Nicholas Regine was the person responsible for the Somers Point Jazz Society, an all-volunteer organization.  It is a 501 © 3 non-profit corporation that produces and promotes a year round calendar of jazz events in and around Somers Point, NJ.  At one time, Regine was the communications director of the Foundation of Education in Somers Point.  The Foundation of Education sponsored many events and activities that take place every year and when he was still involved, jazz was as well.  The Jazz Festival that Somers Point has annually started in the mid-1990s. In mid-2004, Regine retired and was afraid that the Jazz Festivals might not continue after he had.  This is when the Somers Point Jazz Society was born.

People from the Foundation of Education and people who were interested in music were the first to be involved.  Some of them were jazz musicians, some were fans, and others were there to help for economic stimulus for Somers Point’s local businesses.  Today, 4 of the 20 Board of Directors of the society are jazz musicians themselves and 17 to 20 out of the 280 members are professional musicians.  Most of the performers are locals, some are from New York and some come from as far as Chicago.

The Jazz Society likes to spread music and jazz to the younger generation. For years they have been having Jazz workshops for high school jazz bands to learn different techniques in playing jazz, like improvisations, and then perform for the other schools attending.  This past year, Mainland Regional, Ocean City, EHT, and St. Augustine’s high schools had attended this year’s workshop and got to learn from some great professional performers.  In 2012, the society also went to five local elementary schools where they performed and taught them about what jazz is.  This year, they plan on doing something similar for local high schools. The Society also offers free admission to both their winter and summer jazz series for high school and college students.  In the summer, Somers Point Jazz Society takes 400 students to Stockton University for a similar workshop and performance by the professional performers that are part of the society.