Mount Airy Cultural Center offers Tony Williams Scholarship Jazz Festival

This weekend through Monday, the nonprofit Mount Airy Cultural Center will present its 21st annual Tony Williams Scholarship Jazz Festival, with performances by young people and local musicians.

Festivities begin at 3:30 p.m. Friday with a free hour-long jam session in the lobby of the Embassy Suites Hotel, featuring the Mount Airy Cultural Center Faculty Band with the center's founder, alto saxophonist Tony Williams. At 7:30, the youth jazz group the Young and the Restless will perform. On Saturday at 9:30 a.m., participants can learn about the history and components of the art form at the Ingredients of Jazz workshop, conducted by pianist Phil Wright of California and bassist Michael Boone of Philadelphia. Performances by young musicians from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday will include Berklee College of Music youths and students from Camden's Creative Arts High School.

Performances continue Sunday with a program that features a Thank God for Jazz morning worship service, with the Tony Williams Quartet, from 10:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Bill Cosby and His Reunion Band are scheduled to perform at 8:30 p.m. Monday's schedule has an all-star jazz performance led by drummer Rob Henderson and a free jam session with the conference's musicians. This year's festival will honor acclaimed musicians born in Philadelphia, including violinist John Blake, bassist Tyrone Brown, drummer Tommy Campbell, tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna, tenor saxophonist Odeon Pope, drummer Curtis Warner, and board member Dr. Donald Clark, who died this year.

The Mount Airy Cultural Center, founded as a nonprofit in 1997, has provided free jazz lessons to youth on Saturdays for 30 years. The organization's mission is to foster the preservation of jazz as an important American art form and to provide music skills, guidance, and opportunities for students, including those who have financial need. For a schedule and ticket prices, go to www.maccjazz.org.

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