(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- JAZZ HOUSE KiDS announced GRAMMY winning saxophonist Kenny Garrett has been added as a headliner of the 15th Annual Montclair Jazz Festival Downtown Jamboree. Taking place Saturday, September 14, 2024 on Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair, NJ.
Artists performing this year’s milestone celebration include vocalist Lisa Fischer and Grand Baton, drummer Jerome Jennings & ill Philosophy, Colombian harpist Edmar Castañeda Quartet, seashellist and veteran trombonist Steve Turre Sextet, rising star Brianna Thomas, Montclair State University Jazz Ensemble directed by Oscar Perez, and the JAZZ HOUSE Collective Celebrating Sarah Vaughan featuring vocalist and JAZZ HOUSE KiDS founder Melissa Walker. Nine-time GRAMMY-winning bassist, and the festival’s music director, Christian McBride will also perform with his acclaimed quintet, Inside Straight.
“This year’s Montclair Jazz Festival will be another joyous celebration of America’s greatest art form with some of the world’s greatest musicians and fans, many of whom have been supporters of JAZZ HOUSE KiDS and this festival since the very beginning 15 years ago,” said Christian McBride. The ones that aren’t are simply those we haven’t met yet. Everyone who comes to our festival leaves enfolded in our shared community, and their love for jazz is strengthened further.”
The Montclair Jazz Festival is the largest free jazz festival in the greater NYC region welcoming 25,000 music fans to Montclair. The summer-long festival has been hosting a series of performances at the Wellmont Arts Plaza, as well as Montclair State University for the recent Uptown Showcase. The September 14th Downtown Jamboree will welcome music fans along nearly half a mile of downtown Montclair’s Bloomfield Avenue commercial corridor, closed to vehicular traffic with hundreds of retailers and restaurant storefronts. The event is jam-packed with talent on multiple stages, 170+ food & artisan vendors in sponsor Rao’s Homemade Marketplace, and the Verizon Family Jazz Discovery Zone in Wellmont Arts Plaza.
This year’s celebrated centennial artist and face of the festival is revered vocalist Sarah Vaughan, as depicted in festival artwork by Andres Chaparro. As tradition at the Montclair Jazz Festival, the JAZZ HOUSE Collective, an ensemble directed by Nathan Eklund composed of JAZZ HOUSE teaching artists, will feature Vaughan’s music with special guest vocalists including JAZZ HOUSE KiDS founder Melissa Walker.
New this year, after eight hours of live music on two stages, the Montclair Jazz Festival transforms into a giant 15th Anniversary Celebration Block Party as DJ Brother Mister (AKA Christian McBride) and special guest, New Jersey’s own DJ Prince Hakim take over the Downtown Jamboree stage for a dynamic funk & soul dance party. Montclair Jazz Festival also debuts the JAZZ HOUSE Legacy Band, following their recent sold-out performance at the Sarah Vaughan Centennial hosted by Dee Dee Bridgewater, presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center. The Legacy Band will perform on Montclair Jazz Festival sponsor Jazz Cruise’s Celebrity Summit, setting sail in January 2025.
With producer JAZZ HOUSE KiDS and together with the County of Essex, Montclair Township, Montclair Center BID, and a host of corporate sponsors, local businesses and individual patrons, Downtown Jamboree stage hosts, comedian and actor Alonzo Boden and SiriusXM Jazz’s Andromeda Turre, Montclair Jazz Festival welcomes all who want to celebrate America's rich history of jazz, youth development and community building. New this year, JAZZ HOUSE KiDS is introducing a membership program with year-round benefits and festival perks. For more information on how to get involved as a volunteer, sponsor, vendor and business or individual supporter, visit the website and download the Montclair Jazz Festival App in the Google or Apple store.
DOWNTOWN JAMBOREE SCHEDULE:
DOWNTOWN STAGE | 12:00pm-10:00pm
Stage host: Alonzo Bodden
JAZZ HOUSE Legacy Band: 12:15pm-1:00pm
Steve Turre Sextet*: 1:15pm-2:00pm
Kenny Garrett Sounds from the Ancestors: 2:30pm-3:45pm
Christian McBride & Inside Straight: 4:15pm-5:45pm
Lisa Fischer and Grand Baton: 6:15pm-7:30pm
15th ANNIVERSARY BLOCK PARTY
DJ Brother Mister + DJ Prince Hakim: 8:00pm-10:00pm
UPTOWN STAGE | 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Stage host: Andromeda Turre
Montclair State University Jazz Band feat. Dave Stryker + Steve Nelson: 12:15pm-1:00pm
Edmar Castañeda Quartet: 1:45pm-2:45pm
Jerome Jennings & ill Philosophy: 3:15pm-4:30pm
Brianna Thomas Band: 5:00pm-6:15pm
JAZZ HOUSE Collective feat. Melissa Walker: 6:30pm-7:45pm
VERIZON FAMILY JAZZ DISCOVERY ZONE @ WELLMONT PLAZA | 12:00pm-4:00pm
Montclair Early Music: 12:00pm-12:15pm
Jazz Explorers Program* fea. Riza Printup: 12:30pm-1:30pm
Jazz Explorers Program fea. Riza Printup: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Montclair Early Music: 3:15pm-3:30pm
*JAZZ HOUSE KiDS’ presentation of the Steve Turre Sextet is supported through a Chamber Music America Presenter Consortium for Jazz grant in collaboration with Isham Park Restoration Program, (IPRP) 1970 Inc and Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts. A component of the Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project, Presenter Consortium for Jazz is funded by the Doris Duke Foundation.
*Jazz Explorers program supported in part by the Montclair Foundation
Now in its third decade, the nationally recognized JAZZ HOUSE KiDS transforms lives using the power and legacy of jazz through world-class education and performances that create avenues of access, learning, career development and community building. Recently featured on CBS Mornings, The Kelly Clarkson Show and celebrated by global superstar STING, the organization and students have received more than 150 awards and honors for excellence in jazz and jazz education. The JAZZ HOUSE has two locations: its headquarters in Montclair, NJ and a satellite program in New York City in collaboration with Trinity Church Wall Street. Every day of the week through a series of in-school programs in New Jersey and out-of-school programs in Montclair and Lower Manhattan, JAZZ HOUSE helps young people gain an artistic edge, fostering community leaders and global citizens who help build thriving communities. JAZZ HOUSE produces 150+ free public concerts per year to audiences close to 150,000, including the organization’s far-reaching cultural signature program, the award-winning Montclair Jazz Festival, the largest free jazz festival in the NYC area, attracting 25,000+ attendees to downtown Montclair each year.
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