Jazzmobile’s 59th Annual Summerfest | July 5th

Jazzmobile’s SUMMERFEST 2023, New York City’s Longest Running Jazz Concert Series, Returns in July with Performances in Every Borough

The Series Features Orrin Evans and His Captain Black Big Band with Dianne Reeves, Jason Moran’s Tribute to Bandleader James Reese Europe, Tammy McCann, Jeremy Pelt, Wycliffe Gordon, Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Band and a Special Event Partnership with the John Coltrane Festival

HARLEM, NY, June 26, 2023 – New York City’s parks and outdoor spaces come alive with the sound of jazz in the summer, courtesy of Jazzmobile’s 59th annual Summerfest 2023 series, which premieres on stages throughout the city’s five boroughs with an outstanding assemblage of nearly 30 jazz stars and emerging talents from July 5 to September 24. Jazzmobile’s much anticipated return provides audiences with another year of exceptional musical performances that reflect New York City’s dynamic diversity, from straight-ahead, Latin, post-bop, blues, swing stylings and genres and beyond.

Highlights from this summer’s lineup include pianists Arturo O’Farrill, Jason Moran, Orrin Evans and Danny Mixon; trombonists Craig Harris and Wycliffe Gordon; drummers/percussionists Sipho Kunene, Bobby Sanabria, Winard Harper, Darrell Green and Steven Kroon; saxophonists Camille Thurman, Antonio Hart, T.K. Blue, Donald Harrison, and Houston Person; trumpeters Jeremy Pelt; bassist Paul West; and vocalists Tammy McCann, Lezlie Harrison, Antoinette Montague, Allan Harris and Dianne Reeves.

Jazzmobile resumes its longtime Harlem residences at Grant’s Tomb on Wednesdays and at Marcus Garvey Park on Fridays. Summerfest also returns to Central Park for the annual Great Jazz on the Great Hill in Central Park, presented in partnership with the Central Park Conservancy, featuring vocalist and WBGO-FM announcer Lezlie Harrison as MC with Jeremy Pelt, Wycliffe Gordon and the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band. In partnership with the City Parks Foundation, Summerfest presents pianist/composer Jason Moran and the Big Bandwagon with James Reese Europe and the Harlem Hellfighters: From the Dancehall to the Battlefield at Marcus Garvey Park. In September Jazzmobile returns to Marcus Garvey Park, where there will also be a five-hour concert in partnership with the John Coltrane Festival. Jazzmobile will also celebrate jazz at the Louis Armstrong Museum in Queens and at the Dizzy Gillespie Mural in Harlem. For updates go to www.jazzmobile.org

SUMMERFEST has remained a free concert series thanks, in part, to generous donors such as: The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, The New York State Council on the Arts, the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, the William “Billy” Taylor Estate, the Public Welfare Foundation, the Harlem Community Development Corporation, West Harlem Development Corporation, Con Edison, the Kitchings Family Foundation, George and Joyce Wein Foundation, television partner PIX11 and Steinway & Sons.

All SUMMERFEST concerts are free, weather permitting and subject to change. On Wednesday evenings, depending on availability, concerts may be moved to the Interchurch Center 61 Claremont Avenue.

2023 SUMMERFEST SCHEDULE

JULY

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5 | 7:00-8:30PM
WINARD HARPER & JELI POSSE
GRANT’S TOMB
RIVERSIDE DR & WEST 122ND ST., HARLEM

FRIDAY, JULY 7 | 7:00-8:30PM
CAMILLE THURMAN AND THE DARRELL GREEN QUARTET
MARCUS GARVEY PARK
THE RICHARD RODGERS AMPHITHEATER
5TH AVE. & WEST 124TH ST., HARLEM

SATURDAY, JULY 8 | 4:00-5:30PM
ANTOINETTE MONTAGUE & DANNY MIXON
500 MACDONOUGH ST. BLOCK ASSOCIATION’S ANNUAL PARTY, BROOKLYN

MONDAY, JULY 12 | 7:00-8:30PM
HOUSTON PERSON QUARTET
GRANT’S TOMB
RIVERSIDE DR. & WEST 122ND ST., HARLEM

WEDNESDAY, JULY 14 | 7:00-8:30PM
TAMMY MCCANN QUINTET
MARCUS GARVEY PARK
THE RICHARD RODGERS AMPHITHEATER
5TH AVE. & WEST 124TH ST., HARLEM

MONDAY JULY 19 | 7:00-8:30PM
LEZLIE HARRISON QUARTET
GRANT’S TOMB
RIVERSIDE DR. & WEST 122ND ST, HARLEM

FRIDAY, JULY 21| 7:00-8:30PM
SIPHO KUNENE & WOZA MASAKELA
MARCUS GARVEY PARK
THE RICHARD RODGERS AMPHITHEATER
5TH AVE. & WEST 124TH ST., HARLEM

WEDNESDAY, JULY 26 | 7:00-8:30PM
ANTONIO HART QUARTET
GRANT’S TOMB
RIVERSIDE DR. & WEST 122ND ST, HARLEM

FRIDAY, JULY 28 | 7:00-8:30PM
ALLAN HARRIS QUARTET
MARCUS GARVEY PARK
THE RICHARD RODGERS AMPHITHEATER
5th AVE. & WEST 124TH ST., HARLEM

