-
Bennie Wallace, founder and music director of BackCountry Jazz, will lead a benefit in Greenwich in a private backyard. People will get more information about where when they register and the concert will benefit musical education.
Bennie Wallace, founder and music director of BackCountry Jazz, will lead a benefit in Greenwich in a private backyard. People will get more information about where when they register and the concert will
Photo: Contributed / Contributed Photo
Image 1 of 1
Bennie Wallace, founder and music director of BackCountry Jazz, will lead a benefit in Greenwich in a private backyard. People will get more information about where when they register and the concert will benefit musical education.
Bennie Wallace, founder and music director of BackCountry Jazz, will lead a benefit in Greenwich in a private backyard. People will get more information about where when they register and the concert will
Photo: Contributed / Contributed Photo
GREENWICH — For more than 13 years, Greenwich musician Bennie Wallace has been striving to spread his love of music through education. And he is now back with fundraising concerts to give young musicians an opportunity.
Wallace’s BackCountry Jazz program will hold “intimate outdoor jazz concerts” throughout the summer, starting on Saturday, June 27. The concerts will feature a variety of musical themes and guest artists, with the goal of raising money “to transform young lives and build community through the power of music.”
Saturday’s concert will be at 4 p.m. at a private home in town. To attend, you must register for the event to get the address.
The backyard location is expected to provide room for “ample social distancing” and all supporters are welcome to attend, including children. Patrons can bring blankets and chairs, and BackCountry Jazz will provide beverages.
Wallace formed BackCountry Jazz in 2007 to bring major jazz artists to Greenwich and both inspire and educate young musicians. But it’s impact has gone far beyond great jazz performances. It has served more than 22,000 students through its concerts, programs and summer music camps and allowed them to pursue higher education and careers in the arts.
A renowned tenor saxophonist, Wallace has played around the world, recorded many albums and provided music for major films, including “White Men Can’t Jump” and “Blaze,” both of which were directed by writer Ron Shelton.
BackCountry Jazz has been a passion project for Wallace, and he wanted to continue his efforts despite the coronavirus pandemic, which has had a huge impact on nonprofit organizations.
“During this unusual and difficult time, BackCountry Jazz is presenting a series of outdoor concerts for small audiences as a gift to the community and our supporters,” Wallace said. “Along with all other philanthropies in our area, we were forced to cancel our largest fundraiser of the year in the spring. But we remain committed to providing summer music education programs for our talented BCJ students. We hope our supporters will come out for a performance and help us cover the gap in our fundraising to keep our music education going strong.”
In the past year alone, BackCountry Jazz has served more than 2,700 youths in Bridgeport with its summer music camp, after school music programs, scholarships, student ensembles, master classes, workshops and concerts and performances as well as by providing instruments.
Information about subsequent concerts will be released at a later date.
To sign up for Saturday’s concert, contat Jeanette Wallace at 203-561-3111 or at jeanette@backcountryjazz.org. For more information about the organization, visit www.backcountryjazz.org.
kborsuk@greenwichtime.com