The Jazz Generations Initiative, a new Mellon Foundation-funded organization, is providing valuable communal resources to jazz players and aficionados in two major hubs for the genre: New Orleans and New York City. Co-founded by pianist and Tulane University professor Courtney Bryan and Columbia University scholar Robert O’Meally, the initiative aims to “unite artists and listeners with intergenerational performance opportunities and interdisciplinary jazz studies scholarship,” according to their website.
The initiative, which launched in November 2025, has engaged the New York City community through a variety of programming. In February, the organization hosted a discussion with Amina Claudine Myers, a 2025 Jazz Legacies Fellow who is well known for work with the AACM and beyond. Currently, the initiative hosts ongoing performances like the Soundoff Sessions at Café Erzulie in Bed-Stuy — a free bi-weekly program that highlights emerging voices in the genre and includes a post-session open jam where musicians can meet and play. Online, players and fans can stay up to date with ongoing community events through the JGI Sphere, a journal that includes weekly listings for performances in the two cities where jazz originated.
The organization also recently presented the debut of the first issue of the Healing Project Magazine, a publication by Samora Pinderhughes that aims to address “structural violence through artistic works, collective healing spaces, and advocacy initiatives,” at the Brooklyn Peace Center on April 2 in conjunction with the organization’s exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. New Yorkers can stay up to date with ongoing JGI programming at Café Erzulie and check out their compilation of weekly listings on Instagram @jgi.newyork. More information is available at www.linktree.com/jgi.sphere