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Jazz Jam Monday benefits local youth organizations

Kirsten Dobroth
Special to the Daily
Saxophonist Alec Mauro is hosting a Monday Night Jazz Jam tonight at Grouse Mountain Grill in Beaver Creek. The event benefits local youth music organizations.
Special to the Daily |

BEAVER CREEK — A jazz jam Monday will host an exciting evening of live music with the added benefit of donating to local youth music organizations.

Grouse Mountain Bar and Grill, in Beaver Creek, is set to host the Monday Night Jazz Jam from 8 to 10 p.m.

The event is organized by Vail Valley local and saxophonist Alec Mauro, who is entering into his junior year in high school. Mauro has benefited greatly throughout his youth from many area programs that introduced him to music and led him to pursue performance jazz at a higher level.



“I’ve had this idea in my head since the past winter that I wanted to organize something like this to give back to the organizations that have helped me throughout the years,” Mauro said.

An Edwards local, and longtime Vail Mountain School student, Mauro will be heading to Michigan this fall to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy, which is world renowned for fostering musically talented youth.

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Recommended donations at the Monday Night Jazz Jam will be split between two area music organizations, the Vail Youth Foundation and Vail Jazz Educational Programs. In particular, donations from the night will help fund First Notes and the Helmut Fricker Scholarship Fund, both of which have helped shape Mauro’s musical career.

“First Notes’ aim is to give elementary school kids access to instruments and music around the Vail Valley,” Mauro said.

The organization has introduced countless Vail Valley kids to music, instruments, and the opportunity to meet successful musicians from across the country. Similarly, The Helmut Fricker Scholarship Fund is one of which Mauro has been a recipient, and seeks to help fund musically inclined youth from the area. Named for Vail Valley music legend Helmut Fricker, Monday’s event will raise money for the scholarship, and donations will fund young musicians from the area for years to come.

The Monday Night Jazz Jam at Grouse Mountain Bar and Grill will also feature Vail jazz icon Tony “Tony G” Gulizia, who has been a staple in the Vail Valley jazz scene for years. Monday won’t be the first time Mauro and Tony G have performed together, as the two have taken the stage together from the time Mauro picked up a saxophone eight years ago. Known for lively performances, high energy jazz, and an excited crowd, Tony G and Mauro are looking forward to the Monday Jazz Jam and the benefiting causes.

“It’s a great opportunity to give back to the community, and Grouse Mountain Bar and Grill has been so great to help us put it together,” Mauro said.

Monday’s event will be held in the bar area of Grouse Mountain Bar and Grill, located in Beaver Creek, between 8 and 10 p.m., and reservations are recommended.


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