FREE JAZZ SESSIONS at Heartwood

Community Jazz Sessions at Heartwood Soundstage
Join us for an evening of live jazz, community, and creative collaboration at Heartwood Soundstage. This monthly Jazz Jam features a professional house rhythm section, spotlight performances by local jazz artists, and open opportunities for jazz musicians to sit in and play or sing.
Players with jazz experience at any level — from emerging improvisers to seasoned performers — are invited to bring their instrument and sign up for an opportunity to be featured with the house rhythm section on a tune or two of their choice. Jazz listeners are warmly invited to come enjoy the music, discover local talent, and be part of a growing Gainesville jazz community.
Whether you come to play or simply to listen, this evening is designed to be welcoming, lively, and full of the spontaneous energy that makes jazz such a powerful shared experience. Everyone is welcome!
June's Jazz Sessions feature:
Edward White
Edward White is an Assistant Professor of Music at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida. A 2022 Global Music® Award winner for Mixed-Genre Album, he is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Music Education at the University of Florida. Edward has appeared as a guest artist at the 2025 Tampa Jazz Festival, the 2024 Uptown Music & Arts Festival, and the Reilly Arts Center, and he maintains an active performance schedule in jazz and contemporary music. His academic work is published in the Open Journal of Music Education and the Media Journal in Music Education. Beyond academia, Edward collaborates with Paul Davids, a leading YouTube guitar educator with over 3.5 million subscribers, to design and manage Davids' online Guitar Coaching Club. He also operates a private studio, where he offers individual guitar instruction, recording, and music production services.
Marco Thomas
Marco Thomas is from Ellenwood, GA which a suburb of Atlanta. He is a bass trombone player that studied music education at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL. His principal teacher there was Brian Brink. Thomas earned his Bachelors of Music Education in 1999 and began teaching middle school band in Hardee County in January of 2000. He then entered the University of Florida in the summer of 2002 where he earned his Masters of Music Performance in trombone. His principal teacher there was Arthur Jennings. After graduation, he took a position at Hawthorne Middle/High School as Director of Bands. He was at Hawthorne from 2004-2007. He began his current position as the music teacher at Williams Elementary in Gainesville during the 2007-2008 school year. He has been a presenter at the 2006 International Arts and Humanities Conference in Hawaii and has published an article in the Instrumentalist magazine in the fall of 2008. He has also presented at the Florida Music Educators Association conference in January 2014 and January 2021. He has been the director of the Gainesville Big Band since 2007. In addition, he maintains a private trombone studio and is an active performer with various groups in the Gainesville area, ranging from classical to jazz.