AUGUST

TUESDAY, AUGUST 1 | 7:00-8:30PM
THE PHIL YOUNG BAND
“NATIONAL NIGHT OUT” @ DIZZY GILLESPIE MURAL
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HMF| HARLEM MUSIC FESTIVAL
32nd POLICE PRECINCT – WEST 135th STREET, HARLEM

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2 | 7:00-8:30PM
DANNY MIXON QUARTET
GRANT’S TOMB
RIVERSIDE DR. & WEST 122ND ST., HARLEM

FRIDAY, AUGUST 4 | 7:00-8:30PM
CAMILLE THURMAN AND THE DARRELL GREEN QUARTET
MARCUS GARVEY PARK
THE RICHARD RODGERS AMPHITHEATER
5th AVE. & WEST 124TH ST., HARLEM

SATURDAY, AUGUST 5 | 2:00-4:00PM RAIN DATE: SUNDAY, AUGUST 6
STEVEN KROON LATIN JAZZ BAND
SNUG HARBOR CULTURAL CENTER
1000 RICHMOND TERRACE, STATEN ISLAND

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9 | 7:00-8:30PM
DONALD HARRISON QUARTET
MARCUS GARVEY PARK
THE RICHARD RODGERS AMPHITHEATER
5TH AVE. & WEST 124TH ST., HARLEM

SATURDAY, AUGUST 12 | 4:00-7:00PM
GREAT JAZZ ON THE GREAT HILL
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY | A HARLEM WEEK EVENT
MC: LEZLIE HARRISON, JEREMY PELT QUARTET, WYCLIFFE GORDON QUARTET, BOBBY SANABRIA MULTIVERSE BIG BAND
THE GREAT HILL IN CENTRAL PARK
CENTRAL PARK WEST & 106TH ST., HARLEM

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16 | 7:00-8:30PM
PAUL WEST & THE BETHUNE BIG BAND
GRANT’S TOMB
RIVERSIDE DR. & WEST 122ND ST., HARLEM

FRIDAY, AUGUST 18 | 7:00-9:00PM
JASON MORAN & THE BIG BANDWAGON: JAMES REESE EUROPE
AND THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS – FROM THE DANCEHALL TO THE BATTLEFIELD
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY PARKS FOUNDATION
MARCUS GARVEY PARK
THE RICHARD RODGERS AMPHITHEATER
5TH AVE. & WEST 124TH ST., HARLEM

SATURDAY, AUGUST 19 | [ARTIST AND TIME TBD]
LOUIS ARMSTRONG HOUSE MUSEUM
34-56 107TH ST, QUEENS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23 | 7:00-8:30PM
HMF|HARLEM MUSIC FESTIVAL
GRANT’S TOMB
RIVERSIDE DR & WEST 122ND ST., HARLEM

FRIDAY, AUGUST 25 | 7:00-9:30PM
THE CHARLIE PARKER FESTIVAL
ORRIN EVANS AND THE CAPTAIN BLACK BIG BAND
FEATURING DIANNE REEVES
T.K. BLUE AND LATIN BIRD FEATURING MUSIC BY CHARLIE PARKER
PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY PARKS FOUNDATION
MARCUS GARVEY PARK
THE RICHARD RODGERS AMPHITHEATER
5TH AVE. & WEST 124TH ST., HARLEM

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30 | 7:00-8:30PM
ARTURO O’FARRILL QUINTET
GRANT’S TOMB
RIVERSIDE DR & WEST 122ND ST., HARLEM

MORE DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON.

ABOUT JAZZMOBILE: Jazzmobile was founded by National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Dr. Billy Taylor, Philanthropist and Arts Administrator Ms. Daphne Arnstein with NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath in 1964. It is the oldest not for profit organization created with a mission just for Jazz. Jazzmobile’s mission is to present, preserve, promote and propagate America’s classical music Jazz.

For 59 years Jazzmobile has been presenting world class musicians and clinicians, further developing the pioneering free quality jazz programs started by its founders. They are: SUMMERFEST (NYC’s longest running jazz festival), which has brought free programs to underserved neighborhoods in all five boroughs, on city streets and in city parks; SJW|Saturday Jazz Workshops, which have provided theory classes and performance training from young students, to emerging performers for over 50 years training “the next” generation of jazz artists be they professionals or hobbyists. For the non-musician, Jazzmobile offers “Jazz in The First Person,” a series of lecture demonstrations designed to introduce jazz as a music appreciation course for toddlers to seniors. Jazzmobile’s education programs were all designed to be mobile, and like the core performance programs are free to students and audience making them also accessible to underserved communities.

Similar organizations, large and small, continue to emulate the core programs – Jazz at Lincoln Center, the (former) Thelonious Monk Institute, The Jazz Program at the Kennedy Center (co-founded by Dr. Billy Taylor) to name just three. Over the years Jazzmobile and its programs have toured nationally and internationally, thanks to corporate and government support.

Jazzmobile will move into its new offices in the National Urban League Center on West 125th Street scheduled to open by 2024. The new location will enable the organization to continue to expand its core and new programs such as on-line education and performance programs. Jazzmobile will also be one of the art and culture organizations in residence at the Victoria Theater Center. Both are located in Central Harlem on West 125th Street. www.jazzmobile.org

Carolyn McClair Public Relations