"The festival is a focus for a group or artist to rehearse and come and play," he said.
"There's a will to promote the music and they've got the youth component and the solo component, and I'm going to do some workshops at Wakatipu High School to try and give something back to the younger folk and keep the thing going."
Fox is one of 150 national and international performers and more than 50 bands drawn to Queenstown for the five-day festival. Events are being held on community stages, in restaurants and halls and even a church around the Wakatipu until Monday.
Local talent will play to impress the judges at theJumpstart competition tomorrow, and the Emerging Talent competition on Sunday.
Fox said it was his fourth time at JazzFest. He began by performing with the rhythm section from the New Zealand School of Music big band and a glittering line-up of talent for the opening gala last night.
The gala featured a tribute to "Queenstown's first lady of song", entertainer Margaret O'Hanlon.
Fox returns to the Queenstown Memorial Hall stage tonight to accompany vocalist Erna Ferry, of Manawatu, in her theatrical tribute to Peggy Lee, at 6pm.
He then joins Americans pianist Bill Cunliffe and multi-instrumentalist Bob Sheppard, and the full 20-strong School of Music big band for a concert at 8pm.
"The good thing with jazz, it's so diverse," Fox said.
"When I was a teenager, jazz was Glenn Miller, but now it could be anything from George Benson to Al Jarreau to blues to whatever."
