A Beacon for Jazz:
America's Original Art Form
Our Mission
American culture has evolved in such a way that our national musical heritage, the uniquely American art form of jazz, has been relegated to the sidelines. We want to help change that. From education to outreach, from promotion to performance, we want to cultivate a new and informed audience for America’s most original art form.
Lighthouse Arts, Inc. was established to improve the quality of jazz education by making accessible the opportunities for students and the community at large to learn and experience the many dimensions of jazz music and the creative artists who play it. We shall incorporate partnerships with the community, schools and arts organizations that will recapture, teach and preserve the music’s history and culture, in an accessible environment that promotes awareness and appreciation.
Lighthouse Arts, Inc. differentiates itself from other small and large jazz organizations by focusing on the artist. Our mission is to acknowledge, celebrate, document and support those individuals who creatively represent jazz by utilizing broadcast and print media along with concerts that shall be held in the areas best performance venues. Our founders represent a cross-section of the region’s jazz, education, and business leaders.
Album Discography
Pittsburgh has always been a city of innovators: in business, industry, science–and the arts. The city has spawned world-renowned artists in every creative field, especially JAZZ. Pittsburgh’s jazz legacy gave the world an incredible number of gifted musicians who raised the bar and changed jazz forever.
This journey continues to this day, as you’ll hear on this recording , by celebrating three generations of Pittsburgh jazz musicians. They are, THE ASCENDED MASTERS, living legends, elders who blazed trails, setting the gold standard. They are THE TORCHBEARERS, who overcame the challenges of a shrinking jazz music landscape, and still remain as relevant as ever. And they are THE YOUNG LIONS, musicians who are building on this legacy and blazing new paths of their own.
Each group performs four selections, from jazz classics to original compositions, being presented here for the first time. The gifted masters of this region have mentored and inspired the next generation of artists. This recording honors that ongoing journey by showcasing all three generations, proving that, indeed, the past is the present.
