by Ken Dryden, All About Jazz, New York
MCG Jazz evolved from Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, a non-profit arts program started in 1968 by Bill Strickland. Beginning with no more than a single ceramic art wheel and a radio playing jazz in the background, the program was initially housed in the basement of a row home the in the Manchester section of Pittsburgh, targeting inner-city high school students and utilizing arts to transform their lives.

For a PDF of the full All About Jazz article ( on page 8 ):
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/newyork/aaj_ny_200611.pdf