About Us
We are the only non-profit serving Greenville, SC and beyond exclusively dedicated to promoting jazz arts through education outreach and regular performance in a variety of settings. Since 2011, the Greenville Jazz Collective has connected with many of the dedicated professional musicians, arts organizations, and music educators in Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina to reach tens of thousands of people with award winning jazz programs.
In 2011, several career dedicated musicians living in Greenville, SC wanted to play their original jazz compositions in front of a serious listening audience, but there were no places in town to do so. They decided to take matters into their own hands and rent the theater at the Coffee Underground for one night to perform challenging jazz in a space that was immersive for both the musicians and the audience. With a strongly positive response from the performance, guitarist Matt Dingledine enlisted the help of bassist Shannon Hoover and trombonist Brad Jepson to establish a non-profit that would advocate for jazz in a similar manner to many symphony orchestra organizations around the world for classical music.
Over the years, our team has grown to include a diverse set of musicians, community leaders, and administrators, all the while increasing the GJC's footprint, reach, and offerings to the community and region. At the core of our educational outreach efforts, the JazzEd program takes a 6 piece jazz ensemble to area schools to play for students of all ages and backgrounds, the vast majority of which we are able to fund free of charge to the schools. Our award winning, 17 piece Big Band released a critically acclaimed album of original music in 2018.
We have partnered with other important area arts and cultural organizations including the Greenville County Museum of Art, the City of Greenville, The Peace Center for the Performing Arts, the Metropolitan Arts Council, the Greenville Chorale, the Greenville County Library System, the Hispanic Alliance, The Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Upstate International, the Fine Arts Center or Greenville, and many others.
Board of Directors
Guitars, Composer, Board Member, Co-founder, Operations Coordinator
GJC Co-Founder, Music Director, Basses, Composer
Sid Wike
Jessica Elliott
Don Westcott - Secretary
Aaron Greene
Bob Muller - Treasurer
John Glancy - Legal Counsel
Marv Parker
Associated Musicians
Furman University Director of Jazz Studies
Doctor of Vocal Arts, Grammy nominated artist
Furman University Professor of Jazz Piano
Director of Jazz Program at the Fine Arts Center or Greenville
Award winning vocalist and band leader
Professor of Jazz Guitar at USC Upstate
Professor of Jazz Piano at UNC Asheville
Professor of Drum Set at Furman University and UNC Asheville
"The Wheel Sessions"
Professor of Trumpet at Converse College
Professor of Drum Set at Anderson University
