During the Cold War, jazz became a form of cultural exchange. As the United States and the Soviet Union competed for influence, jazz traveled the world as a symbol of creativity, freedom, and individuality.

Failure is one of the most important teachers in jazz. Every missed note, every rough gig, every moment that didn’t go as planned carries a lesson—if you’re willing to listen.

I started ColaJazz because I saw both a need and an opportunity. I was performing, teaching, and traveling, but I kept asking myself a simple question: How do we build something that lasts—for musicians, for students, and for the community?

Mentorship has always been at the heart of jazz. You can learn scales, theory, and history in the classroom—and that foundation matters—but the bandstand teaches lessons no book ever can.

Jazz still matters because it teaches us how to listen -- to each other and to the moment we’re living in.

Technology has always shaped how jazz is recorded—and how it’s heard. Early jazz musicians crowded around a single microphone, capturing performances in one take.

Some of jazz’s most important stories are preserved in archives that safeguard music, history, and culture for future generations.

Before the trumpet took center stage, the cornet was jazz’s leading voice. With its rounded tone and agile response, the cornet helped define the sound of early New Orleans jazz.

The flugelhorn offers a different voice in jazz—softer, warmer, and more intimate than the trumpet. With its wider bore and conical shape, the flugelhorn produces a mellow tone that invites reflection rather than fanfare.

From the very beginning, the trumpet has been a defining voice in jazz. In early New Orleans ensembles, it carried the melody—bold, clear, and leading the way.