Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz
Professional services
UnclaimedA nonprofit jazz education and cultural diplomacy organization that develops emerging musicians, provides school-based music programs, operates an international competition, and coordinates International Jazz Day.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz is a United States nonprofit organization focused on preserving, extending, and teaching jazz through advanced musician training, public-school education, international exchange, competitions, performances, and media production. Established in 1986, the organization was originally associated with the legacy of pianist and composer Thelonious Monk and operated for most of its early history as the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. In 2019, it adopted the name Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz in recognition of Herbie Hancock, the jazz pianist, composer, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, and longtime board chairman who has been closely associated with the organization. The institute’s work combines professional development with broad public access. Its best-known advanced program is the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance, a two-year, tuition-free graduate-level course for a selected ensemble of young musicians. Students receive full scholarships and living stipends, study privately and collectively with leading jazz artists, and develop skills in improvisation, composition, arranging, ensemble playing, music history, and performance. The program began in 1995 at Loyola University New Orleans and later moved to Los Angeles, where it is based at the Herb Alpert School of Music at the University of California, Los Angeles. Students perform publicly, participate in educational tours, and work as mentors in local and international communities. Alumni and participants have included Ambrose Akinmusire, Lionel Loueke, Michael Mayo, Helen Sung, Walter Smith III, Wayne Escoffery, Dayna Stephens, and Gretchen Parlato. Since 1987, the institute has also organized an annual international jazz competition. Each edition emphasizes a particular instrument or vocal category and brings musicians before prominent judges and mentors from the jazz world. The competition distributes scholarships and prizes and has helped identify performers and composers including Joshua Redman, Marcus Roberts, Ryan Kisor, Jacky Terrasson, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Kris Bowers, Melissa Aldana, Jazzmeia Horn, and Evgeny Pobozhiy. Its alumni network extends beyond winners to finalists and semifinalists who have established careers as performers, composers, educators, and bandleaders. The institute’s public education portfolio includes Jazz in the Classroom, Jazz in America, the Performing Arts High Schools Jazz Program, BeBop to Hip-Hop, and Math, Science & Music. These initiatives use jazz to teach instrumental performance, improvisation, composition, history, social studies, mathematics, science, collaboration, and creative problem-solving. Programs have served students in major cities, rural communities, remote areas, and schools outside the United States. The organization has also offered free virtual instruction and webinars, including expanded online programming during 2020. A major part of the institute’s international role is its responsibility for coordinating International Jazz Day. UNESCO designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in 2011, and the first annual celebration took place in 2012. Led by UNESCO and Herbie Hancock, the observance presents jazz as a vehicle for intercultural dialogue, peace, freedom of expression, and international cooperation. The institute helps plan and produce concerts, educational events, workshops, broadcasts, and community activities in more than 190 countries. The organization has additionally produced television specials, White House performances, competition documentaries, and International Jazz Day broadcasts. Its international education tours have taken students and artists to countries including India, China, Vietnam, Russia, Morocco, Mexico, Australia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and nations across Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Rather than operating as a commercial music label or entertainment company, the institute functions as a cultural and educational institution whose principal value lies in scholarships, instruction, artist development, community engagement, and the global presentation of jazz.
History
The organization was founded in 1986 to advance jazz education and to connect the traditions of master musicians with new generations of performers. Its early identity was strongly linked to Thelonious Monk, and it became known as the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. One of its initial ambitions was to create an intensive college-level environment in which established jazz artists could teach performance, composition, improvisation, and the broader cultural history of the music. The institute established its annual international competition in 1987. The competition rotates among instruments and vocal categories and has become a talent-development platform as well as a source of scholarships and prizes. Over time, winners, finalists, and semifinalists have included musicians who later gained recognition as recording artists, composers, educators, and bandleaders. The judging panels have drawn from a wide range of influential jazz performers and educators. Beginning in 1989, the organization expanded into public schools through Jazz in the Classroom. Its programs have brought professional musicians into schools in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and other communities, including urban, rural, and geographically remote areas. The institute subsequently developed programs for performing-arts high schools and created Jazz in America, an internet-based curriculum for fifth-, eighth-, and eleventh-grade American history and social-studies classes. These initiatives treat jazz not only as a performance discipline but also as a way to examine United States history, cultural exchange, identity, and social change. In September 1995, the first class of the institute’s performance program began study at Loyola University New Orleans. The two-year program was designed around a selected ensemble rather than a large student body. Students received full tuition scholarships, living support, individual mentoring, ensemble coaching, lectures, and opportunities to perform. The program relocated to Los Angeles in 2011 and became associated with the Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA. Its students have continued to combine conservatory-level training with community instruction and international touring. The institute has used international travel as an educational and diplomatic tool. Tours have taken students and faculty to Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia, and the Middle East. Some programs were tied to historical or diplomatic commemorations, including tours to Vietnam marking the resumption of United States–Vietnam relations, travel to India connected with Martin Luther King Jr.’s study of Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolence movement, and performances at international festivals and cultural institutions. UNESCO supported a multi-year Paris program beginning in 2002, during which institute students performed with prominent jazz artists. The organization also developed cross-disciplinary and cross-genre education. BeBop to Hip-Hop, launched in Los Angeles public schools in 2004, placed jazz and hip-hop students in shared learning environments covering improvisation, lyric writing, arranging, composition, sampling, and turntable technique. Math, Science & Music, launched in 2016, used music-based activities and digital resources to support K–12 and college learning in mathematics and science. During the COVID-19 period, several programs moved online, including a virtual BeBop to Hip-Hop program and Jazz in America webinars. In November 2011, UNESCO designated April 30 as International Jazz Day. The institute became the principal nonprofit organization responsible for coordinating the annual global celebration, which began in 2012. Under the leadership of UNESCO and Herbie Hancock, the event has grown into a worldwide network of concerts, workshops, school programs, broadcasts, and community activities. It presents jazz as a shared cultural language and as a means of encouraging peace, dialogue, mutual understanding, and freedom of expression. The institute has supplemented its educational work with television and live productions. Its projects have included tributes to Thelonious Monk, White House jazz programs, network television specials, competition documentaries, and recurring International Jazz Day broadcasts. In 2019, the institution adopted the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz name, reflecting Hancock’s longstanding relationship with the organization. Its continuing identity is that of a nonprofit cultural and educational institution rather than a commercial record company or conventional consumer brand.
