The Montclair Jazz Festival has announced its series of summer concerts to be held in downtown Montclair, N.J. The festival, which is produced by the Jazz House Kids organization under the leadership of Melissa Walker and Christian McBride, hosts two concerts in July as part of its Soundcheck series and a third in August called the Lackawanna Block Party. The first Soundcheck concert on July 13 features saxophonist Craig Handy and his 2nd Line Smith, as well as Jazz House Kids alum Bria Chatterjee. On July 27, organist Akiko Tsuruga performs, with an opening set by trumpeter Wallace Roney, Jr., son of Geri Allen and Wallace Roney. The summer season ends on August 13 with the Block Party, featuring performances by Nicole Glover and her quartet and Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, plus DJ Brother Mister (a.k.a. Christian McBride) closing the event with a dance party.
The lineup for the Jamboree on September 10, the culminating event of the festival, has not been announced yet. Last year’s Jamboree featured artists such as Sean Jones, Alicia Olatuja, Emmet Cohen, the Baylor Project, Billy Hart, Camille Thurman, Rudresh Mahanthappa, and Christian McBride & Friends performing on three stages on the streets of Montclair. That event drew an estimated 20,000 listeners to downtown Montclair. The festival is presented by BDP Holdings, a New Jersey-based real estate investment company.
For more information about the Montclair Jazz Festival, visit its website.
