Mentorship has always been a key theme in jazz history. Most of today’s great jazz musicians were raised through informal channels and gained invaluable experience working alongside their heroes. Future generations of great jazz will depend on the continuation of this community-minded mentoring tradition that is, unfortunately, becoming less common as jazz education has become more formalized in conservatory and university settings.

The Jazz Gallery developed its Mentorship Program to cultivate a group of senior-level jazz musicians as mentors and to provide aspiring musicians with the opportunity to learn the music and business of jazz under the guidance of their contemporary heroes.

These young musicians will have the opportunity to learn by preparing for and performing in 4 concerts that are booked as a mini-tour, which will provide mentees with the opportunity to deepen their creative practice and performance skills. This will also teach mentees more practical skills of being working artists—skills set that are not taught in conservatory classrooms.

Mentors, along with their regular collaborators, will work with their mentees to prepare the young artists for four professional performances that will be presented at The Jazz Gallery and our partnering presenters in the NY, CT, and PA area. Mentees are thrown into unknown and high-level musical situations surrounded by senior-level artists. With guidance from their mentors, mentees will develop not only their musicianship, but also learn about managing their career in music and about professional conduct.

Alto & Soprano saxophonist and bandleader, Jaleel Shaw, won the 2014 Downbeat Critics Poll’s for Rising Star Alto Saxophonist. He is a longtime member of the Roy Haynes Quartet, Tom Harrell’s “Colors Of A Dream” and has performed with Christian McBride, Jason Moran, the Mingus Big Band, Pat Metheny, Stefon Harris, Roy Hargrove, Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Jimmy Cobb and several others.

Shaw’s debut album, Perspective (2005), received rave reviews from The New York Times and Jazzwise Magazine and All About Jazz named the album one of the top five debut albums of 2005; his composition “The Heavyweight Champion” received an ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award.

In 2006, Jaleel joined the Roy Haynes Quartet and was featured on the legendary drummer’s Grammy-nominated album Whereas. Two years later (2008), Shaw founded his record label, Changu Records, on which he released his second album entitled Optimism. The album received reviews from The New York Times, Downbeat and All About Jazz among others. That same year, he received his second ASCAP Young Composer Award for his composition “The Flipside” and was nominated for the Jazz Journalist Association’s “Up-And-Coming Jazz Artist” award.

Shaw was among the musicians listed in the 2011 JazzTimes Magazine’s Readers Poll for Alto Saxophonist of the Year, sharing the honor with Phil Woods, Lee Konitz, Bunky Green and Kenny Garrett. In 2013, he released his third album of original compositions entitled The Soundtrack of Things to Come (Changu Records). The album features his current working quartet, and has been favorably received by various publications including the New York Times, New York City Jazz Record, and All About Jazz.

Cameron Campbell is a pianist, composer and producer from Worcester, Massachusetts. His focus is on jazz, avant-garde and electronic music. He plays solo, trio and with his quartet, drawing repertoire from his 50-plus original compositions.

In high school, Campbell studied with pianist Christian Sands and learned from other musical greats, including Jimmy Cobb and Sheila Jordan. In 2019, he was a featured performer alongside legendary pianists George Cables, Joanne Brackeen and Kenny Werner. Most recently, he toured the United States, Japan and Brazil with two-time Grammy-winning vocalist Samara Joy, appearing with her on “The Tamron Hall Show” and “TV ASAICHI”  in Japan.

In addition to touring with Samara Joy, Campbell has had the privilege of sharing the stage with Kendrick Scott, Jaleel Shaw, Maurice Brown and Marcus Gilmore. He has performed at venues throughout America and the world, including the Hollywood Bowl, Blue Note Place (Tokyo), Ibirapuera Auditorium (São Paulo), Vivo Rio (Rio de Janeiro), SFJAZZ Center, the Deer Head Inn, Smalls Jazz Club and Django. Campbell is going into his final year of undergrad at the Manhattan School of Music, where he is mentored by pianist Marc Cary, while establishing himself on the New York City scene.