About the Jackson Street Jazz Trail
In 2005, the City of Seattle erected a sign at the northwest corner of South Jackson Street and 12th Avenue South to commemorate Seattle’s historic jazz district, honoring great musicians such as Ray Charles, Quincy Jones and Ernestine Anderson. Over time, the sign deteriorated. In 2021, a group of concerned stakeholders in the community formed a committee to imagine solutions or alternatives to the sign. Thus was born the Jackson Street Jazz Trail Committee, which replaced the old sign with a new one announcing the development of a self-guided, online walking tour of Seattle’s historic jazz district. This website is one of the fruits of their labor.
The Jackson Street Jazz Trail Committee
Paul de Barros
Author of Jackson Street After Hours: The Roots of Jazz in Seattle
Aolani Chan
Museum Guide, Wing Luke Museum of Asian Pacific Experience
Chris Liu
Community Partnerships & Projects Manager, Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust
Outdoor Asian Washington, Partnerships Manager
John Gilbreath
Executive Director, Earshot Jazz
Chris Hopper
Writer, Director and Producer
James Gore
Executive Director, Jackson Street Music Program
CEO, Ariel Media
Jessica Toon
Executive Director, Pacific Northwest Chapter, Recording Academy
Jacob McMurray
Chief Collections and Exhibitions Officer, MoPOP
Scott Plusquellec
Nightlife Business Advocate, Seattle Office of Economic Development
Paul Rucker
Seattle musician and visual artist, creator of “78 on Jackson” sculpture at 23rd and Jackson
Stephanie Johnson-Toliver
President, Black Heritage Society of Washington State
Tuyen Than
Founding Member, CID Block Party
Co-founder Drag and Drop Creative design studio.
Ben Hunter
Co-Founder Black & Tan Hall
Artistic Director, Northwest Folklife
Advisors and Friends
Karen Caropepe
Managing Director, Earshot Jazz
Ashley Harrison
Partner, Black & Tan Hall
Co-producer Seattle Green Book Self-Guided Tour
Civil Rights Analyst, City of Seattle
Tom Im
Interim Community Development Association
Ali Lee
Friends of I-5 CID
Chieko Phillips
Heritage Program Director, 4Culture
Jackie Peterson
Jackie Peterson Exhibit Services
Alex Rose
Partnerships Program Manager, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
Quintard Taylor
Professor Emeritus, American History, University of Washington
Author of The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle's Central District
Jackson Street Jazz Trail Funders
Thanks to the generous support of a City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture’s Hope Corps grant.
In Kind Donors
Black Heritage Society of Washington State
CID Block Party
Earshot Jazz
Friends of I-5 CD
Museum of History and Industry
Wing Luke Museum of Asian Pacific Experience
And special thanks to:
Reginald André Jackson
Jackson Street Jazz Trail narrator
Core company member
ACT Contemporary Theatre. Seattle.
Paul de Barros
Jackson Street Jazz Trail Research and Script
Lawrence Peryer
Digital Music Specialist
Nichol Creach
Website designer
Midori Okazaki and Emily Venemon
Washington State Archives
Puget Sound Regional Branch
James Coley
Program lead
ARTS at King Street Station
Marsha Rollinger
Equinox Art & Design
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