Lalah Hathaway, Patti Austin, Dave Koz and other jazz notables will provide the entertainment at the second annual Jackie Robinson Foundation benefit Jazz On The Grass, to be held Saturday, September 15th in Sherman Oaks, California. Also on hand at the event will be vocalist Kathryn Bostic, keyboardist Clarence McDonald, bassist Marcus Miller, vocalists Byron Motley and Kenny Rankin, keyboardist Sylvester Rivers and guitarist Phil Upchurch.

The event will be held at the home of noted television director Oz Scott and his wife, sculptor Lynne Scott. The event raises money for the Jackie Robinson Foundation Education and Leadership Development Program, which provides four-year college scholarships and mentoring to academically distinguished minority students.

Jazz On The Grass will also feature a performance by Nicolette Robinson, a JRF Scholar attending UCLA and sponsored by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Jazz has been a significant part of the late baseball great's legacy. Jackie Robinson and his wife Rachel organized their first jazz concert in 1963 to raise bail money for jailed freedom fighters. The original concert series, set in the New York metropolitan area, became a signature JRF event, featuring such top jazz names as Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie.

The Foundation's first Jazz On The Grass event in Los Angeles was held last fall.



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