Welcome to Oaktown Jazz Workshops! Founded in 1994, Oaktown Jazz Workshops is a non-profit, community based, cultural education organization dedicated to passing on the tradition of jazz music to young people through music instruction, educational presentations and live concerts in the community.
“The Oaktown Jazz Workshops got me started on my musical journey armed with some important lessons coming from the rich oral tradition of Black American Music. These lessons have guided me, they are part of what makes me the musician, and the person that I am today, and as I teacher I try to pass them on to my students the same way they were taught to me: by example!”
Kazemde George
“Oaktown is where I learned that jazz is broader than a music genre. It’s a culture — a set of lived experiences that defined how I related to myself and others. At Oaktown, we were blessed to be mentored by musicians who were both educators and active performers, so there was always a pathway to professionalism that we could see in action. The peers I had then, are the peers I have now, as so many of us are working musicians, composers, and producers. There is an ethos of discipline, love, and family that we share because it’s the culture of Oakland, it’s the culture of jazz, and it’s the culture Oaktown has upheld for 30 years. I’m grateful and proud to be part of this family.”
Savannah Harris
“To me, Oaktown is the last bastion of the time honored tradition of education through performance practice and mentorship. The kids at Oaktown aren’t force fed ‘licks’ or scales: they’re taught by observing, listening, and reacting. This is how the greats of this art form learned and I am eternally grateful for everything this program did for me.”
Tim McKay
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