The Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival Presented by Citizens launches the MVP (Music is Very Powerful) Program to continue to nurture the next generation of music audiences, deliver jazz to seniors in their communities, support musicians, and bring jazz to neighborhoods across the region. The program will offer a minimum 500 complimentary festival passes for Saturday and Sunday at Highmark Stadium on September 16-17, 2023. Regional musicians will receive 100 festival passes and 400 local high school and college students, with valid ID, will receive general admission festival passes.
Janis Burley Wilson, President/Artistic Director of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center says, “Jazz music is passed down through friends and family, shared, and cultivated by exposure to the music, to the technique of masters, and is impactful. Music has fueled social justice movements, sustains us through tragedy and is a celebration of triumph. We are striving to create an environment of sharing and continue to support the local jazz scene in Pittsburgh.”
Leading up to the festival, the PIJF will partner with the Carnegie Libraries of Pittsburgh to host FREE community concerts, Jazz in Your Library. The schedule is:
- September 2, 1:00-2:00 pm: Dennis Garner – Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Hazelwood Branch, 5006 Second Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15207
- September 7, 5:30-6:30 pm: George Heid III – Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Woods Run Branch, 1201 Woods Run Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
- September 9, 1:00-2:00 pm: Howie Alexander – Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Homewood Branch, 7101 Hamilton Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15208
- September 12, 5:30-6:30 pm: Anita Levels – Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Brookline Branch, 708 Brookline Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15226
Community Concerts with $5.00 cover charge (all proceeds benefit live music in these communities) include:
- September 8, 7:00-9:00 pm: James Johnson III Trio – Wilkinsburg-Eastridge Cultural Center, 1900 Graham Blvd, Wilkinsburg, PA 15221
- September 15, 5:00-7:00 pm: Joe DeFazio, Calvin Stemley, Terry Levels & Dan Wasson – The Barn, 237 Jefferson Road, Penn Hills, PA 15235
