On April 13, an Ivy League institution became an improvisational center as Princeton University welcomed an impressive roster of musicians to its main New Jersey campus for the university’s first jazz festival. Organized by Jazz at Princeton University—which is helmed by saxophonist and university jazz director Rudresh Mahanthappa—the day-long festival featured performances by students as well as (and sometimes alongside) Joel Frahm, Tia Fuller, Ingrid Jensen, the Charenée Wade Quartet, the Pedrito Martinez Group, and the Donny McCaslin Quartet. At a ticketed evening event in Alexander Hall, bassist Dave Holland provided the final set of the festival, with help from the university’s Small Group I. Photographer Alan Nahigian was there both day and night, and captured the following images.
