Gold Coast Jazz Society of Ft. Lauderdale Scholarship Competition Announced

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JAZZ STUDENTS COMPETE FOR SCHOLARSHIPS AT JEANETTE M. RUSSELL JAZZ SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION

Fort Lauderdale, FL – On April 18, the Gold Coast Jazz Society will present the annual Jeanette M. Russell Jazz Scholarship Competition for awards from the Jeanette M. Russell Jazz Scholarship Fund. The competition will be held at the Dillard Center for the Arts, Dillard High School, 2501 NW 11th Street in Fort Lauderdale. Finalists are students from Florida high schools, colleges and universities who have qualified as economically disadvantaged, met other scholarship criteria and are studying jazz. The students will participate in live musical performances for scholarship awards to attend 2009 summer music camps or for attendance to colleges or universities in the fall of 2009. The competition will begin at 9:00am and is free and open to the public to attend.

Through a generous bequest from the estate of Jeanette M. Russell, the Gold Coast Jazz Society has awarded over $200,000 in scholarship awards in recent years to students from middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities pursing studies in jazz. Affectionately known as “Lady Jazz,” Russell was a longtime supporter of jazz and of the Gold Coast Jazz Society. She bequeathed a $1.3 million gift to sponsor scholarships for economically disadvantaged students in jazz studies programs and to support performances by the Gold Coast Jazz Society Band. “Through Jeanette’s generous gift we can continue preserving and presenting jazz music,” said Leonard Robbins, board member of the Society. “Her legacy will expand our goal to educate young people about the cultural significance of this uniquely American music.”

Originally from New York City, Jeanette Russell was a fashion designer and consultant to prominent clients, one of whom was John Hammond, a jazz promoter and producer who introduced Russell to Benny Goodman. At his urging she became involved in the jazz scene in New York and became intimate friends with jazz musicians, record producers and writers. Mona Hinton, wife of famed bassist Milt Hinton, dubbed her “Lady Jazz.”

The Gold Coast Jazz Society is a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to perpetuate and advance the cultural art form of jazz through performances, education and outreach activities.

For more information about the Jeanette M. Russell Jazz Scholarship Competition or the activities of the Gold Coast Jazz Society, call 954-524-0805 or go to http://www.goldcoastjazz.org/.
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Pam Dearden Executive Director
Gold Coast Jazz Society
1350 E. Sunrise Blvd.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33304
954-524-0805
http://www.goldcoastjazz.org/

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