MANCHESTER CRAFTSMEN'S GUILD

Mcg jazzmcg jazz has become one of the longest-running subscription concert series for live jazz in the country and has been named a great jazz venue by downbeat magazine for ten consecutive years. Mcg jazz presented its 37th annual concert season in 2023-24 with a line-up filled with a diverse range of internationally acclaimed artists. The concert season featured 13 unique performances that included the reigning queen of bossa nova, elaine elias; nea jazz master hubert laws; smooth jazz saxophonist, gerald albright, and rising stars: pasquale grasso, veronica swift, and jazzmeia horn. History was made with the smithsonian jazz masterworks orchestra celebrating the 125th anniversary of duke ellington. Vocal (continued on schedule o) ensembles new york voices and take 6 joined the 37th season lineup. The season closed with urban-jazz artists, kim and kayla waters. Both take 6 and the smithsonian jazz masterworks orchestra fully sold out their performances. Mcg jazz hosted gerald albright for a sold-out performance in december 2023, as well. Over 7,300 tickets were sold to jazz patrons for the 37th annual concert season. For the second consecutive year, mcg jazz partnered with the pittsburgh playhouse at point park university to present the inside/outside summer concert series. Mcg jazz presented a performance by ray angry, who will serve as the inaugural mcg jazz artist-in-residence in 2024-25. Other musicians who performed as part of the inside/outside concert series were american jazz musician, grace kelly, and smooth jazz saxophonist, jeff kashiwa.mcg jazz' educational programming introduced, tell your story, an afterschool education program that is available at no cost to high school students that play an instrument and are interested in furthering their skills. The "school of swing" program will continue in the fall of 2025 at the mcg concert hall with third and fourth-graders from various pittsburgh public schools.