Founded in 1995, the Jazz Mentor Program inspires, encourages, and trains 1,000 CPS high school students each school year. A central component of the program is the competitive selection of the Ravinia Jazz Scholars, a cohort of Chicago’s most talented student musicians. The Jazz Scholars receive intensive year-round training and mentors serve as role models and give scholars insight into the life of a professional musician. Scholars also receive a scholarship to attend the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Camp in Louisville, Kentucky.
Read Morejazz mentors
Ravinia Jazz Scholars alumni jazz it up at Green Mill
Four alumni of Ravinia’s Jazz Mentor Program—known as Jazz Scholars when they were young musicians in the program—made their way to the Green Mill Jazz Club stage for much-anticipated performances that had lines out the door.
Read More
Alexis Lombre Makes “Come Find Me” a Singular Musical Philosophy After Ravinia Successes
South Side–native pianist and vocalist Alexis Lombre is the latest outstanding artist to have come up through both Ravinia programs, and Backstage caught up with the now sometime Detroiter in the midst of work on her second solo album, which she’s dubbed an amalgamation of everything that she listens to and everything that she is. She’s been prepping the first single, “Come Find Me,” from the new collection of original tracks with a fellow Chicagoan, Grammy-winning guitarist Isaiah Sharkey, as producer, and Lombre has recently released a mini-documentary series on her YouTube channel to give fans a sneak peek at the creative process.
Read More