For 28 years, the Detroit International Jazz Festival has attracted visitors and locals to an end of summer ritual on Labor Day Weekend that celebrates one of America’s most important art forms. The festival boasts 6 stages and 100 acts over four days in a city well known for its musical legacy. Now under new ownership and with a new brand, DJF has re-established itself as one of the largest and best free festivals in the world.
Mission
The mission of the Detroit International Jazz Festival is to:
* Foster the history and nurture the development of jazz
* Perpetuate Detroit’s significant jazz legacy through educational and collaborative opportunities accessible to all
* Present a world-class signature event that makes Detroit a tourist destination
The Detroit International Jazz Festival Foundation
The Detroit International Jazz Festival Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization formed in 2006 to produce and manage the festival. Through the generosity of Detroit philanthropist and Mack Avenue Records Chairman Gretchen Valade, the Foundation also established a $10 million endowment to support festival operations. The festival staff and advisory committee work throughout the year to raise the balance of operating costs through corporate partnerships, contributions, and earned income opportunities.
The Detroit International Jazz Festival was founded in 1980 by Robert McCabe and the Detroit Renaissance. Along with the Detroit Grand Prix and the International Freedom Festival, Jazz Fest was intended to bring people into the city and to provide all segments of the population with world-class entertainment. It quickly became a Labor Day weekend tradition at Hart Plaza, a city park along the Detroit River designed by Isamu Noguchi and Shuji Sadao.
From 1980 to 1991, the Festival flourished through a partnership with the highly regarded international jazz festival in Montreux, Switzerland, sharing performers and commissioned poster art.
In 1991, the Festival merged with Detroit's Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, where it resided until September 2005.
In March 2005, Detroit philanthropist and Mack Avenue Records Chairman Gretchen Valade emerged as a major sponsor of the Festival. With additional support from the Knight Foundation, the Festival expanded programmatically and physically. The new footprint, covering 3 blocks of Woodward Avenue north to the newly developed Campus Martius Park, provided two additional stages and more space for food vendors and other activities. The result was record-breaking attendance and revitalization of the festival.
In January 2006, Valade founded the Detroit International Festival Foundation, which took over production and management of the festival. Valade also committed $10 million to establish an endowment that would provide much-needed seed money for festival operations.
Detroit International Jazz Festival
660 Woodward Avenue
Suite 13
Detroit, MI 48226
Phone: 313.879.1144
Fax: 313-879-1145
For general information about Detroit Jazz Fest, please email us at info@detroitjazzfest.com
For a complete staff listing,
click here.
Please direct any questions or comments about this site to webmaster@detroitjazzfest.com.
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