Sunday Jazz Brunch on Oct. 6 to Support Jazz Artists in the Schools Program

NORTHAMPTON ­— Tickets are now on sale for the 2019 Northampton Jazz Festival Brunch on Sunday, Oct. 6, a fundraiser to benefit the Jazz Artists in the Schools Program at John F. Kennedy Middle School, which exposes Northampton’s student musicians to the valuable mentorship of professional jazz artists.

The DeChamplain Quartet, based out of Hartford, Conn., will perform their gypsy-style music from noon to 2 p.m. with Atla DeChamplain on vocals, Matt DeChamplain on piano, Chris Morrison on guitar, and Matt Dwonszyk on bass.

The Jazz Artists in the School Program “opens up a new realm of possibility for aspiring jazz musicians,” said Ruth Griggs, president of the Northampton Jazz Festival. “Expanding their exposure to jazz through direct one-on-ones with professional jazz musicians is a tremendous bonus for the students.”

Thanks to donations from the Davis Financial Group of Hadley, the program has been able to offer unique workshops with professional jazz artists to the jazz-band students at JFK and Northampton High School.

During the past school year, junior- and senior-high-school jazz-band students have worked with baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan, tenor saxophonist Don Braden, vocalist Samirah Evans, trumpeter Don Anderson, vocalist Camille Thurman, and the Green Street Trio. The Jazz Artists in the Schools Program will continue when school returns in the fall, with programs set for Nov. 18 and 19 with baritone saxaphonist Clare Daly at JFK, and Dec. 2 and 3 at NHS featuring trombonist and educator Steve Davis.

The jazz brunch will be held at the Delaney House, 3 Country Club Road in Holyoke, starting at 11 a.m. Tickets to the brunch cost $40, and $10 from each purchase will benefit the Davis Financial Group Jazz Artists in the Schools Program at JFK Middle School for the 2019-20 school year.

The brunch will wrap up the 2019 Northampton Jazz Festival, set for Friday, Oct. 4 through Sunday, Oct. 6. The event features three days of live music at various venues in downtown Northampton, including the main-stage act, the Kurt Elling Quintet, which will perform on Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Music.

For more information, to purchase tickets, or to donate to the Jazz Artists in the Schools Program, visit northamptonjazzfest.org.