The 13th Annual Montclair Jazz Festival (FREE)

Jazz House Kids announces the13th Annual Montclair Jazz FestivalDowntown Jamboree Grand Finale HeadlinersSaturday, September 10Claudia Acuña, Monty Alexander, Artemis, The Cookers, Jazz House Collective, Christian McBride, Danielle Ponder, Ozmosys, Matthew Whitaker and Immanuel Wilkins will headline the Downtown Jamboree, 1-9pm; followed by the After Party with turntablist, DJ Logic

[August 8, 2022, MONTCLAIR, NJ] On the heels of the July Soundcheck Series, an all-day mini-fest Lackawanna Block Party in August attended by thousands of music fans, the award-winning Montclair Jazz Festival returns after Labor Day for the 2022 Grand Finale: a series of community events leading up to the highly-anticipated Downtown Jamboree on Saturday, September 10.

Presented by BDP Holdings, LLC and produced by Jazz House Kids, the Montclair Jazz Festival is the largest FREE jazz festival in the greater NYC area attracting 35,000 jazz fans to downtown Montclair which is 12 miles from Manhattan.

The final day of the 2022 Fest is jam-packed with inspiring music and activities, spotlighting internationally-acclaimed headliners, regional favorites and emerging talent on three stages. The festivities span nearly half-mile of Bloomfield Avenue from Lackawanna Plaza to South Park, the main artery of Montclair, into an all-pedestrian jazz playground featuring more than 150 artisan food and craft vendors and expanded an all-day Family Jazz Discovery Zone.

New this year, the Montclair Jazz Festival heads indoors at 9:00 pm to the Wellmont Theater for the After Party with turntablist DJ Logic.

“It becomes a bigger joy each year to bring you some of the greatest jazz artists in the world right here to our Montclair community. From our own JAZZ HOUSE Collective Band saluting Charles Mingus, to legends like Monty Alexander (who played one of our early festivals and we excitedly welcome him back 12 years later) and The Cookers, plus contemporary giants like Artemis, Rachel Z, Omar Hakim, DJ Logic and Claudia Acuna, to rising stars like Matthew Whitaker and the most recent pride of Philadelphia, Immanuel Wilkins, to Danielle Ponder – one of the fastest rising stars in the world, this year promises to be a year that will be hard to top in the future! Oh yeah, I’m playing, too, 😂 bringing you a new band that I think you will enjoy a LOT.”
Christian McBride, Artistic Director + Curator

Downtown Jamboree Stage Schedule
Sept. 10, 1:00 – 9:00 pm

The Montclair Jazz Festival Grand Finale showcases powerhouse jazz vocalists and instrumentalists delivering dynamic live performances. Headliners include:

Downtown @ BDP Holdings Lackawanna Stage
1:30 PM Jazz House Collective Celebrates Mingus
3:00 PM OZMOSYS featuring Omar Hakim + Rachel Z
4:30 PM Artemis featuring Renee Rosnes, Ingrid Jensen, Alexa Tarantino, Nicole Glover, Noriko Ueda + Allison Miller
6:000 PM Christian McBride + Friends
7:45 PM Danielle Ponder

Uptown @ the Fullerton Stage
1:00 PM Matthew Whitaker
2:30 PM Claudia Acuña
4:00 PM The Cookers
5:30 PM Immanuel Wilkins
7:00 PM Monty Alexander Harlem-Kingston Express

Midtown @ the Blue Note at Sea Street Stage
Montclair State University Jazz Ensemble, Jazz House Alumni, Jazz House Community band and more.

Jazz House Kids’ mission in action and its commitment to fostering the next generation of jazz musicians is on full display on Montclair Jazz Fest stages. Two accomplished alumni, Birsa Chatterjee and Wallace Roney Jr. opened on the Soundcheck Series summer stages. The organization’s legacy grows with the long list of young talented musicians who got their start at the Jazz House making a name for themselves on the jazz scene today. On September 10, alumni Matthew Whitaker and Immanuel Wilkins and their bands headline on Fullerton Stage for what are sure to be electric performances.

