Jazz Forum Arts is celebrating its 40th Anniversary! To see the organizations history throughout the years, click here.
About Jazz Forum Arts
Milestones
Since 1985 Jazz Forum Arts has brought top quality, live jazz to audiences throughout the New York metropolitan area.
As Westchester County’s premier nonprofit jazz organization, Jazz Forum Arts is committed to elevating the jazz community through appreciation and understanding of this uniquely American art form.
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Our Programming
Jazz Forum Club
Watch our video Jazz Forum: Keeping Jazz Alive in Westchester. Special thanks to Jesse Ovalles of Impact Stories.
The Jazz Forum is an intimate 90-seat performance venue, often called a “living room” where new and frequent patrons are welcomed personally and enthusiastically.
The club provides a special space for live music lovers as it is a listening room, first and foremost.
The club offers world-class jazz and Brazilian music every weekend, a delicious dinner menu complemented by Italian wine, local draft beer and a full bar featuring specialty cocktails.
There is no elevated stage so artists are uniquely accessible to the audience. There is a pool table in the adjacent lounge for patrons to enjoy before and after the music. The physical space of the club reflects the love in the room, the eclectic taste of the founders, and furniture – each piece with its own story – gifted to the club from friends and family over the years.
The Jazz Forum is located in Tarrytown, New York, and is celebrated as Westchester’s premier jazz club. Over the years, it has become a cherished destination for everyone – from couples seeking a romantic night out to the most dedicated jazz enthusiasts.
Outdoor Summer Concerts
Experience jazz, Brazilian and world music in beautiful, open-air settings at our free summer concert series.
We bring both acclaimed and up-and-coming artists to scenic parks along the Hudson River for unforgettable evenings of live music.
Just pack a picnic, grab a blanket, and bring your beach chairs. Join the community for a perfect sunset soundtrack.
At some locations, Jazz Forum Arts also offers free-to-attend Jitterbugs Jam sessions for kids of all ages to come and groove, prior to the concerts. Some locations also feature menu options by area food establishments and ice cream for the family.
Education
Jazz Forum Arts is dedicated to fostering a love for jazz across all ages through accessible educational programming.
The organization nurtures the next generation of performers, listeners and patrons by providing a structured, engaging and enjoyable learning environment.
Their diverse initiatives range from the Jitterbugs: Jazz for Kids program for preschoolers to the Jazz Forum Student Ensemble for older students, grades 5-12. High school music students can also join the Jazz Forum Lab Band at no cost, where they can learn and perform alongside professional jazz artists and educators.
Scholarships are available for all paid programs. Additionally, students are invited to attend several shows at the club at no charge.
Monthly Jam Sessions
The Jazz Forum’s monthly jam sessions provide a welcoming environment for musicians of all levels to connect, collaborate and grow, while listeners enjoy the spontaneous creativity and interaction.
These jam sessions are free for students who present a valid ID at the door.
Rotating Art Gallery
The art gallery at the Jazz Forum expresses a commitment to presenting diverse visual art forms alongside the musical performances. It features rotating exhibits of regional artists, providing a space for the cross-pollination of artistic disciplines which adds to the warm environment of the club.
As part of its community efforts, Jazz Forum hosts free gallery receptions for each new exhibit that include engaging panel conversations with the artists. These events provide an opportunity for the community to learn directly from the creators. Guests are encouraged to discuss the art with the artists themselves, gaining personal insight into their process and vision – all while enjoying a glass of wine and cheese on the house.
The art presented at the Jazz Forum art gallery exhibits is available for sale.
The History of Jazz Forum Arts
Jazz Forum Arts brings the world of Jazz to you. From internationally-renowned musicians to emerging artists, we aim to showcase the diversity within the genre. We foster an environment where the truest expression of the music can be celebrated in all its forms.
Jazz Forum Arts was founded in 1985 by trumpeter and producer Mark Morganelli after several years running the original Jazz Forum loft clubs in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Those early spaces created opportunities for emerging musicians, featured workshops led by Barry Harris, big band presentations, Brazilian music nights and headline performances by major jazz artists.
The lofts established the core values that still define the organization today: access, excellence, community and a belief that jazz thrives when people are invited into it.
After the second Jazz Forum loft closed in 1983, Mark Morganelli and his wife, Ellen Prior, a nonprofit management consultant, began shaping what would become Jazz Forum Arts. They launched the nonprofit in July, 1985 with the Riverside Park Summer Music Series which became the Riverside Park Arts Festival at the 79th Street Rotunda.
For 13 summers, from 1985 to 1997, this free festival drew more than 1,500 people per event and became one of the most beloved public music offerings in New York City, a reflection of what then Mayor David Dinkins called NYC: “a beautiful mosaic”.
The festival’s mix of top-tier Jazz and World Music artists, neighborhood families, and widely diverse audiences created the foundation for Jazz Forum Arts’ long-term commitment to free outdoor programming.
During the next two decades, Jazz Forum Arts expanded its reach across New York City and the region. From 1992 through 2013, the organization produced nearly 150 concerts at the Tarrytown Music Hall, presenting artists including Billy Taylor, Betty Carter, Sonny Rollins, Gerry Mulligan, Dave Brubeck, Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry and the Count Basie Orchestra. At the same time, Jazz Forum Arts presented concerts at major regional venues including the Paramount Center in Peekskill, SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center, the Palace Theatre in Stamford, John Harms Center in Englewood and NJPAC.
The Tarrytown Music Hall.
