How do you replace the founders of a popular free summer concert series and an acclaimed jazz venue when they’re living literally on top of you?
For Jazz Forum Arts’ new Executive Director Darrian Douglas and Chief Operating Officer Clara Winder, it’s done by respecting your elders but opening the door to a new generation of enthusiasts for this uniquely American artform.
Douglas and Winder pick up the beat July 1 from Mark Morganelli and Ellen Prior just as JFA’s long-running riverfront outdoor concert series was set to begin with a special July 4th performance at Pierson Park in Tarrytown.
Relaxing in the Jazz Forum’s pool room recently — its billiards table covered by records — they laid out their plans for the 100-seat club that began staging live weekend shows nine years ago on Dixon Lane in the village’s downtown.
Douglas, who was JFA’s program director, is an accomplished drummer who’s leading a septet at the club in August. Winder, a member of the team for nearly a decade, most recently served as marketing director.
“I’ve always thought of the Jazz Forum as a forum, and I want to expend on that a little bit more,” said Winder, whose first taste of jazz was served up at one of JFA’s free concerts in Dobbs Ferry. “I want to do more events, one-offs on Thursdays and other days of the week when we don’t have regular programming, to do more community nights.”
Adding a hangout vibe that serves as a “third place,” a gathering space apart from home and work, is a concept they’re embracing.
The opening notes of this initiative will play out later this summer with the debut of Vinyl Nights, free Thursday hangouts in the pool room where folks can come in and hear tunes spun from Morganelli’s vast record collection.
“We are a listening room first and foremost,” Winder said, “so we want to pay attention to the music when we have a show going on, but we want to create opportunities where the community can come together, mingle, talk about music, talk about art that aligns with our mission.”
Vinyl Nights will span the musical spectrum, said Douglas, who counts hip-hop among his early influences. “We’ll play all kinds of music. Jazz, funk, R&B, anything.”
Filling seats for late sets has been challenging, so they’re moving up showtimes from 9;30 p.m. to 9 p.m. beginning in August. Early shows on Friday and Saturday will continue to start at 7 p.m. as will Sunday shows at 4 and 6 p.m.
Beginning in July, wine and beer will be served in the pool room between sets and during the late-show arrival window to encourage people to hang out.
Another change: For the month of July only, instead of presenting one artist on Friday and Saturday with a different artist on Sunday, the club will present a new artist each night.
The duo also plans to connect with ethnically diverse communities like Sleepy Hollow and Mount Vernon to draw new audiences to the club.
September will mark the debut of a series of Sunday afternoon Jitterbugs concerts, priced at $10 per family, to attract parents and kids.
Jitterbugs is also the name of the club’s education program for preschoolers. JFA also offers a Jazz Forum Combo for middle and high schoolers, a Jazz Lab Band that pairs students and professional musicians, and Jazz Forum in School, bringing the music into classrooms.
Funding JFA’s performances and programs is a major topic for its new leadership. The nonprofit relies heavily on presenting sponsor Montefiore Einstein as well as support from the National Endowment for the Arts and ArtsWestchester.
New perks for members are coming soon. “Right now we’re rethinking how the memberships are structured because we do want to invite more people into our community,” Douglas said.
Morganelli, a jazz trumpeter who has performed, produced and recorded with many of the genre’s top musicians, is stepping away to focus on performing with his group and publishing his memoir, My Jazz Life. He released his sixth album, For Miles, a tribute to Miles Davis, in 2025. Prior will join the JFA Board in 2027. The couple, who’ve been married more than 40 years, are continuing to live in an apartment above the club.
The club will continue to showcase a mix of up-and-coming artists and top names that have drawn seasoned jazz aficionados while seeking underwriting to keep ticket prices down.
“In the new era of Jazz Forum Arts, what’s most exciting to me are the new fans, some of the new fans I haven’t met yet,” said Douglas, “because we’re gonna be good friends.”
To Winder, the club “feels like home. It’s where community gathers, you sit next to a neighbor you’ve never met before and you leave there friends with them. You’re experiencing something you can’t experience anywhere else and at any other time because it’s unique to that set.”
Summer 2026 at Jazz Forum Arts
- Independence Day 250 concert special: Saturday, July 4, 2 p.m., at Pierson Park, Tarrytown. Vocalist Alicia Renee (known as Blue Eyes) and baritone saxophonist Jason Marshall’s 17-piece Big Band. Free.
- Free waterfront summer concerts in Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, Ossining, Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown: jazzforumarts.org/summer-concerts/
- Vinyl Nights coming later this summer.
- Darrian Douglas leads the Unity Septet, Sunday, Aug. 23.
- jazzforumarts.org
