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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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.

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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