Northampton Jazz Festival Welcomes Two New Board Members

John Anz

NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton Jazz Festival has welcomed two new board members who bring broad skills and experience in marketing, design, music production, and fundraising.

The new members are John Anz, who joined in January, and Jack Brown, who came on board in January 2025.

“Their skills are a tremendous complement to the board, providing us with deep experience in the areas of fundraising, music production, design, and marketing,” said Ruth Griggs, president of the board of directors.

Jack Brown

Anz is currently director of Development & Community Engagement for the Loomis Communities. An alumnus of Williston Northampton School and Trinity College in Hartford, he moved permanently to Western Mass. in 2002 from his native New York City and deeply involved himself in the local music, arts, and culture scene. He has served on several boards of arts organizations, including the Northampton Community Music Center and the South Hadley Cultural Council, including two years as chair. He has also created, produced, and presented live music in the area as co-chair of the SHOWCASE South Hadley arts and culture festival and, under JAzz Productions, produced Music Mondays Cafe at the Gaylord Memorial Library in South Hadley.

After careers in college coaching and real estate management, Anz has been in the development and philanthropy fields of nonprofit fundraising for more than 20 years, including music and arts organizations such as Springfield Symphony Orchestra and Berkshire Hills Music Academy.

Brown is Marketing director at the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce and the Hampshire County Regional Tourism Council. He has worked in Northampton’s cultural circles for three decades as an artist, writer, and musician, and promotes the region in his current role. He creates and executes the strategies for marketing to constituents of both organizations across all digital, social and print communications channels.

Brown’s expertise also includes content creation, graphic design, and setting and analyzing marketing metrics across all channels. He is also a musician (guitarist), illustrator, and graphic designer, having earned a bachelor of fine arts degree at the University of Hartford’s Hartford Art School.