Alabama
After 7 years, the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame restarts its Saturday music lessons
After a seven-year hiatus, Saturday morning music lessons have returned to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
The Birmingham music hall and arts nonprofit has restarted Saturday Jazz Greats, its longtime tuition-free music education program.
The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, housed in the historic Carver Theatre, started the program in 1999. Each Saturday, professional jazz musicians convened at the Carver to teach students beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels of music including instrumental instruction, music theory, jazz history, and jazz improvisation. Over the years, program instructors included Dr. Frank Adams and Dr. Tolton Rosser.
[READ MORE: ‘He taught me patience’: Alabama jazz musician Dr. Tolton Rosser remembered as stern but compassionate]
The Hall of Fame paused the Saturday Jazz Greats program shortly after the Carver Theatre, located at 1631 4th Ave. North in downtown Birmingham, closed for renovations in 2017. While the Carver Theatre’s lobby and performance hall reopened in 2022, the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame museum, located on the second floor, and the Jazz Hall Radio studio in the basement remained closed for upgrades and new installations. The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame museum officially opened on Aug. 6.
The Saturday Jazz Greats program resumed last month, and the Jazz Hall of Fame will continue to accept students on a rolling basis. This year, the program is admitting students in grades 3 to 12. Prospective students must complete a registration form and pay a $75 registration fee. Classes run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Terry Harper (left) and Bernard McQueen (right) watch students enter the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame on Oct. 5, 2024. (Shauna Stuart | AL.com)Shauna Stuart
While students pay a registration fee for Saturday Jazz Greats, the classes in the weekly program are free. According to information on the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame website, the nonprofit has secured a grant for the Saturday program. Thanks to the grant, 50 students will receive a $50 discount on the registration fee.
The fall 2024 Saturday Jazz Greats semester will conclude in December with a finale concert. Registration for the program will begin again in the spring.
The Jazz Hall of Fame appointed trumpeter and bandleader Daniel Jose Carr to direct the Saturday Jazz Greats program. Carr, a celebrated educator who also leads the city’s longest-running jazz jam session, has assembled a team of musicians and longtime instructors from around the state. Bernard McQueen, a member of Carr’s quartet, will teach electric and upright bass. Miles College professor Daniel Harper, who instructed classes at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame for nearly a decade, will return to teach trumpet and piano. Renowned singer and pianist Terry Harper will instruct jazz vocals and piano. Carlos Pino, an adjunct professor at UAB, will teach guitar. Arnold Montgomery will lead lessons for students learning the saxophone. Jazz drummer John Nuckols will lead sessions on percussion.
[READ MORE: ‘So You Say You Play Jazz?’: New documentary tells the story of Daniel José Carr, Birmingham jazz history]
Students who join the program will receive an evaluation from instructors to assess their skill levels and musical needs.
Dr. Leah Tucker, the executive director of the Jazz Hall of Fame, gave students a warm welcome on the program’s reopening day.
“Learning is fun and when you start playing jazz, you’re going to feel a whole different spirit to yourself. It’s music that uplifts you. It’s very happy. And it’s very creative,” said Tucker as she addressed the students onstage in the Carver Theatre performance hall. “You can be able to do your own thing, which is called improvising. So you’re going to learn all these things. You’re going to learn how to read music if you don’t know how. And you’re going to learn how to work as a group when you come together for the band.”
For Tucker, fond memories of the nonprofit’s education programs were a guiding light while the Carver Theatre was closed for seven years.
On Aug. 3, the music hall hosted a grand reopening celebration. Dubbed “A Cool Jazz Afternoon,” the party also marked a commemorative occasion – iconic bassist Ron Carter’s induction into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
Ron Carter plays the bass on stage inside the Carver Theatre Performing Arts Center during “A Cool Jazz Afternoon,” his induction ceremony into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame on Aug. 3, 2024. (Shauna Stuart | AL.com)Shauna Stuart
During her welcome remarks that afternoon, Tucker recalled looking at folders filled with hundreds of registration forms from students who had taken classes over the decades.
“When I started looking through all the different books, there were hundreds and hundreds of names of students we have educated,” said Tucker. “So I know that jazz will not just fade into the past.”
[READ MORE: Iconic bassist Ron Carter inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame]
She also shared success stories from the program. One student, a flutist, toured with Lizzo and played the Hollywood Bowl. Another student now studies jazz under Rodney Whitaker, the director of jazz studies at Michigan State University.
“That’s what we do,” said Tucker as the audience erupted into applause. “We educate these young people so they can keep this art form alive and well.”
The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 6 to celebrate the reopening of its museum and gallery.
Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame staff hosted a ribbon cutting to celebrate the reopening of the Jazz Hall of Fame museum and gallery on Aug. 6, 2024. (Shauna Stuart | AL.com)Shauna Stuart
The newly renovated Alabama Jazz Hall Museum features artifacts and updated exhibits dedicated to several Alabama Jazz Hall inductees including Dinah Washington, Harry Belafonte and Sun Ra. The exhibits will eventually include interactive touch screens with biographies of the inductees. In 2017, the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame purchased its jazz radio station from Samford University. With full programming control of the station, the nonprofit is also expanding its roster of shows on Jazz Hall Radio. In September, the Jazz Hall added Shure Shot Jazz. Hosted by vinyl deejays Suaze and DJ Rahdu, the weekly show fuses jazz and hip-hop culture.
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Alabama
Top-30 overall recruit Jaxon Richardson commits to Alabama
Jaxon Richardson, the No. 27 overall recruit in the 2026 class per the Rivals Industry Ranking, has committed to Alabama.
The 6-foot-6 four-star small forward out of Southeastern Prep (FL) ultimately chose the Crimson Tide over USC, Creighton, and Ole Miss. He also received offers from Miami, Cincinnati, Michigan, Florida, Villanova, and others.
