After 17 years of presenting the finest jazz and new music at a rented space in Culver City, the Jazz Bakery is working with the City of Culver City to build a permanent new home.
Renowned architect Frank Gehry has agreed to work with us, and the new building will be situated in the heart of Culver City's burgeoning downtown arts district right next to the Kirk Douglas Theater. The new Jazz Bakery will present year-round performances and educational programs in two state-of-the-art theaters, with an art gallery and cafe/bar. The Jazz Bakery will soon be mounting a capital campaign for the new building.
Founded in 1992 by jazz vocalist Ruth Price, the Jazz Bakery has achieved international acclaim by presenting the finest musicians from around the world 350 nights a year. Artistic director Price's uncompromising vision includes an audience-friendly performance space with theater seating unspoiled by noisy nightclub intrusions. It’s a place where the sound is the highest fidelity, the lighting is beautiful, the piano is well-maintained, and every seat is the best in the house. This vision serves as a template for the new Jazz Bakery which will include a 250-seat theater as well as an intimate "black box" performance space, all housed in a remarkable new Frank Gehry designed building scheduled to be completed in 2015, and destined to become a Southern California cultural landmark.
Since leaving its rental space in 2009, the Jazz Bakery has not stood still. In late 2010 the Bakery received a $2 million grant from the Annenberg Foundation as seed money for a capital campaign for the new building. In January 2012, Culver City transferred a prime piece of property in its vital downtown district to the Bakery as a site for the new building. Along with grants from the Herb Alpert Foundation, the Sony Corporation, and operating grants from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Jazz Bakery continues to thrive. The Bakery recently hired its first executive director, and has taken steps toward expanding its board of directors in anticipation of mounting a capital campaign for the new building.
The Bakery continues to produce concerts in prestigious venues across Los Angeles through its Movable Feast concert series, as a way to fulfill its mission and grow its audience while the new building is being built. The Movable Feast series presents several concerts per month at venues that include the Musicians Institute Theater, REDCAT at Disney Hall Performance Complex, Zipper Auditorium at the Colburn School, the Grammy Museum, Boston Court Performance Center, and the Nate Holden Theater.
Educational programs at all scholastic levels will play a major part in helping to fulfill the Jazz Bakery's mission. Local elementary, middle and high school students will benefit from programs produced by the Jazz Bakery, and various Southern California colleges and universities will benefit from workshops and master classes for music students presented by touring artists performing at the Jazz Bakery.
