
Jazz is not just music, it’s a way of life, it’s a way of being, a way of thinking.
Nina Simone
Fall 2023 registration is open!
In Elefante’s prestigious New Jersey Jazz Academy, students are fully immersed in a jazz-centered experience with these focal points:
- Read jazz rhythmic figures
- Learn how to improvise
- Learn jazz history
- Learn from and play alongside a variety of professional musicians, educators, and students of Kean University
- Gain more competitive skills and techniques to bring to their school, regional, state and national band auditions and performances.
We invite middle and high school students with at least 2 years of playing experience on any of the following instruments: alto, tenor, or baritone saxophone; trumpet, trombone, piano, guitar, bass, drum set/percussion, flute/piccolo, vibraphone and xylophone; and vocals.
The New Jersey Jazz Academy is directed by Grammy-nominated educator Vinnie Turturiello. Students will play alongside professional musicians Billy Wilkins, Ron Chat (Bari Sax), Albert Johnson (tenor sax with the Joe Baracata Big Band) and Sean Newell of the Manhattan Conservatory of Music.
DATES: Thursdays 9/28-11/30 | No rehearsal 11/23
TIME: 7pm-8:30pm
REQUIREMENTS: Middle and high school students with at least 2 years experience
PRICE: $375
LOCATION: Elefante Music – 1790 Springfield Ave, New Providence NJ
PERFORMANCES: December 6 at 6:30pm, Mosaico Restaurant | December 7 at 7:00pm, Kean University
Meet the Instructors

Vinnie Turturiello is a Grammy-nominated music educator. His Scotch Plains-Fanwood jazz band, The Moonglowers, has taken top honors in the NJ Association for Jazz Education’s Division II competition in 2014, 2015, and 2016. He is an adjunct professor at Kean University and Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

Al Elefante, founder of Elefante Music, studied at Kings College and the Manhattan School of Music. He studied clarinet with Charles Passhaus, Charles Russo, and Leon Russianoff.
He is a fixture of the local jazz community and performs regularly with his band Elefante & Green.
He opened Elefante Music in 1996 where he continues to teach private lessons in New Providence.
Summer 2020 Virtual Project:
Jump, Jive, & Wail
Fall 2020 Virtual Project:
Flip, Flop, & Fly
More Jazz Academy Videos
Kean University Performance
Promo Video

A unique experience for jazz students, the New Jersey Jazz Academy at Elefante Music is a prestigious program for students who aim to be top players in their school jazz ensembles. The Academy is open to students who play alto, tenor, or baritone saxophone; trumpet, trombone, piano, guitar, bass, drumset/percussion, flute, vibraphone and xylophone. Vocalists are also welcome.
The New Jersey Jazz Academy is led by Program Director Vinnie Turturiello, a Grammy-nominated music educator. His Scotch Plains-Fanwood jazz band, The Moonglowers, has taken top honors in the NJ Assocation for Jazz Education’s Division II competition in 2014, 2015, and 2016. He is an adjunct professor at Kean University and Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.