“I had to play the music I loved with the people I wanted to play it with,” said Bloom. “Nothing would stop me.”

“Just because I’m at the organ doesn’t mean I have to fall into the predictable traditional approach to the instrument,” says Goldings.

In addition to his instrumental prowess, Malone was praised for his musical generosity and his singular sense of humor.

“He would always call me his grandson,” Whitaker says of the late Dr. Lonnie Smith. Smith’s personal assistant sent Whitaker one of the master’s B-3s after he died in 2021.

Saxophonist Greg Ward, left, gets a lesson in how to wear the blindfold before journalist Michael Jackson administers the test.

​Béla Fleck will perform in a trio with Edmar Castañeda and Antonio Sanchez at New York’s Blue Note in September.

“You gotta go out on a limb and book people who you know people need to see, need to experience,” says Christian McBride of curating the Newport Jazz Festival.

Benny Green gave a breathtaking solo performance at this year’s San Jose Jazz Summer Fest.

“We do have a lot of differences, but we are much more similar than different,” says Lee. “I really truly believe that my very personal story can reach out to and appeal to a lot of people.”

“Given a good support system, each artist has the potential to be more than just a performer, but an ambassador of hope,” says Louis Marks, left, ropeadope CEO, with Fabian Brown, president.