The mission of the Central New York Jazz Arts Foundation, Inc. is to positively
affect the quality of life in our region by preserving, supporting and advancing
the art form of American Jazz. We do this by presenting it year-round in concert,
cabaret, festival and scholastic settings.

Goals
Our broader goals are aesthetic,
multicultural and educational in nature, as follows:

We present jazz as an art form using the finest local, regional and national artists available.

Jazz, and our efforts to promote it, are by nature a uniquely American multicultural endeavor: as Dizzy Gillespie said, "No America - no jazz". By definition and by design, we continually seek to artistically communicate across cultural barriers in every way possible.

We seek to broaden the existing audience for our art and to train future generations of artists and audiences so that America's only indigenous art form does not die. Our efforts differ from those of symphony orchestras and opera companies only in the style of music that we present. We feel strongly that jazz is as worthy of representation in America as is European art music.

Other regional not-for-profit jazz orchestras and presenting organizations have recently achieved rapid growth and recognition vital to our quality of life; i.e., the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Dallas, Seattle, Chicago and Smithsonian Jazz Orchestras, and others steadily being created in cities nationwide. We are determined to fulfill this mission for the citizens of Upstate New York.