If anyone has credentials for this position, it is Ron Gill. He has deep roots in the Boston community—except for a hitch in the U.S. Army, Ron has lived in the Boston area since 1946. He’s been singing since his early teens in the 1940s. He’s hosted the “Jazz Gallery” on WGBH radio since 1988. And he has “relevant job experience” earned through his tenure as activist in, and later president of, Boston’s Jazz Coalition in the early 1980s.

Gill established himself as a local singer/performer in his teens, singing at local dance halls, private parties and when he was finally old enough, in local night spots. He performed and recorded with the Calypso Rhythm Boys, headlined by “The Charmer” for Tico and Monogram Records. In the mid-fifties, he joined the U.S. Army. When he returned to Boston, he started a family, and gradually rejoined the local music scene, singing in clubs and at venues like Elma Lewis’s Playhouse in the Park in the sixties.

In 1968 he formed a group with his teenage friend and accompanist, Manny Williams, and Reid Jorgensen on drums. This is the nucleus of a group that still plays together today.

Gill toured New England in 1974 with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, led by Mercer Ellington. But more involvement with Ellingtonia lay ahead. “In 1977, Ran Blake asked me to sing “Day Dream” in concert at Jordan Hall. After that performance I was hooked on the music of Billy Strayhorn, and it took twenty years for me to complete my investigation of his work and perform it.” Concert appearances in 1997 led to the release of his CD, Ron Gill Sings the Songs of Billy Strayhorn, in 1998. Other gigs, as both performer and producer, have continued to the present.

But Gill points to his Jazz Coalition days as his real NEJA training ground. He learned to gain the support of major institutions, like the Mayor’s Office Of Cultural Affairs, and to develop contacts with the local media. Having this network in place helped the Coalition’s signature activities—Boston Jazz Week, the Jazz All Night concert— succeed. Gill is convinced that building and cultivating such a network across New England will be a key part of the “Jazz Advocate” campaign. “Jazz advocacy,” says Gill, “can’t succeed without a solid foundation. I’m looking forward to building on the strong base we already have in place.”

Got a message for Ron? Send him email at rgill@nejazz.org.