“An Evening With Branford Marsalis” takes place Nov. 7. Photo courtesy Pinecrest Gardens. Above: Banyan Bowl, Pinecrest Gardens. Credit: Pinecrest Gardens.

Alana Perez is director of Pinecrest Gardens, a Knight Arts Challenge winner. 

On Oct. 24, Pinecrest Gardens kicks off the new season of its annual jazz series. What makes it different this year is that a Knight Arts Challenge grant is allowing this small gem of a cultural arts park, nestled in a leafy suburb of Miami, to feature prominent headlining acts as part of the institution’s ongoing mission to give South Florida jazz enthusiasts a regular diet of live jazz fare.

For years jazz clubs and night spots in the Miami area have vanished almost as quickly as they have appeared, making it almost impossible for local artists to earn a living in front of an audience. These small local venues also found it hard to attract nationally acclaimed jazz artists. But Miami’s cultural scene has evolved significantly in the past decade, and a more discerning and diverse population, unique to this market, was asking for this type of entertainment.

After taking over the former site of the famed Parrot Jungle, Pinecrest Gardens transformed the old attraction’s Bird Bowl – now renamed the Banyan Bowl for the towering trees that surround it – into a performing arts venue that will house the jazz series. This space gives us an opportunity to program for the broadest possible audience while providing a venue where a diverse audience can enjoy an evening of excellent entertainment at affordable prices.

Knight’s support, has allowed the Jazz Series, now in its fifth year, to feature the type of national and international talent we could only dream of attracting previously, and perhaps more importantly, it allows us to provide a platform for young jazz students to encounter professional musicians, to learn from their experiences, to be mentored by them and to perform with the best of them on the Banyan Bowl stage.

The Gen-Next Jam mentoring series will feature internationally renowned and award-winning jazz artists Branford Marsalis, Carmen Lundy, Vinicius Cantuaria and Doc Severinsen. The day following their evening performances, these jazz greats will stay on at the Banyan Bowl to share experiences with, jam with and mentor a core group of high school students participating in the jazz magnet program at the New World School of the Arts, which also receives Knight support.

What will distinguish the student mentorship program from other mentorship programs is, in part, the level of artists who will be doing the mentoring—and its culmination at the final main stage event. That performance will feature the legendary Doc Severinsen, in a program of his own arrangements, playing on stage with the New World School students who have participated in the Gen-Next Jam series as Doc’s backup band. Join us in the Banyan Bowl this season for these amazing moments. 

For more information on the 2015-2016 Jazz Series, visit the Pinecrest Gardens website.