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Personality: James B. ‘Saxsmo’ Gates Jr.
Spotlight on the co-chair of the RVA East End Festival
“Together we can make it!” For James B. “Saxsmo” Gates Jr., this phrase, which originated with one of his songs, is a distillation of the universality and practicality he believes is key to jazz music and the genre’s communities. An accomplished musician and director of jazz studies for Virginia State University, he is putting his skills and philosophy to work as co-chair of the RVA East End Festival.
