(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- The Jersey City Jazz Festival returns on Saturday, September 25, 2021 in the heart of Jersey City's Powerhouse Arts District. This year's festival includes eight incredible bands, food trucks, libations, VIP experience, and more.
The Jersey City Jazz Festival showcases a wide range of incredible artists in all styles of jazz. Drawing from NYC's deep talent base, one can expect to see anyone from emerging artists to NEA Jazz Masters. This year's lineup includes two of the signature guitarists of their generation - ace musician Russell Malone (4:00pm) and gypsy jazz virtuoso Stephane Wrembel (2:00pm). The world-renowned NYC jazz club Smalls will present an All-Star band featuring Victor Lewis, Seamus Blake, and Peter Washington at 5:00pm, and legendary drummer and Jersey City resident Winard Harper will perform at 6:00pm. There will also be plenty of dancing opportunities with salsa outfits La Excelencia (7:00pm) and Karen Joseph’s Mambocha (3:00pm). Rounding out the festivities will be the 9-piece eclectic music collective Brawlik at 1:00pm, while the NJCU Jazz combo will kick things off at noon.
WBGO on-air host Lezlie Harrison is the master of ceremonies. The event is presented by Exchange Place Alliance and produced by Riverview Jazz.
The festival takes place in the Harborside parking lot. There is a parking Garage at 66 Columbus entrance and exit at Stueben Street. Bring your parking ticket to the Jersey City Jazz Festival merch table for a stamp for $15 all day parking (normally $20). Ground transportation options include: Harsimus Cove Lite Rail Exchange Place Lite rail, and Path & Grove St Place Path. For information on purchasing VIP tickets, directions, parking, or links to the artists, visit www.JerseyCityJazzFestival.com.
“Wow, does it feel good to be back!” says festival director Bryan Beninghove. “The pandemic really hit the music community hard, between those we’ve lost and the lack of work, so it feels particularly energizing to work with all these amazing artists again to create something awesome for Jersey City.”
The festival, in its eighth year, strives to present a variety of music to the public. “We don’t focus on any particular style of jazz, our goal is to showcase the plethora of great music all around us, and put it in a fun, inclusive environment for the community. If people associate the good time they had at the festival with jazz as a genre, then it will only make the music more sustainable in the future - and that’s our goal.”
The presenting sponsor of the Jersey City Jazz Festival is Exchange Place Alliance. Other main sponsors and partners include Bank of America, Jersey City Cultural Affairs, Hudson County Cultural Affairs, WBGO, Guinness, Ketel One, Bulleit Bourbon, Silverman, and Sawyer Smith Residential.
Riverview Jazz is a Jersey City-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose primary mission is to connect a diverse local/regional audience to the incredible music in the greater NYC metropolitan area. Working closely with community organizations, businesses, government, and talent, Riverview Jazz is able to bring a wide range of world-class performances to the people in their respective community.
