UNIVERSAL GUILD FOR JAZZ AND PROGRESSIVE MUSIC (UGJPM)

The Universal Guild for Jazz and Progressive Music (UGJPM) is a non-profit organization with the mission to honor, promote, protect and preserve America’s indigenous musical art form, Jazz, along with other progressive musical genres. Through seminars, concerts, clinics and forums, UGJPM strives to educate, inform, teach and enlighten music professionals, while providing general knowledge, information and accessibility of the music(s) to the general public. Stix Hooper is proud to have founded and serves the Guild as President of the organization.

UGJPM presented the Solvang Jazz Festival for three years in picturesque Solvang, California, with world class stars and bright new talent. The event received wide acclaim for its performances and award-winning showcase of international personalities. The Festival featured a rare (and one of his final) appearances by the late jazz trumpet icon Freddie Hubbard; vocal powerhouse, Take 6; T.S. Monk, son of modern jazz ‘founding father’ Thelonious Monk; legend James Moody; dynamic rising stars Taylor Eigsti, Kamasi Washington and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band; captivating chanteuse Barbara Morrison; the Monty Alexander Trio with Dr. Lonnie Smith, Russian pianist Eugene Maslov’s Trio featuring Justo Almario; NEA Jazz Masters Award nominee, outstanding, flutist Hubert Laws; Frank Marocco, remembered as one of the most recorded accordionists in the world; French pianist Jean-Michel Pilc; hard-swinging vocalist Ernie Andrews; drummer Frank Capp with big band, Juggernaut; Brazilian, iconic percussionist, Airto Moreira; pace-setting, keyboardist/vocalist, Patrice Rushen; sax-man extraordinaire, Bob Sheppard; stalwart drummer, Roy McCurdy; unique bassist, Brian Bromberg; and, Latin trumpeter and educator, Dr. Bobby Rodriguez.

Also, a part of UGJPM’s initial outreach, Santa Ynez Valley students were presented with the gift of Jazz and music instruction during the Festival. Rousing concerts for thousands of students in addition to Master classes and student performance opportunities were provided.

These types of educational opportunities and concerts will be prominent in UGJPM’s future among other things as indicated in the mission above.