Denver Jazz Hero
David Froman, current board president of The Gift of Jazz, is a rock solid straight-shooting leader who has tirelessly motivated that non-profit, community-focused organization to becoming an extraordinary provider of jazz education for kids in the Denver public schools, and for adults, too.
Thoroughly competent, responsible, dependable, ethical, generous, smart, a true landsman and mensch, Froman is essentially the face of GoJ, which is Denver-based but also serves the greater Rocky Mountain region. As such, he’s helped ensure performance opportunities for many Colorado-based cats, and has energized fundraising for worthy causes (most recently to support the recovery and rehabilitation of brassman Al Hood, grievously injured following a freak spill on ice).
Founded in the mid 1990s by Ms. Jerry Fredericks to support local jazz causes, produce loft concerts and issue a monthly newsletter highlighting musical events and personalities in Colorado’s Front Range, The Gift of Jazz came under Froman’s influence 12 years ago, and has since then extended its programs to cover a wide age demographic. “Jazz for the Schools” is a monthly live-in-person, interactive introduction to jazz for kids in grades three-to-10, customized for each grade level, meeting the Colorado Music Education standards, offered at no cost. “Artist in the Schools” brings local jazz professionals to a high school band for rehearsals and preparations of fundraising concerts. An “Instrumental Lesson” project, launched in 2021, provides free music lessons to kids from under-served communities. Saturday Adult Jazz Education classes, held via Zoom, teach jazz piano and topics concerning composition to non-professionals. These programs run concurrently with the Gift of Jazz’s concerts employing Denver’s jazz artists. GoJ’s Women in Jazz series also presents local players, mainly women.
Froman himself has been playing music since joining his middle school band at age 12. He remains an active instrumentalist, unusually doubling trumpet and tenor sax with ensembles including The Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, The Denver Jazz Orchestra and his own quartet. He’s been a volunteer at the Vail Jazz Festival for years, too. David Froman, Jazz Hero, does so much for this Rocky Mountain music! — Peter Poses
