TONY CAMPBELL, far right, sax jams with the band. (Photos by J. L. Martello)
Pittsburgh is known around the world as the home of many legendary jazz icons.
On June 21 the 9th Annual Jazz on the Hillside fundraising concert brought four local “icons” to the lawn of the Schenley Heights Community Development Program Multi-Purpose Center at 3171 Ewart Drive.
“As with the programs we provide at SHCDP, Jazz on the Hillside has become a mainstay in the Schenley Heights community and is a great way to celebrate our mission,” said Rev. Dr. Johnnie Monroe, executive director of SHCDP. “Our programs enable the community’s children to have a safe place to go and to grow.”
ETTA COX was one of the jazz giants who performed.
This year’s evening of jazz “under the stars” featured the Tony Campbell Quintet featuring Jerry Lucarelli, the legendary Harold Betters Quartet, Al Dowe & Etta Cox Quartet and Jimmy Ponder. Tony Mowod, the “Voice of Jazz” and president and founder of the Pittsburgh Jazz Society, returned as the emcee and is co-chair of the event.
REV. JOHNNIE MONROE prays over the event.
The 9th Annual Jazz on the Hillside is made possible in part through the generous support of Arthur G. Gilkes, Esq., Dollar Bank, Highmark, UPMC and Robert Wholey’s. Contributions and donations are tax-deductible, and proceeds from this event support the programs of SHCDP that include:
•After School Tutorial Enrichment Program (A-STEP)
•Summer Enrichment Program
•Nadia Track And Field Program
•Project Learns At Weil Elementary School
•Parent Support Groups
•Early Childhood Classrooms
TONY MOWOD introduces the band members and emcees the program.
The Schenley Heights Community Development Program was established in 1995 to provide an alternative to crime and other socially destructive activities that too often plague inner city, low-income communities. The organization’s target population is Pittsburgh’s urban youth, most whom dwell in the Hill District community.
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE—Jazz on the Hillside committee from left in front: Geraldine Monroe, Ellen Estomin, Victoria Garner, Tony Mowod, Carolyn Davis, and Kevin Pugh. In back from left: Rev. Johnnie Monroe, Arthur Gilkes, and Dewitt Walton.
Through a variety of successful programs, each year over 350 participants ages 3-18 and their families are exposed to various activities that promote academic and life success as well as activities that encourage behavioral and physical wellness.
(For more information about Jazz on the Hillside and the Schenley Heights Community Development Program, please call 412-621-3341, or visit www.shcdpoJazzrg.)
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