About the Jazzschool

The Jazzschool is an innovative music school dedicated to the study and performance of America’s indigenous art form — jazz, and related styles of music from around the world.

Founded in 1997, the Jazzschool is located in the historic Kress Building on the northwest corner of Shattuck Avenue and Addison street situated in the heart of the Downtown Berkeley Arts District. Integrating a number of unique resources complementary to jazz study and performance, the Jazzschool resides in a diverse and thriving arts community with the Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Aurora Theater, Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, East Bay Media Center and the Art & Music Room in the Berkeley Public Library.

Hailed as one of the most comprehensive schools for jazz in the country, the Jazzschool offers instrumentalists and vocalists of all ages and levels a broad spectrum of performance and lecture classes, short-term workshops and private instruction through two distinct educational programs: the Jazzschool Institute, a post-secondary degree-granting program offering a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies, and the Jazzschool Community Music School, a non-degree-granting community education program encompassing the Adult Music Program and the Young Musicians Program. Classes are designed for the professional musician, the serious student and the jazz aficionado seeking personal enrichment. Jazzschool Books and Records serves as a resource for first-rate reading and listening materials and provides students, educators, and the public with supplemental educational materials, out-of-the-ordinary books, recordings, videos and music-related accessories. The Jazzcaffè and The Jazz Image (a photography gallery featuring works by Lee Tanner) contribute to an intimate setting for faculty and student performances. The Jazzcaffè also serves as a gathering place for musicians and their families and friends to exchange ideas, listen to great music and enjoy a bite to eat.

The Jazzschool is easily accessible by public transportation. The downtown Berkeley BART station at Center Street is located less than half a block from the Jazzschool’s front door and AC Transit bus stops are nearby. In addition to metered street parking and passenger loading zones, there is a public parking garage less than a block away.