From the late 1800's musicians, composers, bandleaders and vocalists performed with or as "Big-Bands", Ensembles, Quartets, Sextets, Trios, Duo's and the one-person shows! Jazz was enjoyed at famous venues like the French Quarter; Basin Street; the Green Mill (Chicago);  Bakers' Keyboard Lounge (Detroit); the Cotton Club (Harlem); the Savoy Ballroom on Lenox Avenue (Harlem); the Newport Jazz Festival (Rhode Island); Riverboat  Shows and more!

JOCADA remembers icons:  "Jelly Roll" Morton, Count Basie, Pops Foster, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller,  Oscar Peterson, Tony Bennett, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey,  Ron Carter,  Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Fletcher Henderson; Dexter Gordon; Art Blakely; Carmen McRae, Nina Simone, Leona Horne, Bessie Smith,  Etta James, Betty Carter, Dakota Staton, Sarah Vaughn & Ella Fitzgerald!  

 The most loyal music followers love & support . . .

Jazz!

JOCADA takes the position to stimulate the intellect introducing genres which highlight Jazz history and education, its phrasing and exceptional melodic conceptions from Ragtime to Swing; from Bebop to Straight-a-Head;  from Cuban to Gospel Jazz; from Brazilian Jazz to "Scatting" to a George Duke and Al Jarreau's Smooth Jazz tune!   Jazz unites people of all ages, backgrounds & cultures together.

Since the 90's JOCADA's cooperative arrangements achieved lasting relationships across the US in a good number of states with proven Jazz organizations coast to coast below:

The Atlanta African-American Philharmonic Symphony & Jazz Orchestra

The Johnny Trudell Big-Band

The Virginia Military Institute

The Fort McPherson Army Ground Forces Band  

The trajectory of the JOCADA Museum of Jazz & AAH erupts as an expansion of community support in celebration of 21 years of collaborative efforts with: 

 Clark Atlanta University (CAU)

The Sony Music Corporation

Photojournalist Jim Alexander

Cedar Grove High

German Glass Sculptor Hans Godo Frabel

Fort McPherson Army Ground Forces Big-Band

Atlanta African-American Philharmonic Symphony & Jazz Orchestra

Montreux Jazz Festival

The Detroit Jazz Festival

Drew Universities Legacy  Summer Jazz Festival

The Leimert Jazz Festival

Wimbish & Associates

Places of Worship to name a few

By 2016, an invitation to consider a museum home in a Virginia community jump-started four- years of  "test-marketing". However, the intended property restricts a significant amount of space intended for museum visitors. Meanwhile, Directors continue to merge with:

Caroline County High

Caroline Sunday School Reunion

James Monroe High

The Virginia Military Institute

The John J Wright Museum

Painting With A Twist

The Fredericksburg Jazz Collective (FJC) 

St. Georges "Jazzers" Band

The year of 2005 brought an increase of African Artifacts to JOCADA's permanent collection suggesting a name change to now being the JOCADA Museum of Jazz and African-American History (AAH).  JOCADA's permanent collection of exhibits are not just representative of America, but Italy, Germany, Belgium, Ghana, Nigeria, and Caribbean influences also. In keeping with garnering community involvement, the 2020 Black History collaboration unveiled a deeper revelation of visual arts as it relates to the migration of Africans during the Slave-Trade featuring, "Sketches" of African American Freedom Fighters by Yasmine Wright;  very compelling African Dance by Alex Harvell;  Paintings by Clare; and "The Art of Slavery", and Photographs of African Americans Who Made History by Photographer Callye Holmes. This body of work intersects creative talents with James Monroe High incorporating shocking imagery that speaks to the horrors of  "The Door of No Return".