Phoenix City Jazz Club builds steam with visions of Atlanta jazz hub

September 19th, 2024

A rendering of a white building — Cornerstone Jazz Center rendering (Courtesy of Will Scruggs)

Atlanta saxophonist Will Scruggs says Atlanta is in danger of becoming a “jazz desert,” but he wants to make it an oasis.

Along with the organization Scruggs co-founded, the Cornerstone Jazz Collective, he’s drawn up a bold plan to purchase and remake a building in downtown Decatur into the Phoenix City Jazz Club. It would house a restaurant and coffeehouse with performance space, a musicians’ supply retail store and education center for music lessons.

Will Scruggs joined Lois Reitzes on “City Lights” to discuss the Phoenix City Jazz Club project, which was brought about by the more than 120 members of Cornerstone Jazz Collective.

“We need to put a spotlight on Atlanta’s jazz talent and create a place that could be a cornerstone, a real meeting place, [somewhere] that the jazz community could feel at home,” said Scruggs.

More information can be found at https://www.cornerstonejazz.com/.