Between 1996 and 2014, Jazz Forum Arts also produced concerts at NYC’s The Town Hall, Beacon Theatre, Symphony Space, Schimmel Center at Pace University, NYU Skirball Center, and for a decade at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s venues. These presentations featured artists such as Savion Glover, Wayne Shorter, Abbey Lincoln, Chuck Mangione, David Sanborn, Kenny Barron, Barry Harris, Shirley Scott, Eliane Elias, Cedar Walton, Geri Allen, Milton Nascimento and others. Several performances were recorded or broadcast by NPR, including the long-running Piano Summit series.
Over its history, Jazz Forum Arts has received seven National Endowment for the Arts grants that recognize the organization’s artistic leadership and public impact. One of those NEA grants supported Jazz Forum Arts’s Berkshire Jazz Festival, which ran from 2001 to 2003 at Butternut Ski Basin in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Jazz Forum Arts also presented eight editions of the Sunnyside Jazz Festival at Washington Irving’s home on the Irvington/Tarrytown border from 1996 to 2003.
Building on its early success in Riverside Park, Jazz Forum Arts expanded its summer programming north into Westchester, Rockland and Fairfield Counties. Jazz Forum Arts was invited by Westchester County to produce the annual free Kensico Dam Music Fest in Valhalla from 1997-2000. In 2025 the organization celebrated the 25th anniversary of its free Dobbs Ferry Summer Music Series in Westchester County. Since the Westchester Summer concerts began in 1997, Jazz Forum Arts has presented more than 1,000 free concerts in Dobbs Ferry, Tarrytown, Ossining, Sleepy Hollow, Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Valhalla, Port Chester, White Plains and Peekskill. Annually, these concerts draw nearly 20,000 attendees and remain a cornerstone of the region’s cultural life.
Jerome Harris, guitar, Rene Hart, bass, and Erik Lawrence, sax, performing with Jazz Forum Arts founding board member David Amram’s group at Jazz Forum, Tarrytown during the first year of the club, in celebration of Amram’s 87th birthday.
In 2015, Mark Morganelli and Ellen Prior purchased a small commercial building in Tarrytown and made the decision to build a permanent home for the music. They sold their house in Dobbs Ferry to finance the project and spent 25 months transforming a raw ground-floor space into the Jazz Forum. Since opening in 2017, the intimate 85-seat Jazz Forum has become Westchester’s premier jazz club and presents over 300 shows annually. The club also features a rotating gallery of contemporary art, with group exhibitions three times per year. Exhibits highlight regional artists and generate meaningful income for their work.
The Jazz Forum is the home to Jazz Forum Arts’ growing educational programs held throughout the school year. Jitterbugs: Jazz for Kids serves children 18 months to 4 years old and their families. The Jazz Forum Student Ensemble involves 5th through 12th graders, introducing young musicians to improvisation, ensemble playing and performance. The Jazz Forum Lab Band began in 2025 and offers a free, high-quality ensemble experience where local educators and professional musicians perform side-by-side with advanced high school music students in a true mentorship environment.
A monthly Open Jam Session welcomes students, emerging artists and avocational musicians to play alongside professionals in a supportive setting. The Jazz Forum in School program launched in 2026 to expand this work into local classrooms by bringing teaching artists directly into Westchester schools for culturally-grounded instruction and interactive concerts. The program is designed in partnership with school music educators to enrich arts access during the school day and introduce students to improvisation, rhythm and the history of jazz.
Together, these offerings strengthen the organization’s role as a presenter and provider of educational programs while advancing the mission of spreading the word of jazz.
Our programs support Jazz Forum Arts’ audience development and mentorship pathways, connecting learners of all ages to the club and creating a meaningful connection among patrons, students and working artists.
Across four decades, Jazz Forum Arts has remained guided by the values of its founding Board members including David Amram, Dizzy Gillespie and Wynton Marsalis, and by the partnership of Mark Morganelli and Ellen Prior. What began as a small artist-led loft club has grown into a $2 million nonprofit that presents world-class jazz year-round, serves tens of thousands of people annually and continues to expand access to America’s original art form.
Jazz Forum Arts concluded its 40th year of programming in 2025, and its Board and staff remain committed to artistry, community and accessibility. This history fuels the next chapter of educational growth, community partnerships and cultural leadership in the region.
Following this milestone, on February 10, 2026, the organization announced a leadership transition to ensure its continued growth and legacy. Effective July 1, 2026, founders Mark Morganelli and Ellen Prior will retire from their staff positions, handing the baton to Darrian Douglas as Executive Director and Clara Winder as Chief Operating Officer.
This new chapter marks a commitment to continuity and creativity, as Darrian Douglas and Clara Winder lead the organization’s mission forward. While Mark Morganelli focuses on his performance career and memoir, and Ellen Prior is set to join the Board of Directors in 2027, the founding spirit of warmth, excellence, and community remains the heartbeat of Jazz Forum Arts.
Our Mission Statement
Jazz Forum Arts is a 501© 3 not-for-profit arts presenting organization whose mission is to present top-quality events to the public at little or no cost, while enhancing the appreciation of jazz, America’s preeminent indigenous musical artform.
2025 At a Glance
This annual report provides a summary of Jazz Forum Arts’ programs, community reach, and organizational milestones in 2025.
Jazz Forum Arts • Candid Platinum Transparency 2025
Story of the club
Do you want to learn the story of our club, the Jazz Forum in Tarrytown? Find out what we’ve been up to since the beginning!
Jazz Forum Arts Management
Learn more about the people working at Jazz Forum Arts.
Our Sponsors
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