On the evening of April 14th, two powerful things converge at 1421 Sansom Street: a cause worth supporting and a band worth staying up late for. Jazz for Good, the Heart of Jazz Foundation’s fundraiser at Chris’ Jazz Café, is more than a night of live music. Philadelphia’s jazz tradition has a future — and that future has names attached to it.
Jazz for Good: A Night That Funds the Next Generation
The Heart of Jazz Foundation is a Philadelphia-rooted nonprofit with a singular mission: nurture the next generation of jazz musicians by removing the financial barriers that stand between talent and its full expression. Founded by Joe Monaghan, the organization has already provided university scholarships to six music students — young artists who might otherwise have had to set down their instruments when the tuition bills arrived.
“Jazz is an art form that requires extensive training and practice,” Monaghan said, “and without adequate financial support, many talented students would not have the means to continue their education in this field. Scholarships help to level the playing field for these students by reducing the financial barriers that may otherwise prevent them from pursuing their dreams.”
The Jazz for Good fundraiser on April 14th at Chris’ Jazz Café supports that scholarship program directly. It is an evening where the price of admission does double duty — you get world-class live jazz, and a student somewhere gets to keep playing. Showtimes are 7:30 and 9 p.m., with tickets starting at $15 general admission, a dinner-and-show package at $70, and a VIP option at $90 that includes a three-course dinner and stage-front seating. This is the kind of event Philadelphia does well: intimate, meaningful, and musically serious. The Heart of Jazz Foundation has been bringing Philadelphia remarkable programming all season, and this fundraiser is its centerpiece.
The New Philly Sound: Who Is Playing the Jazz for Good Fundraiser
The ensemble performing at the Jazz for Good fundraiser is The New Philly Sound, a collective formed by saxophonist Aidan McKeon at the personal request of Joe Monaghan. The group was assembled with a specific intention — to put the finest young jazz talent from the Philadelphia area on a stage together and let the city hear what’s coming. It has worked. The collective has already drawn comparison to some of the most celebrated young jazz units working in America today.
McKeon himself is a Juilliard student and a Clef Club alumnus, raised inside the Philadelphia jazz tradition and shaped by it. His phrasing channels the lineage — Coltrane, Monk, Dexter Gordon — while carving out a voice that is entirely his own. Alongside him on trumpet is Ace Yuji Williams, also of Juilliard, whose career has already taken him to Carnegie Hall and the Guggenheim Museum. His sound, described as rooted in honesty and spiritual expression, gives the band an upper-register voice with genuine weight behind it.
At the keys is Justin Griggs, a Temple University student whose gospel background feeds directly into his jazz sensibility. He has performed with the Harlem Ballet and studied at Berklee College of Music, and his ability to move between registers — from delicate touch to full-bodied chords — anchors the group’s harmonic center. Ry Miller holds down the bass from Lower Merion, a Temple student and audio engineer whose feel for the rhythm section goes beyond timekeeping into something more architectural. And behind the kit, Justin Bowden completes a lineup that Grammy-nominated pianist and board member Orrin Evans described plainly: “This band speaks directly to our mission. They’re carrying forward the soul of the city — and creating something new.”
Chris’ Jazz Café: The Right Room for Jazz for Good
The venue is no accident. Chris’ Jazz Café has been Philadelphia’s longest continuously operating jazz club for a reason — the room works. Located at 1421 Sansom Street in Center City, it has hosted generations of local and national jazz talent in an intimate, dinner-club environment where the music is always the point. Two shows per night means two different audiences, two different rooms in the space, two chances to catch something genuinely live and unrepeatable. The Jazz for Good fundraiser belongs here.
Tickets for the Jazz for Good fundraiser at Chris’ Jazz Café on April 14th are available now through the venue’s website. General admission is $15 with an à-la-carte menu. The Dinner & Show package is $70 and includes a three-course meal. For $90, the VIP Dinner & Show package adds stage-front seating to the full dinner experience. Showtimes are 7:30 and 9 p.m. Reservations can also be made by calling Chris’ Jazz Café at 215.568.3131.
To donate directly to The Heart of Jazz Foundation or to learn more about its scholarship program and upcoming events, visit theheartofjazz.org.
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