Jazz4Justice(TM) at VCU

The Honorable Justice John Charles Thomas, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, recites his original poetry of social justice in spontaneous musical collaboration with a VCU Jazz Combo at VCU Jazz 4 Justice (TM) 2017. photo credit: Rebecca Schwartz

VCU “Jazz 4 Justice (TM)” is a concert event that has raised thousands of dollars each year for VCU Jazz student scholarships and for pro bono legal assistance in the Greater Richmond community, focused on aid for veterans and more recently for residents subject to eviction notice. This ongoing partnership with the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation has brought us the support of dozens of legal and corporate entities in the region ranging from Capital One and Dominion Energy to Suntrust (now Truist).

In addition to our instrumental jazz ensembles and occasional vocalists, collaborations within VCU include bringing to our stage various VCU choral ensembles to sing jazz-influenced music. External collaborations have included music-making with the original social-justice poetry created and recited by retired Virginia Supreme Court Justice John Charles Thomas as well as welcoming to the stage “celebrity” guest conductors Anne Holton (Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth of Virginia), Mark Herring (Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia), Michael N. Herring and Colette McEachin (each a Commonwealth’s Attorney of the City of Richmond), and Andrew Freiden (NBC12 Meteorologist). As an economic engine, our concert events as of 2020 have directed over $60,000 into our community to provide residents with legal services they otherwise would not have.

Noted the Richmond Times-Dispatch on August 16, 2020: “The VCU Department of Music’s Jazz 4 Justice™ concert on February 7, 2020 netted $10,700 for VCU Jazz scholarships and $26,000 for the mission of the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation. Over the course of its six years at VCU, this event has raised over $60,000 for pro bono legal assistance for disadvantaged citizens in the Richmond region. Colette McEachin, Commonwealth’s Attorney of the City of Richmond, served as Guest Director of the VCU Jazz Orchestra I, otherwise directed by Prof. Antonio García, Director of VCU Jazz Studies. Make plans to attend J4J 2021 on Friday, February 19, 2021! Sponsors included Have Site Will Travel Ltd, Capital One, Dominion Energy, McGuireWoods, Hunton Andrews Kurth, JazzRVA.com, Murphy & McGonigle, CarMax Legal, Sands Anderson, Hirschler Fleischer, ThompsonMcMullan, Moran Reeves Conn, Troutman Sanders, Christian & Barton LLP, Cowan Gates, PC, Kutak Rock LLP, McCandlish Holton PC, Metro Women’s Bar Association, Protiviti, Inc, Spotts Fain P.C., Threshold Counsel P.C, Ogletree Deakins, Williams Mullen PC, Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC, Harman Claytor Corrigan & Wellman, Juridical Solutions PLC, Miles & Stockbridge P.C., Sacient Advanced Care Planning, Suntrust now Truist, VCU, and the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation.”

Enjoy all or part of our February 2021 COVID-era virtual concert with corresponding downloadable PDF program.

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