere experience for LEGACY Jon Irabagon, A Solo Tenor Odyssey will be held on Thursday, October 14^, 2021 at a Columbus location that is to be determined. The film will stream globally beginning Friday, October 15, 2021 then be available on-demand through October 31, 2021 on www.StellarTickets.com. Tickets go on sale September 1, 2021.  The film will be marketed in several countries where Irabagon has a strong fanbase.

Future projects with A Tribe For Jazz include artist-in-residence programs that will provide jazz musicians the opportunity to live and work outside of their usual environments. During a residency, artists can explore new locations, different cultures, and experiment with different materials, allowing them time to reflect, research, and produce new work.

More information, including how to purchase tickets to the VIP premier experience for LEGACY can be found at www.ATribeForJazz.org.

Behind the scenes photography, videos and the trailer for LEGACY Jon Irabagon, A Solo Tenor Odyssey can be found at https://www.atribeforjazz.org/projects/legacy-jonirabagon

About A Tribe For Jazz

A Tribe for Jazz began in early 2021 with the goal of preserving the legacy and advancing the future of jazz through storytelling, live and virtual performance, education, and community engagement. The organization supports jazz artists by offering branding and booking services, cinematic content, social media management, and no-cost booking services. The vision of the organization is to produce global events and activities that transform, educate and lead to purposeful actions and impactful conversations toward the preservation of the art-form. www.ATribeForJazz.org