Jazz Bridge Project’s Neighborhood Concert series is returning to a Montgomery County stage as part of the organization’s 17th season. The events not only provide area jazz fans with a solid dose of entertainment but also the opportunity to help keep local musicians vital, engaged, and working during an ongoing difficult time.

The local edition — Oct. 5 at the Cheltenham Center for the Arts — celebrates “First Wednesdays” by bringing to the stage jazz violinist Mollie Ducoste. Its promotion is by the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board.

A North Carolina native, Ducoste started taking violin lessons at the age of three. As an undergrad at Hampton University in Va., however, her tastes started to shift. She took up jazz violin, which provided a musical counterpoint to her pursuit of a criminal justice degree.

Post-graduation, she leaned into that musical background. While in New Orleans, she riffed with well-respected jazz artists that included Ellis Marsalis, Wendell Brunious, Carl LeBlanc, Charmaine Neville, and Tonya Boyd-Cannon.

Arriving Locally

In 2017, she moved to Phila. to deepen her criminal justice studies with a doctorate from Temple University, an academic goal she is still pursuing.

To distinguish her law-based career from her ledger-line based talent, she plays under the stage name Mollie Rose. She released her two EPs — “Voices” and “Taste” — bearing that branding.

Now based in southeast Pa., she continues to collaborate with fellow musicians in performance.

The Jazz Bridge gig is part of that creative cross-pollination.

Mollie Ducoste intends one day to change the world with he criminal justice degree, while simultaneously uplifting it with her music.

More Music

For more than a decade, the Jazz Bridge Neighborhood Concerts have featured some of the most talented musicians in the Greater Philadelphia Area, both seasoned and emerging artists.

The remaining Weds. in the 2022–2023 Jazz Brand series in Cheltenham are:

• Vocalist Jill Salkin, Nov. 2
• Pianist Neil Podgurski, Dec.7
• Drummer Doug Hirlinger, Mar. 1
• Vocalist Tonya Lynette, Apr. 12
• Drummer Bruce Klauber, May 3

A parallel series to the Montgomery County one will unfold on Thu nights, Oct.–May with an equally as talented lineup. These concerts are at the Collingswood Senior Community Center, Collingswood, N.J.

Tickets are $15 at the door; students pay $5, and children under 12 are free. Masks are required.

All shows are from 7:30–9:00 p.m. with a Q&A with the performers included.

A season pass is available to patrons seeking to mitigate the costs of attending multiple shows and bringing a guest.

About the Jazz Bridge Project

Jazz Bridge Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Phila., which was founded in 2004 by vocalists Suzanne Cloud and Wendy Simon. Its mission is to assist jazz and blues musicians living and working in the Greater Philadelphia Metro area who face financial, health, housing, and similar crises. Jazz Bridge also supports musicians by providing paid performance opportunities through Neighborhood Concerts and special events.

Learn more at www.jazzbridge.org and follow the organization on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.