VMFA’s Thursday night jazz performance program has a new name and sponsor: it shall hence forth be known as the Dominion Jazz Café.
That’s right because, you guessed it, Dominion Resources is your new sponsor for live jazz every Thursday night.
From the press release:
Working with the Richmond Jazz Society, VMFA began Jazz Café in 2010. Dominion’s support ensures that Jazz Café will continue to be free while maintaining the quality level of performances that visitors have come to enjoy.
“Dominion’s support allows the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to continue our jazz programming for the next three years,” Director Alex Nyerges said. “Museums have evolved to serve the community with not only world-class art, but with diverse social spaces as well. This support ensures that Richmonders will continue to have free, live music performances every week.”
Dominion’s partnership with VMFA spans more than 20 years. The Dominion Resources Galleries house one of the strongest public collections of African art in the United States. Dominion has a rich legacy of sponsoring VMFA’s free cultural programs and recent landmark exhibitions including Posing Beauty in African American Art and Signs of Protest (2014), Dynasty and Divinity: Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria and Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris (2011).
Dominion’s support for the jazz series is being made through the Dominion Foundation, the company’s charitable arm. “The sponsorship—and our long patronage of the museum—reflects our commitment to investing in community vitality and cultural diversity,” said Dominion Chairman, President, and CEO Tom Farrell, who is also a VMFA trustee. Farrell also said that while he does not participate in funding decisions made by the Dominion Foundation, he believes that Jazz Café exemplifies VMFA’s dedication to providing exceptional experiences of art and culture that engage, captivate, and delight a diverse and growing audience of museum visitors.
Here’s what your upcoming schedule looks like:
Dominion Jazz Café |Thursday, 6–9 pm.
January Jazz Schedule
Jan. 7: Larri Branch Agenda
Pianist Larri Branch plays serious jazz with a light touch, from Bud Powell to George Gershwin and more with Brian Cruse on Bass, Chris Ryan on Guitar, and C.J. Wolf on Drums.
Jan. 14: Mary Hermann Garcia
Vocalist Mary Hermann García performs with trombonist/percussionist Antonio García, guitarist John Conley, and bassist Brian Sulser in sets of music from the Brazilian and Great American Songbooks.
Jan. 21: Doctors of Jazz
Swing and traditional Dixieland Jazz with Dick Dunsing, banjo; Martin Ryle, trombone; Rob James, cornet; Gene Anderson, clarinet; Paul Welaskay, piano; Akira Suzuki, drums; Ben Anderson, bass/washboard; Joe Troncale, vocals; Stan Goldberg, cornet.
Jan. 28: Triple Crossing Jazz Project
Classic tunes from the Great American Songbook with Jay Brown, tenor sax/percussion; Kirkland Jackson, bass; Mary Lynn Eastman, piano.