Richardson, a McDonald’s All-American, becomes the Crimson Tide’s third commitment of the 2026 cycle. He joins four-star shooting guard Qayden Samuels (No. 28 NATL) and four-star small forward Tarris Bouie (No. 54 NATL).
He’s the son of NBA veteran and two-time NBA Dunk Contest champion Jason Richardson. His older brother, Jase, played for Michigan State last season before being selected 25th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic.
More on Richardson
Rivals’ National Recruiting Analyst Jamie Shaw says Richardson is one of the most explosive players in the 2026 class:
Jaxon Richardson is able to combine fluid athleticism with explosive burst in a way no other player in this class can. He uses his athleticism to his advantage on the floor. He fills the outside channels with a purpose in transition, he is aggressive in the passing lanes, and he plays as a vertical floor spacer in the dunker spots and lob plays. Last summer, playing with the Florida Rebels on Nike’s EYBL Circuit, the 6-foot-6 wing averaged 12.8 points on 54.0 percent shooting and 10.5 attempts per game. Last high school season, he averaged 12.9 points on 61.0 percent shooting on 8.9 attempts per game. He is a highly efficient player, as 84.4 percent of his makes last high school season were at the rim.
Alabama
Alabama Baseball Ties Stolen Base Record In Win Over Hornets
Alabama baseball cruised to a win over Alabama State on Wednesday night, beating the Hornets 13-4 to complete the season sweep. The Crimson Tide tied a program record with nine stolen bases in one of the stranger contests that will be played this season.
The tone was set for a tumultuous night on the basepaths in the opening minutes of the game. Leadoff batter Bryce Fowler, who exited Tuesday’s game after getting beaned in the head, was walked, and promptly took second base. He advanced to third on a wild pitch in Justin Lebron’s at-bat, paving the way for Lebron to steal second when he was ultimately walked as well.
The successful baserunning instantly paid off, as Brady Neal drove both in with a double to left-center field before John Lemm walked two at-bats later. Both runners stole their respective bases on the same pitch in Jason Torres’ plate appearance, meaning that four of the first five batters of the game stole a base.
Alabama has been exceptional on the basepaths, sitting at 30-for-30 on the season. Lebron, who swiped two bags on Wednesday, leads the team with 12. The junior had an up-and-down night, hitting his eighth home run of the season, but also committing an error at shortstop for the fourth consecutive game.
“Get those things out of there now, baby. The dude is unbelievable,” an unconcerned Rob Vaughn said on Tuesday of Lebron’s errors. “We’re going to look up at the end of the year, and that guy is going to have five or six errors, which one he’s got right now, and we’ll be like, ‘Man, that guy is the best of all time to do it.’”
Wednesday’s game was a very prototypical midweek contest with no shortage of quirks and oddities throughout its nearly four-hour runtime. Fifteen Alabama batters were walked, falling just one shy of the program record, and the hit by pitch record was tied as seven batters were plunked.
The game was never competitive from an on-field standpoint. After barely escaping with a 2-1 win in the first matchup with the Hornets two weeks ago, this was a far more accurate representation of what these games typically look like, as Alabama now leads the all-time series 15-0.
Freshman Joe Chiarodo made his first career start, allowing two hits and one walk over two scoreless innings. He was named the winning pitcher. Luke Smyers, Connor Lehman, Anthony Pesci and Tate Robertson were the other pitchers to take the mound. Lehman allowed a three-run blast in the sixth inning, and those were the only runs until the incredibly-named Skywalker Mann drove in a run off Robertson in the ninth.
Perhaps the most shocking figure from the game was that Alabama had 19 runners left on base. The Crimson Tide left the bases loaded in four different innings. As stated, this was just a bizarre baseball game across the board. With the midweeks out of the way, the Crimson Tide gets to prepare for its final weekend tune-up before SEC play as North Florida heads into Tuscaloosa on Friday.
Alabama
New Alabama law to set screen time limits for kids in day care, pre-K and kindergarten
The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act was signed on Wednesday, March 4, by Governor Kay Ivey to introduce limits on children’s screen time access in Alabama.
The Act is one of Ivey’s 2026 legislative priorities.
“Video screen access in classrooms can boost learning skills among our young children, but too much screen exposure can also be detrimental, harming critical social and cognitive development,” Ivey said. “The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act ensures our youngest students are provided a healthy balance of screen time and traditional learning in order to protect social and emotional development.”
Under the Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act, the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education will be required to work with the Department of Human Resources and the State Department of Education to develop guidelines for screen-based media.
Guidelines will be implemented in early childhood education programs like day care centers, day care homes, night care facilities, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and group day care homes. The Act was sponsored by Representative Jeana Ross and Senator Donnie Chesteen.
“House Bill 78 establishes clear, research-based expectations for how technology is used in early childhood settings,” said Ross. “The goal is not to eliminate technology, but to ensure its use is developmentally appropriate and never replaces the hands-on learning and human interaction young children need most. By setting thoughtful guardrails and aligning classroom practices with the best available research on early brain development, this legislation supports educators, protects the quality of early learning and reinforces our commitment to giving Alabama’s youngest students the strongest possible start.”
A training program will also be created by the Department of Early Childhood Education to create a baseline for the appropriate use of child screentime for teachers and staff members supervising children.
“The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act represents another important step in ensuring Alabama’s youngest children grow and learn in environments that prioritize human interaction, exploration and healthy development,” said Chesteen. “Building on the progress made with last year’s FOCUS Act, this legislation continues our commitment to protecting the most formative years of childhood. I am grateful to Governor Kay Ivey and my colleagues in the Legislature for recognizing the importance of this issue and working together to support Alabama families.”
The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act will become effective on January 1, 2027.
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