Community And Volunteer

This section of my site is for my favorite charitable ventures.

www.outpostspace.org

The Outpost Performance Space is a non-profit organization dedicated to jazz and world music. National and international acts are booked there regularly, and the Outpost Space also has a well established education and outreach program that offers music classes for children, families, teens, and adults. The course selection is diverse, varying from African drumming classes for families to youth after-school jazz classes to Flamenco.

The adult improvisation class, taught by David Parlato, was my first serious introduction to large ensemble jazz. The evening class runs three times a year, and the newest course offering has been a one-week intensive course in the summer during the day.

The building is located at 210 Yale Blvd. just south of Central, and is fully wheelchair accessible. All performances are smoke-free, alcohol-free, and suitable for families and children.

www.musiclinkfoundation.org

The MusicLink Foundation is a not-for-profit service that matches children from low-income families with music teachers who offer private or group lessons at a reduced cost. All MusicLink teachers go through a background check. I am registered as a MusicLink teacher and still have openings for a few MusicLink students for studio lessons only. If you are interested in low-cost lessons for children please contact MusicLink.

www.joyjunction.org

Joy Junction is Albuquerque's largest homeless shelter and the only one that accepts entire families. I've played there and can tell you from experience that the people are wonderful. The program is unusual in that it is not set up simply to house people. The emphasis is on helping people develop job skills and self-sufficiency. The director of Joy Junction, Dr. Jeremy Reynalds, has written an astounding book on the subject, and he's uniquely qualified to write about homelessness because he experienced homelessness himself. Joy Junction receives no government funding whatsoever. There is always far more demand for their services than there are money or resources to pay for them.