Melrose JazzFest Ends After Four-Year Revival Run

After a four-year revival run, won't return to Memorial this year.

This month, event organizer Nancy Kukura sent an email to those previously involved in the festival, informing them that JazzFest is ending due to a lack of programming and a lack of money.

"Despite four years of excellent musical offerings, we were never able to develop the audience we needed to make the event self-sustaining, so I am going to let it die a dignified death, but I will mourn its passing," Kukura wrote in the email.

The original Melrose Jazz Festival started held in the early 90s, funded by the Melrose Arts Lottery Council, which used revenue from lottery tickets to support the arts.

The festival faded away, but after the Melrose Arts Festival was revived in 2006, Kukura was inspired by the work of (previously the Melrose Arts and Cultural Association) and decided to try and revive the Jazz Festival.

JazzFest started in 2007 and ran each fall for the past four years, but has now come to an end.

"I want to thank you for all the hard work you undertook to make JazzFest the success that it has been," Kukura wrote in her email. "Whether you played the music, organized volunteers, sold tickets, or worked at the event, everything that you did was vital to the smooth operation of four year's worth of excellent jazz concerts. For that, I am very grateful."