- 2021
Thirteenth performance class announced
[1]The institute announced a new class of eight young musicians from the United States and Russia.
- 2019
Organization renamed
[1]The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz adopted the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz name.
- 2016
Math, Science & Music launches
[1]The institute introduced an interdisciplinary educational platform connecting music with mathematics and science.
- 2012
First International Jazz Day celebration
[1]The first annual global International Jazz Day celebration took place.
- 2011
Performance program relocates to Los Angeles
[1]The advanced student program moved from Loyola University New Orleans to Los Angeles and later became based at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music.
- 2011
UNESCO designates International Jazz Day
[1]UNESCO designated April 30 as International Jazz Day, with the institute becoming the lead nonprofit coordinator.
- 2004
BeBop to Hip-Hop begins
[1]A program combining jazz and hip-hop education began in Los Angeles public schools.
- 2000
Jazz in America launches
[1]The institute introduced an online jazz curriculum for public-school history and social-studies classrooms.
- 1995
Graduate performance program launches
[1]The first class of the tuition-free, two-year jazz performance program began at Loyola University New Orleans.
- 1989
Jazz in the Classroom begins
[1]The organization began delivering jazz instruction and instrument training in public schools.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit, artist-led center for advanced jazz training, accessible music education, talent discovery, and international cultural diplomacy.
Higher music education · 1995
Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance
A two-year, tuition-free graduate-level program for a selected ensemble of emerging jazz musicians. Students receive full scholarships and living stipends, study with leading artists, receive individual and ensemble mentoring, and perform in Los Angeles and on international education tours. The program encourages students to master the jazz tradition while developing original compositions and new approaches to performance.
Music competition · 1987
International Jazz Competition
An annual international competition established in 1987. Each edition concentrates on a particular instrument or vocal category and provides scholarships and prizes, as well as exposure to influential judges, educators, and industry professionals. The competition has helped launch or accelerate the careers of numerous jazz performers and composers.
School curriculum · 2000
Jazz in America
An internet-based curriculum designed for fifth-, eighth-, and eleventh-grade American history and social-studies classes. It uses the development of jazz, the lives of major musicians, and musical techniques to help students explore United States history, culture, identity, and social change.
School music education · 1989
Jazz in the Classroom
A public-school outreach program providing music instruction, instrument training, assemblies, master classes, and performances. It has served students in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and communities across the United States, including rural and remote areas.
Cross-genre youth education · 2004
BeBop to Hip-Hop
A program bringing jazz and hip-hop students together under professional guidance. Instruction can include improvisation, lyric writing, music theory, arranging, composition, turntablism, and sampling. A free virtual edition in 2020 expanded access to high-school musicians in the United States and internationally.
Interdisciplinary education · 2016
Math, Science & Music
An educational platform using music to support the teaching of mathematics and science to K–12 and college students. The project has involved collaboration with academic specialists and has offered curricula, games, applications, and other interactive online resources.
Cultural program · 2012
International Jazz Day
A global annual observance held on April 30 and supported by UNESCO. The institute serves as the lead nonprofit coordinator, helping organize performances, broadcasts, school activities, workshops, and community events that present jazz as a vehicle for intercultural dialogue and cooperation.
Marketing campaigns
- 2024India education and performance tour
India
Institute students and artists traveled to New Delhi and Mumbai for performances and master classes connected with the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and his study of Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolence movement.
Outcome. The tour combined youth education, performance, and cultural diplomacy.
- 2020Virtual BeBop to Hip-Hop
United States · International
The institute adapted BeBop to Hip-Hop for online delivery during the pandemic period, offering free programming to high-school musicians across the United States and internationally.
Outcome. The virtual edition served more than 100 young musicians.
- 2012International Jazz Day
Global
The institute began coordinating the annual global celebration of jazz established by UNESCO. Activities include concerts, educational programs, workshops, broadcasts, and community events in more than 190 countries.
Outcome. International Jazz Day became a recurring worldwide cultural and educational initiative held every April 30.
Brand decisions
2019
Rename as the Herbie Hancock Institute of JazzStrategyBackground
The organization had operated under the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz name and had a longstanding relationship with Herbie Hancock.
Action taken
It changed its institutional name to honor Hancock, its longtime board chairman.
Aftermath
The renamed institution continued the previous organization’s education, competition, international touring, and International Jazz Day activities.
2011
Relocation of the performance program to Los AngelesStrategyBackground
The advanced performance program had operated at Loyola University New Orleans since its first class in 1995.
Action taken
The institute moved the program to Los Angeles, where it became associated with the Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA.
Aftermath
Students continued intensive study while gaining access to Los Angeles performance venues and community education opportunities.
1995
Launch of a tuition-free performance instituteStrategyBackground
The organization sought to create a college-level environment where established jazz masters could pass their knowledge to emerging musicians.
Action taken
It opened a two-year graduate-level program with full scholarships, living stipends, individual mentoring, ensemble instruction, and performance opportunities.
Aftermath
The program became a central part of the institute’s artist-development mission and later relocated to Los Angeles.
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