The Jazz Gallery (TJG) is a premier performance venue for artists who challenge convention, take creative risks, and lead their field as performers, composers, and thinkers. Through residencies, workshops, and exhibitions, TJG provides both a platform for emerging artists to discover their voices and a home for established musicians to continue to experiment and grow. At TJG, artists and audiences come together to explore new ideas, collaborate, and celebrate jazz as a dynamic art form that reflects our ever-changing world.

The Jazz Gallery was founded in 1995 by Dale Fitzgerald, vocalist Lezlie Harrison, and renowned jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove who envisioned a hub and home for the jazz musicians and composers from around the world who come to New York to take part in and enhance the city’s vibrant cultural scene. Led today by Artistic Director Rio Sakairi and Executive Director Janet Luhrs, TJG presents over 400 shows each year, 4+ nights a week over 48 weeks of the year and reaches an annual audience of over 17,000 people. Their streaming capabilities help the music to reach 40 countries throughout the world. TJG currently offers programs such as their Debut Series, featuring artists who are performing at TJG, and often NYC, for the first time; 21st Century Jazz, which showcases both emerging and established artists; Residency & Fellowship Commissions, which support the creation of new works by exciting young composers and mid-career artists respectively; a Mentoring Program, which pairs young musicians with seasoned veterans to gain valuable creative and professional experience; and The Woodshed, which provides free rehearsal space to New York City’s jazz artists.

Jerome Foundation supports The Jazz Gallery’s Residency Commissions program. This 12-month program supports three early-career New York City-based jazz composers with a residency commission. Composers receive a commissioning fee, as well as unrestricted access to the performance space for an entire season to compose, rehearse, and record during off-hours. The residency culminates in the premiere of each composer’s new work. In addition, each artist receives three dates during the residency period to present any projects they choose.