Hall Of Fame Archives • Jacksonville Jazz Festival

June 8, 2023

Dennis Marks

2023 Inductee DENNIS MARKS, (Acoustic and Electric Bass) is considered one of the best bassists in the jazz scene today. Much in demand as an accomplished musician and composer, he has toured the world many times over, most recently as the bassist playing with the legendary trumpeter Arturo Sandoval for over twenty years. Dennis Marks has also performed with other jazz luminaries including Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Liebman, Bob Mintzer, Maynard Ferguson, Pat Metheny, Bunky Greene,...

May 23, 2022

Don Zentz

2022 Inductee Don Zentz is the Director of Jazz Studies and serves on the band faculty at the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville. Previously he was the Director of Fine & Performing Arts at The Bolles School (Jacksonville), a post he served for twelve years. Now in his thirty-fifth year of teaching, Don has held music professorships at the University of North Florida, Valdosta State University, and Florida Community College at Jacksonville....

March 29, 2022

Rick Sawyer

2021 Inductee Harold Rick Sawyer III was a widely respected superintendent at the City of Jacksonville. Rick was born and raised in Massachusetts where he met his high school sweetheart, Karen. They married in 1974, had their only child in 1976, and relocated to Florida in 1984. At the City of Jacksonville, Rick was a supervisor in the Parks and Recreation Department and made great contributions to the Jacksonville Jazz Festival for over 20 years....

July 1, 2021

Carol McQueen

2019 Inductee A retired jazz educator, Carol McQueen is known for her impact on the students of jazz studies in Jacksonville; directing jazz bands at Arlington Middle School, Landon Middle School, now a college preparatory school, and eventually developing the jazz program at LaVilla School of the Arts. She was an amazing supporter of the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, performing at the festival with her bands for many years, providing her band room for Jazz Festival...

July 1, 2021

Saul Lucio

2018 Inductee Saul Lucio is the Technical Director of the Florida Theatre. He began working for the Florida Theatre shortly after its original renovation in 1983. He directs the theatre’s stage crew and all of the lighting, sound and other production elements of over 150 shows a year, including Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition. With only a few exceptions, the Piano Competition has been held at the Florida Theatre since 1984 and for that time, Lucio...

July 1, 2021

J.B. Scott

2017 Inductee The first jazz graduate at the University of North Florida, now in his 20th year, J.B. Scott is the Coordinator of Jazz Studies and Director of the acclaimed UNF Great American Jazz Series. He directs the UNF JE I big band, winner of the 2015 Downbeat Magazine’s “Best Large Jazz Ensemble” undergrad award, which often backs major artists on the Jacksonville Jazz Festival and annually on the Savannah Jazz Festival. J.B. is profiled among...

July 1, 2021

Jack Melvin, Jr.

2016 Inductee For over fifteen years Jack Melvin, Jr. has been an integral part of the Jacksonville Jazz Festival. As owner of Keyboard Connections, Jack is a dedicated educator, sharing his passion and love of music by teaching over 100 students a week. Jack’s support of the Jacksonville Jazz Festival began with the Great American Piano Competition, now known as the world renowned Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition. He has also has had a large role...

July 1, 2021

Noel Freidline

2015 Inductee Pianist, vocalist, writer and arranger are all talents that describe Noel Freidline. A graduate of the University of North Florida, he has kept us entertained for years, becoming the leader of his own group, the Noel Freidline Quintet, in 1991. Since that time, the group has become a renowned presence in the jazz world, performing for 13 years at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, as well as across the country. Friedline has been the...

July 1, 2021

Ace Martin

2014 Inductee Ace Martin is currently Instrumental Music Chairman at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, FL, and has been since the opening of school of in 1984. Under the direction of Martin, Douglas Anderson’s Jazz Band I has been invited to play for various local, state, national and international Jazz Festival events....

July 1, 2021

Lisa Kelly

2013 Inductee Performer, composer, educator, jazz vocalist Lisa Kelly has been a highly respected jazz artist for over 30 years. Winning an unprecedented 8 DownBeat Magazine awards for voice, arranging, and composition, she was the selected vocalist with the 2000 IAJE Sisters In Jazz Combo, and profiled among 320 of today’s international jazz artists in the 2010 book, The New Face of Jazz. Earning her B.M. and M.M. Degrees in Jazz Studies and Performance from...