 The performance space was named Hardymon Hall to memorialize Berkeley High School's dynamic jazz educator Phil Hardymon who founded the Berkeley Jazz Project in 1975 for high school students.In January 2002 the inaugural performance in Hardymon Hall featured singer Madeline Eastman backed by pianist Frank Martin, bassist Peter Barshay and drummer Vince Lateano.In 2009, the "Jazzschool Institute" began operating under the "Jazzschool" umbrella.