In the winter of 1988, Bubbha Thomas, executive director of Jazz Education Inc. approached the late U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland to seek support for a Houston International Jazz Festival. Congressman Leland enthusiastically responded, “Bubbha you get the talent and I’ll get the sponsorships.” Leland was not here to witness the first Houston International Jazz Festival. He died on August 6, 1989 , while on a humanitarian mission to Ethiopia .

In 1991, in memory of Congressman Leland, the first Houston International Jazz Festival was held outdoors on the “Super Block” in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center . In 1994, Bubbha approached Councilman Judson Robinson III, son of Houston ’s first Black City Councilman, Judson Robinson Jr., and shared the story of the vision of the Houston International Jazz Festival and the history of Jazz Education Inc.. The rest is History.

Since its inception, in association with “August Jazz Month Houston”, the Houston International Jazz Festival has placed Houston in the spotlight as the site of the nation’s only Jazz Festival focusing on international Jazz musicians. The mission of the Festival is to provide a unique cultural program that exposes Houstonians to musicians from outside the United States of America . All proceeds from the festival go toward funding Jazz Education Inc ‘s educational programs,” Jazz & Poetry Series” and “Summer Jazz Workshop.” The Jazz and Poetry program serves more than 30,000 elementary school children, and through two locations, the Summer Jazz Workshop trains over 100 teenage musicians.

Other goals of the Festival are to provide scholarships for underserved children attending the Summer Jazz Workshop and establish an endowment for the long term growth of Jazz Education Inc.