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Jazz Bridge Project Names Kim E. Tucker As New Executive Director

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Jazz Bridge Project, the non-profit organization devoted to assisting Philadelphia-area jazz and blues artists with their crisis needs, has named Kim E. Tucker as its new Executive Director.

Ms. Tucker is the fourth person to hold this position in the organization’s 17 years of existence.

“We believe Kim is the perfect choice to lead the organization,” said Rhenda Fearrington, a jazz vocalist who is President of the Jazz Bridge Board of Directors. “As the daughter of the late Sue Ford, one of Philadelphiaʼs most respected and loved jazz promoters who was a founding Board member of Jazz Bridge, Kim was literally born into a culture that advocated for the well-being of the Philadelphia jazz musician. She is well-known and well-regarded in our community, not only locally but internationally—by everyone from emerging artists, to whom she has been a respected and loving mentor, to legendary jazz figures, to whom she has been a trusted friend.”

Fearrington continued, “Kim’s passion for the Jazz Bridge mission, her work ethic and integrity, and her experience in music promotion, advocacy and teaching the business side of the music industry uniquely position her to build on our many years of service to musicians in need and meet the continuing challenges before us.”

“I am truly excited about the opportunity to take up the leadership mantle of the organization I have been deeply engaged with for so many years and whose mission is ingrained in my very being. I am very proud of what the Jazz Bridge Board and I have accomplished during the past several years of ongoing transition. I look forward to joining with the Board to pursue Jazz Bridge’s next stage of growth, as well as partnering with our sister organizations in the Philadelphia metro area,” Tucker said.

About Kim E. Tucker

Ms. Tucker is a second-generation independent jazz promoter with deep roots in the Philadelphia area jazz and blues community. Under the tutelage of her late mother, Susan B. Ford, a noted Philadelphia jazz promoter/producer who was also a founding Board member of Jazz Bridge Project, Kim immersed herself in the rich Philadelphia music community at an early age. In addition to producing jazz concerts for such institutions as the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, PA, she has over 30 years’ varied experience in organizational administration, donor services, event management, and public relations, spanning the non-profit, university, and business sectors. For five years, she taught “the Business of Music” at Temple University’s Boyer School of Music & Dance.

Tucker has held various positions with Jazz Bridge since 2007, including as a member of its volunteer Board of Directors. Most recently, as its Program Director, she has been responsible for the delivery of Jazz Bridge’s renowned Neighborhood Concerts and other special events, music partnerships and client services programs.

Among other awards and recognition, Kim has been honored as a “Revolutionary of Jazz” and for her work mentoring young jazz musicians. She holds an Associate’s Degree from Harcum College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Chestnut Hill College.

About Jazz Bridge

Jazz Bridge Project was founded by jazz singers Suzanne Cloud and Wendy Simon in 2004 to address the lack of support for professional jazz and blues musicians in crisis living and working in the Greater Philadelphia Metro area. Jazz Bridge incorporated in Pennsylvania in May 2005 and was awarded tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) public charity by the IRS in 2007.

The founding Board recognized a special opportunity to develop a unique, regional model that could provide help to musicians during hard times, while also increasing public awareness of the tradition, history, and current state of original music in the Philly area by presenting neighborhood concerts hosted and curated by notable musicians from the region. This dual focus still drives Jazz Bridge today. To date, Jazz Bridge has provided emergency assistance grants to more than 600 musicians and referrals to other resources to many others. Through its neighborhood and other concerts, Jazz Bridge has created more than 1,200 paid performance opportunities for jazz and blues artists of all ages. The Neighborhood Concerts season currently runs from October through May each year with 24 concerts held at three area venues: Cheltenham Center for the Arts in Cheltenham, PA; Fellowship Hall at Ridge Avenue United Methodist Church in Philadelphia (Roxborough), PA; and Collingswood Senior Community Center in Collingswood, NJ.

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