Mission, Vision, and Values
Mission
Our mission is to educate, entertain, and inspire a community of artists, students, and audience members through the study, performance, and appreciation of jazz — an original American musical form.
Vision
Our vision is to positively change lives through individual creative expression within a collaborative community that celebrates and perpetuates jazz.
Values
Creativity
Jazz, as an art form, values creative expression. But individual creative expression operates within the context of a community of collaborators whose expressions co-create a whole that is greater than the sum of its individual parts. We also value creativity within the context of the jazz tradition itself, which we celebrate even as it is transformed.
Diversity and inclusiveness
Part of the richness of the jazz tradition is that it is diverse. We strive for inclusiveness across styles, generations, ethnicities, backgrounds, and genders. People of all ages from around the globe value and appreciate jazz.
Collaboration
Successful collaboration requires valuing working together and an investment in the group process as well as its individual contributions. This is true both on the performance stage as well as within the work life of the organization itself.
Respect
Successful collaboration, especially within jazz improvisation, requires respect for others. This kind of respect requires careful listening and is likewise valued throughout the organization.
Practice
Not just practice on one’s individual instrument, but the continual improvement in all aspects of our organization, by doing it over and over until we get it right.
