The donation will go a long way toward helping the Arizona Jazz Academy raise money for a permanent home and an executive director.

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All told, the Arizona Jazz Academy will receive $100,000 from a fan who has been watching from afar.

Academy officials, in an e-mail, said Eric Benson, the nephew of jazz powerhouse George Benson, donated $10,000 to the academy at its Nov. 9 fall "Friends of the Academy" fundraiser. Benson pledged additional $10,000 annual donations for the next nine years, for a total of $100,000.

More than 60 supporters of the academy, which trains jazz musicians and performs at festivals around the world, attended the fundraising dinner.

Benson's appearance was a surprise, organizers said. He told academy officials he has been watching the group from afar after encountering them last July at the Vienne Jazz Festival in Vienne, France.

Academy officials said Benson praised them as being unlike any group he's ever seen.

The donation will go a long way in the Arizona Jazz Academy's efforts to raise money for a permanent building. The academy also wants to hire an executive director.

In addition to the cash, the academy received a Chickering piano, a Knabe baby grand piano, a flugelhorn and an ongoing commitment to annually fund two students' tuition through the Edith Collinsworth Memorial Scholarship Fund.