Jan 21, 2025 7:54 PM
Southern California Fires Hit the Jazz Community
Roy McCurdy and his wife had just finished eating dinner and were relaxing over coffee in their Altadena home, when he…
The Monterey Jazz Festival has implemented a new branding strategy to reflect an expanded vision that includes the organization’s ongoing professional and educational programming.
Components of the new overarching “Monterey Jazz” brand will support all the Monterey Jazz pillars: the long-running jazz festival, jazz education and community engagement. The new umbrella sets the stage for a heightened focus on year-round initiatives and reinforces the organization’s nonprofit status.
Meanwhile, Darin Atwater, who served as artistic director of last year’s festival, has stepped down after just one festival. The reason for his departure was described as a personal matter, according to Monterey County Now newspaper.
“We wish Darin all the best and support him in his artistic career,” said Ken Gordon, Monterey Jazz board president, of Atwater’s departure. Bruce Labadie, the festival and artistic director for San Jose Jazz, will help book this year’s festival.
There are more changes happening at the organization. Monterey Jazz will launch a new website to be more reflective of its new initiatives. The site will be easier to navigate and more adaptive for better mobile and tablet viewing.
Monterey Jazz has also announced four new board members.
Adam Band is the director of national chain accounts for Full Circle Brewing, for whom he has cultivated relationships with corporate buyers at prominent national retailers such as Costco, Trader Joe’s, Safeway and more. Band is a former member of the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra.
David Barnard is senior vice president of investor relations for LHA Investor Relations Inc., a strategic IR consulting agency. He is also a trombone player with a degree in jazz studies from Indiana University.
Maya Enista-Sith has been a successful nonprofit and foundation CEO with a strong business and financial acumen. She was the first executive director of the Born This Way Foundation, co-founded by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, to support mental wellness and create a kinder and braver world.
Ana Toledo is an experienced labor and employment attorney at Noland, Hammerly, Etienne & Hoss who has a long relationship with the Monterey Jazz Festival. She has served on the boards of the Center for Community Advocacy, York School and the National Steinbeck Center.
In addition, the Monterey Jazz organization is reorganizing its workforce to prepare for a growth period.
Bobbie Young, currently director of operations, will become managing director, working to ensure that existing programs, including the festival, remain the gold standard in the fields of jazz and jazz education.
Bruce Labadie, a jazz community veteran with more than 40 years in performing arts management and festival production, will assist in programming the annual festival.
Colleen Bailey will transition out of her current role as executive director to lead MJF special projects.
“For 67 years, the Monterey Jazz Festival has been one of Monterey’s defining events, drawing tens of thousands of visitors to the area each September,” said Gordon. “In this next iteration, Monterey Jazz will leverage its rich heritage and legacy to draw music lovers to Monterey throughout the year, providing a significant cultural and economic benefit to the Monterey community.”
For more information on Monterey Jazz, CLICK HERE. DB
Gerald and John Clayton at the family home in Altadena during a photo shoot for the June 2022 cover of DownBeat. The house was lost during the Los Angeles fires.
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