Albany, NY – The City of Albany presents its 20th Annual Albany Riverfront Jazz Festival, on Saturday, September 10th. The all-day free concert event will be held at the Jennings Landing. The event kicks off at 12 p.m. with the presentation of the Henry Johnson Award. Five incredible live acts will take the stage throughout the day and the event will conclude at 8 p.m. with a fantastic fireworks display! Media sponsors for the event are WVCR 88.3 FM and WCDB 90.9.
In the event of inclement weather, the festival will move to the Corning Preserve Boat Launch at Water & Colonie Streets.
Since its debut in 2002, the City of Albany Jazz Festival has featured an eclectic array of all-time musical greats, critically acclaimed up-and-coming artists and local favorites. Great food, beverages and vendors make the Jazz Festival an event for all ages- and admission is still free!
The City of Albany’s Riverfront Jazz Festival will celebrate its 20th year continuing our partnership with Zero Waste Capital District, a volunteer coalition. With the combined efforts of the City of Albany Sustainability Department, Zero Waste Capital District and City of Albany Department of General Services teams we hope to make this the most environmentally friendly festival in the area! Representatives will also be on site to give helpful tips to festival attendees on how to compost and recycle at home.
For more information on the Jazz Festival, please call 518.434.2032 or visit www.albanyevents.org
The musical lineup for the 20th Annual City of Jazz Festival will feature:
THE SOUL REBELS
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Eight men pick up shiny brass and drum instruments, lock into an unspoken groove and rotate genres like your favorite playlist shifting from funk, jazz and R&B to hip-hop, pop and beyond with fire, focus and fluidity. New Orleans-bred staple THE SOUL REBELS expand musical boundaries with an unwavering commitment to originality and innovation through genre-bending songs and performance collaborations with the likes of Katy Perry, Nas, Metallica, Big Freedia and G-Eazy.
Brass sensation The Soul Rebels are riding high in 2022 after receiving national attention following the release of their new album, Poetry In Motion. The eight-member collective appeared on Sony Music artist G-Eazy featuring Lil Wayne’s new single ‘When You’re Gone”, Def Jam artist Dave East and Nas’ “Godfather 4” single, Big Freedia and Icona Pop’s “Pipe That”, and reached fans with original singles “Greatness” featured as ESPN’s official College Hoops theme anthem, and “Good Time” featured on Netflix’s #BlackAF and Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! The Soul Rebels have impressed viewers with two recent appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk series with Wu Tang Clan frontman GZA, headlined the global TED Conference, and appeared on the official soundtrack for Universal Pictures’ hit comedy Girls Trip. On the heels of their new supergroup with The Wu Tang Clan, The Soul Rebels continue to expand their international reach touring four continents including Europe, Australia, China, South Korea and Japan. Their explosive stage presence has led to live collaborations with the likes of DMX, Robin Thicke, Macy Gray, Portugal. The Man, Robert Glasper, Pretty Lights, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Matisyahu. The Soul Rebels started with an idea – to expand upon the pop music they loved on the radio and the New Orleans brass tradition they grew up on. They took that tradition and blended funk and soul with elements of hip hop, jazz and rock all within a brass band context. The band has built a career around an eclectic live show that harnesses the power of horns and drums in a deep pocket funk party-like atmosphere. The Soul Rebels continue to chart new territory as they feature in major films, tour globally, and combine topnotch musicianship with songs that celebrate dancing, life, funk and soul.
