Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephen Lee.
While living in New York, Stephen had the privilege of meeting and befriending several talented young musicians. These musicians ultimately became a huge part of his inspiration. Stephen noticed that these younger musicians were operating at a level of performance at a very young age. They were hanging with the legends and veterans at Smalls and different jazz clubs. Most of them were coming from performing arts schools in various cities. It was very clear that they benefitted from extra mentorship, private lessons, hands on attention – things you don’t get at the average public school.
Stephen says, “I can use my own life as a testimony – everybody won’t be a doctor, lawyer or Indian chief. Some kids want to be professional musician and make a living playing jazz. I’m here to help make their dreams come true and let them know it can happen. Part of my job is to show them the steps they need to take, share my experience.”
He continues, “Even if it’s not a professional pursuit, there are so many life/soft skills that you learn in jazz improvisation – confidence, self-motivation, work ethic, time management, self-awareness, critical listening. It’s more than simply learning how to play an instrument.”
Upon to moving to Memphis in 2009, he taught in public school for three years then moved on to working with nonprofit arts organizations like Visible Music School and Memphis Music Initiative. He became more curious about how nonprofits work and asked a friend/colleague to help him understand. What he got from that conversation was that nonprofits address a need that isn’t being attended to in the community. They solve a problem. The problem he identified was that there was nowhere to learn to learn the history and legacy of jazz here in Memphis. He saw the need for them to learn the music. He knew that he could provide an opportunity for kids to play jazz on a more elite level. He also knew that students could benefit from his wealth of knowledge and his connections to some of the genre’s most talented and well-respected artists.
Seeing that learning gap and armed with confidence in his own abilities, Stephen knew that he was ready to transition into something more impactful in the music space. From there, Memphis Jazz Workshop was birthed into the Memphis community in 2016. The first camp was held in the summer of 2017 at Visible Music School. It was free of charge and catered to 20 students. MJW has experienced slow but steady growth. Enrollment has doubled year over year as there are now 70 students in the after-school program and 80 students in the summer program.
The program has experienced growth in other ways as well, having performed at approximately 65 events since its launch. 100% of the seniors in the program have graduated and gone to the college. As of 2020, MJW has partnered with the Memphis Mayor’s MPLOY summer jobs program, which paid fifty students to participate in the summer workshop. As the world pivots to virtual learning models, Memphis Jazz Workshop has not missed a beat, implementing its summer workshops as planned and master classes with some of the jazz world’s most respected artists.
However, the journey is not over. MJW seeks continued growth in engagement, enrollment and support from our community. The bigger vision will revolutionize learning in Memphis as Stephen looks to have a performing arts school similar to Duke Ellington School of Performing Arts in D.C. or Lincoln Center School in New York.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been fairly smooth. When we first got started, there was the curve of learning the ins and outs of establishing then managing a nonprofit and staffing. Nonetheless, we’ve gotten a lot of community support from patrons of the arts, grant-making foundations like Memphis Music Initiative, Shelby County Schools, the music community both locally and nationally as well as parents of student musicians. However, the pandemic was an unexpected challenge as it has been to many businesses, organizations and individuals. It is especially tricky for musicians transitioning from teaching in person to online. And the kids are unable to physically play together in ensembles, which is a significant part of the learning process. We have managed to successfully keep the momentum with the students but our funding and fundraising efforts have been more a taller task. We consistently brainstorming more creative ways to meet our budget goals for 2021.
We’d love to hear more about the organization.
Memphis Jazz Workshop focuses specifically on training in the area of jazz. Most schools or programs focus on more general musical theory, technique and practice. We are strictly jazz. That along with the caliber and experience of our instructors and world-renowned master class artists is what sets us apart from many organizations in our city as well as our region.
We are most proud of our students’ accomplishments, as part of our mission is to train the next generation of leaders in jazz. Thus far, we’ve had 36 students who made All-West, three who made all-state and one of our students, Braxton, was accepted into All National Jazz Band this year! And we couldn’t be prouder of our student, Ljuliana, who won the Presidential Scholarship to Berklee College of Music.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I attribute my personal success to the following:
Focus
Discipline
Commitment to the craft and to continuous learning
As for the success of the organization, I try to keep it fresh and interesting for students. Although there is a significant age gap, we still try to be relatable and use our experience to show them that they can be what they see. Creating and maintaining a network of friends and colleagues in Memphis and New York has been greatly beneficial to me personally as a musician and professionally as the Artistic Director of Memphis Jazz Workshop.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.memphisjazzworkshop.org
- Phone: 901.860.5015
- Email: info@memphisjazzworkshop.org
- Instagram: @leejazzomega
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/memjazzworkshop
Image Credit:
Memphis Jazz Workshop
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