Two New York Music Schools Launch Jazz Mini-Week for Everyone
Four nights, twelve 50-minute classes open to total beginners, pros and jazz music lovers alike, with special guest Daniel Carter. Proceeds fund NYMI’s free community music programming.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — New York, NY, July 28, 2026
New York Jazz Workshop and the New York Music Institute today announced Jazz Mini-Week — four evenings of 50-minute jazz classes on August 28 and September 1–3, 2026, open to everyone from people who have never played a note to working professionals. The twelve classes, taught at NYJW’s midtown Manhattan studios at 6:00, 7:00 and 8:00 PM nightly, mark a major expansion of the two schools’ ongoing partnership: proceeds support the New York Music Institute’s free community programming, including the free improvisation class the two organizations co-present on the first Monday of every month, led by saxophonist Patience Higgins.
Twelve Classes, No Experience Required
The lineup spans jazz history, culture and hands-on music-making, with a through-line: improvisation as something anyone can do. More than half the program is built on that idea — Kyoko Kitamura’s “No Wrong Notes” uses graphic scores in place of sheet music so that players and non-players create together; Ole Mathisen teaches alternative techniques through which everyone can improvise on any piece of music; Alyssa Chetrick opens improvisation to classically trained players; Michelle Walker turns whatever is in your pocket into a rhythm section; and bassist Andrea Veneziani examines the psychology of how improvisers listen, trust and create in real time.
Elsewhere, drummer Scott Latzky traces the lineage of jazz rhythm from Africa to New York; bassist Dave Ambrosio revisits the neglected protest jazz of the late-1960s Blue Note era; and a faculty panel featuring Patience Higgins and NYJW co-founder Marc Mommaas debates oral tradition versus academia. Closing night features guitarist Charlie Apicella, joined by celebrated multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter.
Every class welcomes jazz enthusiasts, total beginners and experienced musicians alike, and several require no instrument at all.
“When music is free, it’s accessible to all — but free doesn’t mean a free ride. The contribution goes in both directions: the instructor freely gives their time and expertise, and the participant freely gives their presence, their energy, and their participation. Nobody is required to give money — the giving is spiritual, not monetary.”
— Patience Higgins, Artistic Director, New York Music Institute
Download the full press release (PDF) for the complete class lineup, ticketing details and media contacts.