Lois Masteller didn't start out to be a jazz music promoter.
But somewhere along the way, with both a father and husband who loved jazz, it became a passion for her as well, and now the Elmira native has been honored with a prestigious national award for her efforts.
Masteller, who owns The Jazz Corner on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and also organizes a local jazz camp and other activities, is one of the 2024 recipients of the "Jazz Hero" Award, bestowed by the National Jazz Journalists Association.
"It was a complete surprise to me. I didn't know that Gloria Krolak, who has an internet jazz radio show, and is also a wonderful author and photographer, nominated me for theJazz Journalists Association award," Masteller said. "(I felt) genuine surprise, appreciation, humility and gratitude."
A longtime love affair with jazz music
Masteller is a graduate of Notre Dame High School and graduated from Elmira College in 1964 with a major in history.
She met Bob Masteller while she was a junior in college. She taught history at Southside High School in Elmira from September 1964 to June 1965, before she and Bob got married and moved to Fulton, New York.
While her course of study in college was history, Masteller said she always had a connection to jazz music.
"My father played drums and French horn and loved jazz," she said. "My husband was passionate about jazz and a superb musician, playing trumpet, trombone, flugelhorn and vibraphone."
The couple eventually relocated to Hilton Head, and their mutual interest in jazz led them to open The Jazz Corner.
"It was a dream of my husband's and 25 years ago there was very little jazz on the island," Masteller said. "We wanted to bring great jazz to our community in an environment designed particularly for jazz performance with great acoustics,sound, in-house instruments and excellentfood and service reminiscent of the supper clubs of the thirties and forties — along with a desire to introduce jazz to the next generation."
Going it alone
Not only was The Jazz Corner a success, but Lois and Bob Masteller also ran the Junior Jazz Foundation, Hilton Head Jazz Camp, and Jazz For All Ages Jazz Festival.
Then in 2015, Bob Masteller passed away, leaving Lois to run things on her own.
While the loss of her husband required major adjustments, Lois Masteller said she was fortunately well-prepared for the transition.
"Bob and I worked closely together in our business so I was familiar with the many facets of the business and I was determined to keep the dream alive and make him proud," said Masteller, who also had prior experience owning a business in Savannah, Georgia. "I was only able to do it because we had and havean incredible staffwho have been with us many years (some since the day we opened) and two supportive caring sons."
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National recognition for Masteller's efforts to boost jazz
Jazz radio host Gloria Krolak thought Masteller's work promoting the music deserved to be noticed, so she nominated Masteller for the Jazz Hero award.
The Jazz Journalists Association initiated its awards honoring excellence in jazz music, recordings, presentation and journalism in 1996.
The Jazz Hero awards recognize "activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz who have had significant impact in their local communities."
Masteller certainly fit the bill, Krolak said.
"The club is a success — called one of the 'Top 100 Great Jazz Rooms,' by DownBeatmagazine— that’s because she and her late husband Bob made it happen, with a business plan involving more than numbers and dollars," Krolak said in her write-up about Masteller.
"She’s still presenting the jazz that was the pair’s vision and is its biggest cheerleader," she said. "Lois kept the club going through Covid-19, a major accomplishment as many of the island’s establishments closed their doors for good."
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What's next for Masteller and The Jazz Corner
Masteller has no intentions of sitting on her laurels.
She hopes to keep managing the jazz club for as long as she can.
"I hope for many more years of presenting a great music and dining experience to our local community and to our many domestic and international visitors," Masteller said. "In the future, I know my son David, a superb musician, will continue the tradition, along with my son Bob and our dedicated staff."
In fact, Masteller said she never even thinks about retirement.
"Heavens, no," she said emphatically. "I'm having too much fun."
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