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One of the nation’s longest running jazz festivals, Jazz in the Garden began in 1965 as a way for residents and workers in New Jersey’s largest city to enjoy the Museum’s Alice Ransom Dreyfuss Garden, providing another cultural experience for the community in the warm weather months. Its popularity now extends as far as South Jersey to Long Island. The series has included both local musicians as well as international stars. Some of the notables who have performed are Jimmy Guiffre, Houston Person and Etta James, Ron Carter, Cedar Walton, David Murray and Lou Donaldson.
The 2016 concert series will continue on five consecutive Thursdays, rain or shine, beginning July 7 from 12:15-1:45 p.m. Additionally, two Friday evening performances will take place August 12 and September 16 beginning at 6 pm. Admission is $5 or $20 for all five Thursday performances. Tickets are $10 for the August 12 show, for the September 16 event $25 members; $40 non-members. Call 973.596.6690.
The Thursday schedule is as follows:
July 7 Lenny White
One of the founding fathers of the musical genre fusion, White earned a reputation as the drummer in the mid-’70s Grammy winning group Return to Forever. In 2010, he released his 13th album Anamoly and also co-produced a documented version of the Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White tour of 2009 titled Forever. He won Grammys for both projects and also a Latin Grammy for Forever. Joining him will be Tom Guarna on guitar and Ben Williams on Bass.
July 14 Brandee Younger
This young harpist plays in a style reminiscent of Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. A New York native, she has worked with jazz artists such as Ravi Coltrane, Jack Dejohnette, Reggie Workman, Charlie Haden, Bill Lee and Butch Morris; as well as Grammy-winning Hip Hop/ R&B producers and artists such as Lauryn Hill, Common, Ryan Leslie, John Legend and Ski Beatz. Younger will be performing selections from her latest release Wax & Wane.
July 21 Charenée Wade
A native of Brooklyn, Wade, is a notable singer, composer, arranger and educator who received her degree from the Manhattan School of Music and was first runner-up in the 2010 Thelonious Monk International Vocal Competition. Other accolades include, performing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC as part of the Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Program; and participating in the Dianne Reeves Young Artist Workshop at Carnegie Hall. Her latest release Offering: The music of Gil-Scott Heron and Brian Jackson (Motéma) pays tribute to one of her inspirations, the socially conscious poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron.
July 28 Mino Cinelu –Reunion Drum Trio
This master composer, singer, producer, instrumentalist toured and recorded as a teenager with musical giants Miles Davis, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, and Lou Reed, to just name a few. In the 1990s Cinelu began his solo career with the release of his self-titled CD. Cinelu spent his formative years living and working in Newark, after moving to the states from England, via France. The Reunion Drum Trio will feature Mayra Casales on vocal and Madeleine Yayodele Nelson on drums.
August 4 Woody Shaw Legacy Ensemble
Regarded as one of the great band leaders and innovators of his generation, Woody Shaw, Jr. (1944-1989) was an infant when his parents moved to Newark. The legendary trumpeter attended Arts High in Newark, which was attended by jazz artists, such as Wayne Shorter, Sarah Vaughan, and organist Larry Young. He began working professionally at age 14 and sat in with countless musicians as a teenager, including Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley, Lou Donaldson and others in Newark. Along with playing in the local youth bands, this gave him a solid base in the jazz and African-American musical tradition.
Friday Evenings
August 12 Jam Session w/ Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith
The Crescent City brass band tradition meets the bluesy, soulful music of famed organist Jimmy Smith, in the group that saxophonist Craig Handy has blended. Handy began his career performing with jazz musicians that include Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, Abdullah Ibrahim, Betty Carter and the Mingus Dynasty Band. Known for his technical mastery as well as his versatility. The Oakland, CA native who remains a first call musician can also be seen in the 1996 film Kansas City, playing the role of Coleman Hawkins. Jam Session to follow performance. Musicians are encouraged to bring instruments.
September 16 An evening of Jazz with Ron Carter
With more than 2,000 albums to his credit, he has recorded with many of music’s greats: Tommy Flanagan, Gil Evans, Lena Horne, Bill Evans, B.B. King, the Kronos Quartet, Dexter Gordon, Wes Montgomery and Bobby Timmons. In the early 1960s he performed throughout the United States in concert halls and nightclubs with Jaki Byard and Eric Dolphy. He later toured Europe with Cannonball Adderley. From 1963 to 1968, he was a member of the Miles Davis Quintet. In 1993, Carter earned a Grammy award for Best Jazz Instrumental Group – the Miles Davis Tribute Band and another Grammy in 1998 for Sheet Blues, an instrumental composition from the film Round Midnight. Most recently he was honored by the French Minister of Culture with France’s premier cultural award, the medallion and title of Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, given to those who have distinguished themselves in the domain of artistic or literary creation and for their contribution to the spread of arts and letters in France and the world. Jazz House Kids ensemble to open the evening.
