Jazz Aspen Snowmass Names Permanent Home the Paul JAS Center
Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) has taken a major step toward establishing its first permanent home above the original, historic Red Onion. JAS announced it reached an agreement with Andy Paul on a $10 million gift to name the new building the Paul JAS Center, slated to open during the second half of 2025.
“JAS is ready, the community is ready, the support to-date has been fantastic, and the momentum continues to build … It’s time to finish what we’ve begun. We invite you to join us in making this dream come true and making a lasting impact on Aspen for generations to come,” Paul, the JAS chairman of the board and lead naming gift donor to the JAS Center Campaign, said in a prepared statement.
After years of planning, delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and 18 months of wading through the city approval process, permits were finally granted and construction began in June of 2023 on JAS’ performance and education center at 420 E. Cooper Ave., above the historic Red Onion.
“The success of JAS Café led us to realize, boy, there’s a real appetite here and an audience for this kind of music in this kind of setting,” he said. “It was a natural evolution because as we continued to do the series, from winter to summer and year to year, we had more and more challenges with venues. This is an arts organization. You can’t program without a venue.”
After years of architectural design, including work with multiple engineers, sound consultants, and municipal officials, the progress of construction — along with Paul’s lead gift — moves the project solidly forward in Phase II of JAS’ “Keep the Music Playing” campaign.
The JAS Center, which sits next to the adjacent RH Gallery & Rooftop Café, also currently under construction, was anticipated to take 18 months to build out, with a projected opening in the second half of 2025. JAS seems on track to hit that schedule.
“This is a landmark day at JAS and a long way from our humble roots in Aspen in the early 90s,” said Horowitz, JAS president and CEO. “JAS has always been a dream project, and we’ve been very fortunate to attract significant support from across the Aspen community as it grew from a single festival into a season with multiple festivals, performances, and year-round music education programs This gift from Andy Paul takes us to another level … it’s a game changer for JAS and what we can deliver to this community for generations to come. It’s truly beyond our imagination. We could not be more excited looking ahead and can not overstate our gratitude to Mr. Paul.”
Construction of the center is well underway and will house a multi-use facility with a flexible layout that can accommodate 100 to 300 people, depending on the type of event.
First and foremost, it will be an intimate performance space where JAS can book and showcase a variety of musical acts, ranging from jazz and blues to worldbeat and funk — year-round.
The addition of a full commercial kitchen and bar will allow them to provide a complete dinner and show experience under one roof.
The vision is that, eventually, the center will host everything from musical performances, spoken word, presentations, special events, educational programs, and more. According to Horowitz, the educational usage of the space will be an important function of the center.
The last piece of the puzzle is the professional, state-of-the-art recording studio. Although not part of the initial plans five years ago, the JAS team realized the layout of the space allowed them to add one, which was a very exciting prospect for a variety of reasons, including the ability to help educate students in the valley about the different sides of the music industry besides performing.
JAS has now reached over $27.5 million in secured pledges toward its goal of fully funding the capital purchase and the complete interior buildout costs of the JAS Center, over 75% of its capital goal and $1 million separately for its initial endowment.
By: Sarah Girgis I The Aspen Times I August 17, 2024