The Jazz Foundation of America was founded in 1989 to preserve and promote the legacy of jazz. In 1990, the JFA formed an emergency fund to address the needs of musicians who were ill or had suffered from accidents.
Today, in the words of JFA President Joe Petrucelli, because of the COVID-19 crisis, “The bottom has fallen out of the live music industry. Concerts, tours, and festivals have been canceled. Clubs, bars, and restaurants have closed . . . In this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jazz Foundation of America continues to connect with hundreds of jazz and blues musicians to provide compassionate counsel and offer direct support.” The JFA has established a COVID-19 Musicians’ Emergency Fund to help musicians and their families with basic living expenses.
In an email message to New Jersey Jazz Society members and friends, NJJS President Cydney Halpin pointed out that, “Thousands of jazz musicians are out of work, and arts non-profits and venues are grappling with how to stay afloat financially until the performance ban is lifted. This is uncharted territory for all of us . . . We are all in this together. If you have the means, please consider supporting Jazz Foundation of America or another organization, venue or musician of your choice as we weather this unprecedented storm.”
To donate to the JFA’s Musicians’ Emergency Fund, log onto http://jazzfoundation.org/covid-19fund/