The Manty Ellis Community Foundation and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music are joining forces in a new partnership dedicated to jazz music and education in Milwaukee.
Plans include quarterly concerts featuring jazz legends, a variety of classes for all ages and levels, master classes and performances. The partnership will also provide a space where students can learn about jazz from prominent musicians, with the opportunity to perform alongside them.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
The organizations will commemorate the formation of their partnership with an inaugural concert – “An Evening with Benny Green” – at WCM’s McIntosh Goodrich Mansion (1584 N. Prospect Ave.) at 6:30 p.m. on July 31. A former member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Green, 62, is a Grammy-nominee pianist and recognized internationally as a jazz virtuoso with 18 solo releases and contributions on more than 100 albums.
Proceeds from the performance will fund the partnership’s new programs and comes as Wisconsin ranks near the bottom in the country for state-funded arts support while also facing a volatile federal funding environment.
“Jazz is Black classical music, a vital American art form that invents aesthetic solutions to current challenges,” Manty Ellis Community Foundation Artistic Director Jesse Montijo said. “Listening to jazz instantly connects communities, and so we want to give back by offering support for the musicians who dedicate their lives to their art.”
Serving together for more than a decade, Ellis and Montijo have created Milwaukee-area educational and performance opportunities alongside the organization’s partner, New York City-based Jazz Foundation of America.
“MECF works alongside ethical partners to provide a safe, inclusive space for all artists, a cooperative for working musicians and a welcoming atmosphere for creative children,” the organization’s Executive Director Grace Montijo said.
The root of the new partnership between the Manty Ellis Community Foundation and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music can be traced to the 1970s, when Ellis and pianist-educator-mentor Tony King formed a higher education program in jazz in Milwaukee at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. It was also the very first degree-granting program for jazz in the United States, attracting many musicians to Milwaukee to study the art form.
“You shouldn’t have to leave Milwaukee to get a great education in jazz,” WMC’s President and CEO Eric Tillich said. “This partnership doubles down on our investment in honoring Manty Ellis, a Milwaukee giant, and his commitment to giving back through education.”
Ellis, 92, is considered the “Godfather” of Milwaukee jazz, with a career dating to the 1960s. Earlier this year, the Jazz Foundation of America announced Ellis as one of 20 inaugural fellows for the Jazz Legacies Fellowship, an initiative launched by the JFA in partnership with the Mellon Foundation.
Find more information and tickets for “An Evening with Benny Green” here.