SAMARA JOY
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
With her upcoming Verve Records debut, Linger Awhile, 22-year-old Samara Joy makes her case to join the likes of Sarah, Ella, and Billie as the next mononymous jazz singing sensation recorded by the venerable label. Her voice, rich and velvety yet precociously refined, has already earned her fans like Anita Baker and Regina King, appearances on the TODAY Show and millions of likes on TikTok — cementing her status as perhaps the first Gen Z jazz singing star. On Linger Awhile, Samara will introduce that massive audience to a slew of classic standards several times older than she is through her timeless, irresistible sound. Samara is still relatively new to jazz. Growing up in the Bronx, it was music of the past — the music of her parent’s childhoods, as she put it — that she listened to most. She treasures her musical lineage, which stretches back to her grandparents Elder Goldwire and Ruth McLendon, both of whom performed with Philadelphia gospel group the Savettes, and runs through her father, who is a singer, songwriter and producer who toured with gospel artist Andraé Crouch. “Sometimes I catch myself when I’m singing — I'm like, ‘Whoa, that was a dad moment’,” Samara quips. Eventually, she did follow in the family tradition, singing in church and then with the jazz band at Fordham High School for the Arts, with whom she won Best Vocalist at JALC’s Essentially Ellington competition. That led to her enrolling in SUNY Purchase’s jazz studies program, where she fell deeply in love with the music.
BLACK TIE BRASS
3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Black Tie Brass is a horn-driven jazz/funk band from NYC. We combine the presence of a New Orleans brass band with the sound of a funk band to create a musically invigorating experience. Having played together for many years, the core of the group came together in 2013. Drawing from many genres such as jazz, pop, funk, R&B, and hip-hop, they created a fulfilling musical experience for performer and listener. Black Tie Brass is a versatile group that has performed with Sal "The Voice" Valentinetti, Epic Records' Nick Tangorra, American Idol's Robbie Rosen, and many more!
CHARGED PARTICLES
2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
The most exciting and creative music being made today crosses stylistic boundaries and blends diverse traditions to create engaging new sounds. Charged Particles features three of the country's virtuosos doing just that in the acoustic and electric jazz arena. Murray Low is a keyboard wizard with dazzling Latin-jazz technique and imaginative improvisational skills. Aaron Germain is an inventive and sophisticated acoustic and electric bassist. Along with fiery drummer Jon Krosnick, these players are making some of the most electrifying jazz in the country today.The trio's funky Latin jazz repertoire, blending in elements of classical music, mixes complex orchestration with freewheeling improvisation. The band brings a similar approach to playing their own arrangements of jazz standards, each played with a new twist. All of the trio's music has a distinctly acoustic sensibility, despite the members playing both acoustic and electric acoustic instruments. The group's hallmark is sensitivity and spontaneity among the players, making each performance a spontaneous group exploration. The band's energy level is always high, even when they are cooking at a volume no louder than a whisper, or floating through the melody of a romantic ballad. Watching the group, it’s obvious that they have fun playing together and admire each other’s musical instincts.
TERESA BROADWELL QUINTET
12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
The Teresa Broadwell Quintet performs energetic small-combo swing and jazz. Teresa plays jazz fiddle in a style influenced by the great Stuff Smith and sings lively bop, swing, and jump drawn from a wide range of straight-ahead jazz artists. The group features the great Leo Russo on sax, dean of the Albany jazz community, whose resume includes tenures with Woody Herman, Bobby Sherwood and many other mainstays of the jazz world. Capital region jazz veterans Mike Novakowski on guitar, Pete Toigo on bass and Cliff Brucker on drums provide a powerful and compelling rhythm section that keeps the music moving forward. The group’s most recent recording, “Just We” (available widely from on-line platforms), puts a new twist on the music of Nat King Cole.
Ground rules: No glass, animals or recording of performances. All City of Albany parks are now curb-to-curb tobacco-free.
The 20th Annual City of Albany Jazz Festival is brought to you by:
- Stantec
- DeCrescente
- Voodoo Ranger
- Heineken
- Alpin Haus
- Tri-City Valleycats
- Citizens
- Kevita
- Delivery.com
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
- Instant Bath Fitter
- Park Albany
- CDTA
- Leaf Guard
- Department of General Services
- Zero Waste Capital District Partners
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Media partners:
- WVCR 88.3 FM
- WCDB 90.9
- Albany.com
- The Spot 518
- NYS Music
- Nippertown
- Radio Radio X
For more information on the City of Albany’s FREE festivals and events, visit www.albanyevents.org, call the City of Albany Office of Cultural Affairs at 518.434.2032 or follow @albanyNYevents on Facebook and Instagram
Original source can be found here
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