Jazz Articles about Ava Preston

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Introducing Vocalist Ava Preston

by Sanford Josephson
June 2, 2026

On Saturday, October 18, 2025, there was live jazz on 12 corners in Manhattan--from Harlem to the financial district. The musicians were jazz studies majors from several colleges and universities including Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, William Paterson, Oberlin, SUNY Purchase, and The New School. The event was called Sidewalk Swing, and it was created by Ava Preston, a Juilliard graduate student. Preston, the winner of this year's Blues Alley Ella Fitzgerald Vocal Competition, explained how it happened. ...