Midtown @ the Blue Note at Sea Street Stage will also will feature ensembles led by talented Jazz House alumni including an octet of past recipients of the James Moody Jazz Scholarship for New Jersey. Established by Linda Moody with Jazz House Kids, the scholarship recognizes an outstanding high school senior who embodies the qualities that NEA Jazz Master James Moody expressed through his life and music. This year’s winner, Ryoma Takenaga, will be presented with his $10,000 scholarship and brand-new instrument on the Downtown @ BDP Holdings Stage.

After Party at the Wellmont Theater
At 9:00 pm, after the final festival performers take a bow, the After Party with turntablist DJ Logic is just getting started at the Wellmont Theater for Friends of the Festival and members of the Take 5 VIP Club. As one of the world’s most accomplished turntablists, DJ Logic is widely credited for introducing jazz into the hip-hop realms and is considered by most as a highly-respected session musician and an innovative bandleader.

The Montclair Jazz Festival invites music fans and local business partners to play it forward and score some big perks by supporting the rich history of jazz and this FREE world class event by becoming a Friend of the Festival or upgrading to the Take 5 VIP Club. This musical extravaganza is only made possible through the generosity of many supporters big and small who lift up an entire community by making a festival experience and live jazz accessible to all.

It Takes an Urban Suburban Village
This free, family-friendly event spanning three summer months is a unique annual
collaboration among community organizations, corporate entities, local businesses, individual jazz fans and local government including the Town of Montclair and Essex County, which make the closing of Bloomfield Avenue possible.

BDP Holdings, LLC, the New Jersey-based real estate investment company and owner and redeveloper of 150+ properties including Montclair’s historic Lackawanna Plaza, is this year’s Presenting Sponsor. David Placek, Managing Partner of BDP Holdings is a board member of Jazz House Kids, and he and his wife Bridget give back to the community by giving their time and support to a long list of local nonprofits and causes.

Soundcheck Recap: July
The three-month long jazz festival kicked off with the Soundcheck Series, two evening concerts hosted by collaborating partner, Montclair Center BID featuring a New Orleans-inspired funk set by veteran tenor saxophonist Craig Handy and 2nd Line Smith, with opening act saxophonist, Birsa Chatterjee on July 13 and the ever-grooving B3 organist, Akiko Tsuruga and her quintet with opener trumpeter Wallace Roney, Jr on July 27.

Lackawanna Block Party | August 13 | 12:00 – 10:00 pm (rain date 8/14)
Next up on Saturday, August 13, Montclair heats up for the all-day Lackawanna Block Party, a not-to-be-missed “mini-fest” double header with a Family Jazz Discovery Zone and food + artisan vendors. Starting at 12 noon, the Lackawanna stage will feature 135 student musicians from five states and three countries taking part in the Jazz House Summer Workshop. As the sun sets, trailblazing saxophonist Nicole Glover makes her area debut with her quartet followed by Winard Harper & Jeli Posse with its 9-piece band featuring tap dance, vocals, African percussion and high-energy swing and a positive message of unity.

Capping off the summer series on the evening of August 13 at 7:00 pm, the town will once again gets its groove on for an incredible, diverse and inter-generational boogie fest and one of the largest street dance parties Montclair has ever seen, featuring DJ Brother Mister, aka Christian McBride, Montclair Jazz Festival and Jazz House Kids artistic director. McBride, an 8-time GRAMMY Award-winning bassist and huge fan of this genre, will be spinning his old school soul and funk favorites all night long and, often, playing along, embellishing the bass line with his masterful skill.

Festival Upcoming Events

Fri. August 12 | 7:30 – 9:30 PM
Special Event: Friends of the Festival Mix, Mingle + Music @ Montclair Brewery

Sat. August 13 | 12:00 – 10:00 PM
Lackawanna Block Party + DJ Brother Mister @ Lackawanna Plaza

Wed. Sept. 7
Special Event: Special screening + Take 5 Patron Reception @ Montclair Film

Thurs. Sept. 8
Special Event: MAM After Hours: Art Meets Jazz @ Montclair Art Museum (ticketed event)

Sat. Sept. 10 | 1:00 – 9:00 PM
Downtown Jamboree @ Bloomfield Avenue

Sat. Sept. 10 | 9:00 PM – midnight
Special Event: After Party with turntablist DJ Logic @ the Wellmont Theater

For more information on headliners, schedules, how to get there, and get involved, visit www.montclairjazzfestival.org.