BNY Mellon Presents JazzLive
JazzLive is a FREE weekly jazz series taking place at the Backstage Bar, and Katz Plaza in the heart of the Cultural District. This popular music series, presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, showcases some of the region’s finest jazz musicians every Tuesday.
From October to June, performances take place inside the Backstage Bar. During the warmer months of June, July, August and September, the program moves outside to Katz Plaza.
Bob Studebaker
Photo by Jeff Swenson
Our resident MC, Bob Studebaker, has been a part of the JazzLive series since its inception in 2004 and we are grateful to have him join us every Tuesday.
Bob Studebaker is a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh who began playing jazz on the radio in 1979. He has won multiple Golden Quill awards from the Western Pennsylvania Press Club for documentaries chronicling the history of music in the region. He has also lectured at The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University on the contributions Pittsburgh artists have made to the evolution of jazz. He currently manages JazzWorks, a nationally distributed music service heard on stations across the nation.
“Jazz has been central to the character of Pittsburgh for more than a century and it consistently draws people across economic and social barriers more effectively than anything else in the city (except the Steelers).”
Performance Dates and Locations
| June – September (Outdoors*) |
Agnes R. Katz Plaza Corner of Penn Avenue and 7th St. |
5 – 7 PM |
| October – June | Backstage Bar 655 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 |
5 – 8 PM |
*Check our Facebook event page for weather-related location updates.
JazzLive Series
JazzLive Legacy Award
The JazzLive Legacy Award is given to a regional jazz artist who represents the community of professional players and singers who contribute to the jazz scene in Pittsburgh. The BNY Mellon Presents JazzLive series has allowed the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to showcase hundreds of these regional performers in the heart of the Cultural District since 2004. This award gives the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust the opportunity to recognize the jazz artists whose legacy and significance in this industry will never be forgotten.
2018 Recipient - Roger Humphries
Born in the late 1940s, Roger was 3-1/2 year old when his family first discovered his talent for playing drums. He began playing professionally at the age of fourteen, and he led his own group at Carnegie Music Hall when just sixteen. Roger grew up in a time when the jazz scene in Pittsburgh attracted talent from all over the world. Throughout his career Roger has performed at Carnegie Music Hall, the Village Gate and Apollo Theater in New York; Shelly Manne’s Manhole in Los Angeles; the Jazz Workshop in Boston; Ronnie Scott’s in London and many other venues all over the world. He’s performed with the likes of Ray Charles, Horace Silver, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Shaw, Nancy Wilson, Stanley Turrentine, Freddie Hubbard and many more. Roger has served on the faculty of the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA). He has also taught at the University of Pittsburgh and Slippery Rock University. He has influenced the careers of numerous students and musicians. Roger continues to perform regularly in Pittsburgh and has been a JazzLive Tuesday fan favorite since the series began.
Roger Humphries, was awarded the inaugural JazzLive Legacy Award at the world premiere of “An Evening with the Musical Compositions of Mister Rogers,” one of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Jazz Appreciation Month concerts, on April 17, 2018.
