Miami nonprofit brings musical education to aspiring young jazz performers

MIAMI — On this week’s edition of Miami Life, CBS News Miami’s Jim Berry introduces us to a South Florida woman who uses her musical passion to unite the community.
Nicole Yarling is a member of the Jazz Educators Community Coalition (JECC), a Miami-based nonprofit that provides young musicians interested in jazz a workshop experience to develop their skills. The program was founded in August 2013 at WDNA when radio station manager Maggie Pelleya offered access to the studio for the workshop and supported the JECC with radio and print promotion.
Yarling, a Brooklyn native raised in a musical family, was inspired by her jazz musician father. She emerged under jazz vocalist Joe Williams’ mentorship with degrees from Baruch and Columbia. Now a respected professor, she fosters young talent through various initiatives and has received multiple honors, including the Jazz Hero Award and induction into the South Florida Jazz Hall of Fame.
One of the ways that Yarling fosters young talent is through the JECC’s Jazz Bootcamp Ensemble: a community-based artistic network available to all young people interested in learning jazz. According to the program’s website, it offers “aspiring jazz musicians an opportunity to connect with recognized leaders in the South Florida jazz community, as well as with national and international jazz talents.”
The ensemble has performed at several events and venues, including the Art Deco Festival, the South Dade Cultural Arts Center, Pinecrest Gardens, the Art Walk of Hollywood, the Olympia Theater and the Dade County Auditorium, where they were the opening act for jazz musician Paquito D’Rivera, the JECC’s website stated.
Throughout the workshop, young musicians receive performance training and jazz education.
The JECC Jazz Bootcamp Ensemble meets every Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the WDNA radio station at 2921 Coral Way. Each session costs $5 per student.
To learn more about the JECC and its Jazz Bootcamp Ensemble, visit their website.
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