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Nimbus Arts Festival presents Jazz In The City on July 10

(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- The Nimbus Arts Festival presents Jazz in the City, an outdoor in-person performance, on Saturday, July 10 at 7:00pm. The night includes an evening with the Freddie Hendrix Organ Group and the Davis Whitfield Trio. It is co-presented with Riverview Jazz Festival and Jersey City Jazz Festival.

Tickets are available for purchase online from $5-$80. The event takes place at Harborside Campus (107 Morgan Street) in Jersey City - across from Nimbus Arts Center.

Over the past two decades, Freddie Hendrix has become one of the most in demand trumpeters in Jazz, and beyond. Also an accomplished composer, arranger and educator, the Teaneck, New Jersey native's skill and versatility has resulted in him working with a wide array of performers that range from the Count Basie Orchestra and The Christian McBride Big Band, to Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys. 

With the release of his first recording as a leader, JERSEY CAT, Freddie is serving notice that now is his time. One of the music's most exciting players, Hendrix has forged his own sure footed, full toned sound, out of the tradition of Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Lee Morgan, and Clifford Brown. A powerful septet recording, JERSEY CAT, a scintillating septet debut, impresses from the opening bars of the powerful first track, "St. Peter's Walk". At home on fiery, uptempo tracks, or on ballads like "You Don't Know What Love Is", Hendrix shows that he can handle any tempo and interpret any song with ease, and when called for, nuance. And on originals like "On The Rise" (one of his first compositions), "Madeira Nights", (inspired by his first trip to Europe), and "Whims Of A Waltz", Freddie's aforementioned composing and arranging talents are on full display. Among the other selections on this well rounded project is a wonderful performance of the Horace Silver classic "Peace", and a swinging rendition of Freddie Hubbard's "Hubtones". 

A product of the esteemed Jazz program at William Paterson University, with a Masters in Jazz Studies and Performance from New Jersey City University, Hendrix also shares his knowledge and passion for the music by serving as a faculty member at the Hartt School of Music at The University of Hartford (Ct.), The New School in New York, and Jazz House Kids, in Montclair, New Jersey.

 

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As the son of two musicians, Davis Whitfield's early years were filled with music. He began playing the guitar at age 5, and moved to Jersey City, New Jersey at 8 where he began studying the piano. While attending high school, Whitfield was accepted by the Jersey City University Visual and Performing Arts Program and served as the principal pianist in its jazz ensemble for four years. In 2008, Whitfield became the assistant director for the Jazz Standard Youth Orchestra, writing arrangements and performing weekly at the Jazz Standard in New York City. Whitfield received full scholarships to attend the Berklee Summer Jazz Workshop in 2009 and 2010. 

Nimbus leads Jersey City and statewide audiences back to live performance with the first annual, star-studded, outdoor Nimbus Arts Festival, presented on the Harborside Campus with lead sponsorship by Mack-Cali. With a lineup of nationally-renowned and locally-loved performing artists including Nimbus Dance, Jersey City’s hometown dance company, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, co-presentations with Segunda Quimbamba Puerto Rican Folkloric Center, Riverview Jazz Festival, and Hudson West Folk Festival, the Festival offers world-class arts in a laid-back and socially-distanced atmosphere, complete with food trucks, drink refreshments by CoolVines, and artisan vendors. 7 fully produced performances take place over 5 dates throughout the summer in Downtown Jersey City.

Mack-Cali is the lead sponsor of the Nimbus Arts Festival. The Festival is supported by Mayor Steven M. Fulop, the Jersey City Municipal Council, and the Office of Cultural Affairs, the Exchange Place Alliance, LMC - A Lennar Company, and the HK Organization. CoolVines is the Beverage Sponsor of the Nimbus Arts Festival.

Proceeds benefit the Nimbus Scholarship Fund, making access to the dance and arts available to all Jersey City youth.

originally published: 06/20/2021