Jazz Outreach Initiative

JOI was founded to fill a need in the community for greater exposure to jazz studies and awareness, focusing on students of all ages. Through festivals, clinics, “Band Directors Academy,” "Jazz for Young People Concerts", and other outreach programs, JOI celebrates the great American art form by promoting it through the next generation of performers, audiences, and consumers.

Jazz Outreach Initiative, "JOI," partners with organizations such as The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, School of Music at University of Nevada Las Vegas, Clark County School District, and Jazz At Lincoln Center to carry out its mission ensuring jazz education, outreach, and awareness are inclusive and accessible for a diverse community.

Starting with founding President and Artistic Director, Kenny Rampton (Member of Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis), we are able to bring world class artists and create collaborative efforts in fulfillment of our mission. JOI is an affiliate of Jazz At Lincoln Center and we work closely with JALC as members of our advisory board to utilize their highly regarded educational programs locally in southern Nevada.

Co-founder and Program Director, Gary Cordell, has performed and taught in Las Vegas for more than 3 decades and as VP of the local Musicians Union, provides a unique ability to draw in supporters such as the Music Performance Trust Fund, the American Federation of Musicians, and local musicians and educators to produce our highly regarded programming.

Donny Thompson, Executive Director has been a musician and has been a leader in business and banking for more than three decades. He brings a wealth of knowledge through those experiences along with a Master of Science in Nonprofit Administration to ensure JOI's success.

We also include Federal District Court Judge Richard Boulware who is a strong advocate for disadvantaged youth and schools. Richard serves as our Outreach Committee Chair. Dr. Nancy Brune has worked tirelessly for education and outreach causes including serving on White House committees and currently as Executive Director of the Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities. She is a professor for the Boyd School of Law at UNLV.

And to keep our finances in order, Treasurer Daniel Philippus, CPA, has decades of experience working with nonprofits and for profits as a CPA and auditor.

Secretary Juliana McRae is a retired music teacher and has founded and led charitable nonprofit volunteer support organizations within the music and arts communities for many years.

Board Member Clint Holmes is a legendary singer, songwriter, recording and stage artist, and has years of philanthropic experience plus an in depth knowledge of the inner workings of the music business.

Board V.P. Curt Miller has decades of business leadership and ownership experience in addition to being a decades long musician and recording and stage artist. Curt is also an exceptional professional sound and recording engineer.

We have grown from a small dream-filled nonprofit to a regional powerhouse in just a few years. Partnering with local nonprofits, schools, businesses, and community members of influence, we're reaching more students than any other program in southern Nevada. Each semester, we reach more than 2,000 students and touch the lives of students and adults of all ages.

We have hosted clinics and master classes with artists including Arturo Sandoval, Miles Davis, Michael Dease, Charley Davis. Wynton Marsalis, Sherman Irby, Scotty Barnart, Julius Tolentino, Marcus Printup, Victoria Swift, Camille Thurman, Alexa Tarantino, Sherrie Maricle, and so many more. We also teach band directors how to better teach jazz through a collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center's "Band Director Academy." We produce a newsletter with questions from our followers to artists like Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride, and others. We host Buzzin' In Brass and Jazz For Young People concerts for at risk Title 1 schools. We host with UNLV and Jazz at Lincoln Center, the largest Essentially Ellington Regional High School Band Festival in the nation. We created and lead the Las Vegas Youth Jazz Orchestra and are launching "Jazz Routes," a program which will provide free music instruments to impoverished youth along with a year of free music lessons.