Some history will be made and rekindled during this year's 13th annual Blue Note Jazz festival.
The five-week run of concerts kicks off June 1 and will feature 94 shows at nearly four dozen venues across five venues — most notably the Blue Note club itself in New York's Greenwich Village, as well as Sony Hall, the Brooklyn Bowl, the Town Hall , the Central Park SummerStage and celebrate Brooklyn at the Prospect Park Bandshell.
Alex Kurland, Blue Note's director of programming, promises festival-goers won't lack for variety.
“Jazz is very much the driving force at Blue Note, but we're not stuck in a box or limited in terms of genre-specific programming,” explains Kurland. “It's very open. Jazz inspiration runs through so much music and so much creative culture in general, so we really embrace all this really special art. Jazz represents freedom and that's what we really lean towards.”
To that end, the festival's line-up features a dizzying variety during its run. But the biggest news is, in fact, about a jazz artist: trumpet legend Wynton Marsalis will return to the 200-seat Blue Note as bandleader for the first time since 1991. Marsalis will perform 12 concerts over six nights (June 11 – 16) with his regular Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and with the Future of Jazz Septet.
“I'm so excited to be back at Blue Note after so many years,” says Marsalis Advertising sign in a statement. “One of the fondest memories of my career is being at the Blue Note with Dizzy (Gillespie), Sweet Edison and Clark Terry going to see Freddie Hubbard.
The shows are part of a new partnership between the Blue Note and Jazz at Lincoln Center, where Marsalis is the director and artistic director of jazz. It will also feature performances by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Youth Big Band, directed by Julius Tolentino, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Youth Orchestra, directed by Tatum Greenblatt, on June 15-16, respectively.
“This is a very historic presentation of Wynton, one of our proudest presentations of the month,” says Kurland. “This is kind of a milestone reunion between Wynton and Blue Note. He has played the Blue Note since the venue opened, but not as a leader since he began curating Jazz at Lincoln Center. It will be unique for him to play in a tiny venue. We feel very honored.
“We're all about cooperation and collaboration,” adds Kurland. “A lot of that happens on stage, but from a business and branding and presentation side, we love working with different organizations to bring these special moments to life, and working with Jazz at Lincoln Center makes a lot of sense.”
Venues for the four other headliners – Andra Day on opening night, June 1, followed by Corinne Bailey Rae on June 16, British drummer Yussef Dayes on June 22 and festival-closing Ezra Collective on July 7 – will be announced later this month. .
Other exciting lineups during the festival include Wu-Tang Clan's Ghostface Killah, who has long incorporated jazz into his mixes, with New Orleans' Soul Rebels for three nights (June 21-23) at the Blue Note. At Sony Hall: Jazz Is Dead is on June 9. Yo La Tengo joins Sun Ra Arkestra on June 15th. James Brown/Parliament-Funkadelic trombonist Fred Wesley makes a rare appearance on the same bill as the Brecker Brothers on June 21. and Antibalas pairs with Hailou Mergias on June 22.
Other Blue Note festivals include New Orleans' Soullive for six nights; Drummer Julius Rodriguez and Crescent City lead trumpeter Xian aTunde Adjuah will be there for four nights each. and bassist and bandleader Derrick Hodge and Ozomatli for three each. Stanley Clarke will perform June 25-26 at Sony Hall, and Yes/King Crimson veteran Bill Bruford travels from England for a June 29 ProgJect show at the same venue.
A strong corps of other singers, meanwhile, also includes Lisa Fischer and Gino Vannelli. The festival lineup also includes eight Blue Note brunch concerts on Sundays and a Saturday show dedicated to the music of Buena Vista Social Club on June 8.
“When you want to book amazing, great artists you draw from the global landscape, so this is very impressive in the lineup,” says Kurland. “There are definitely a lot of innovative artists who are very contemporary. This is always important for Blue Note, to have such a progressive edge. Then you have the great icons, the legends… and hopefully give people a sense of the wide range of what's available.”
More details about the festival can be festival-nyc/” target=”_blank”>found here. The full Blue Note Jazz festival 2024 lineup includes:
June 1—Soulive—Blue Note
June 1—Andra Day—Venue TBD
June 2—Soulive—Blue Note
June 2 — Harlem Gospel Choir — Brunch with Blue Note
June 2 — Paula Cole — Sony Hall
June 3—Derrick Hodge—Blue Note
June 4—Derrick Hodge—Blue Note
June 5—Derrick Hodge—Blue Note
June 5—Lisa Fischer—Sony Hall
June 6—Soulive—Blue Note
June 7—Soulive—Blue Note
June 7—Michel Camilo—Sony Hall
June 7 — ALJO with Hamilton de Holanda and Yamandu Cost — Town Hall
June 8 — Soulive — Blue Note
June 8 — The Music of The Buena Vista Social Club — Blue Note Brunch
June 9—Soulive—Blue Note
June 9—Jazz Is Dead—Sony Hall
June 9 — Harlem Gospel Choir — Blue Note Brunch
June 10 — Brandee Younger — Blue Note
June 11—The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis—Blue Note
June 12—The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis—Blue Note
June 12 — Yemi Alade — Sony Hall
June 13—The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis—Blue Note
June 14 — Jazz at Lincoln Center presents Wynton Marsalis
with The Future of Jazz Septet—Blue Note
June 14—Eliane Elias—Sony Hall
June 15 — Jazz at Lincoln Center presents Wynton Marsalis
with The Future of Jazz Septet—Blue Note
June 15—Yo La Tengo with Sun Ra Arkestra—Sony Hall
June 15 — Jazz at the Lincoln Center Youth Orchestra — Blue Note Brunch
June 16 — Jazz at Lincoln Center presents Wynton Marsalis
with The Future of Jazz Septet—Blue Note
June 16—Victor Wooten—Sony Hall
June 16 — Corinne Bailey Rae — Venue TBD
June 16 — Jazz at the Lincoln Center Youth Orchestra — Blue Note Brunch
June 17—Julius Rodriguez—Blue Note
June 17 — Haley Reinhart — Sony Hall
June 18—Julius Rodriguez—Blue Note
June 19—Julius Rodriguez—Blue Note
June 19—Mulatu Astatke—Sony Hall
June 20 — Julius Rodriguez — Blue Note
June 20—Mulatu Astatke—Sony Hall
June 21—Ghostface Killah with The Soul Rebels—Blue Note
June 21 — Fred Wesley with The Brecker Brothers — Sony Hall
June 22—Ghostface Killah with The Soul Rebels—Blue Note
June 22—Antiball with Hailou Mergia—Sony Hall
June 22 — Yussef Dayes — Venue TBD
June 23—Ghostface Killah with The Soul Rebels—Blue Note
June 23 — Harlem Gospel Choir — Brunch with Blue Note
June 24—Ozomatli—Blue Note
June 25—Ozomatli—Blue Note
June 25 — Stanley Clarke — Sony Hall
June 26—Ozomatli—Blue Note
June 26—Stanley Clarke—Sony Hall
June 27 — Chief Adjuah—Blue Note
June 27 — Gino Vanelli — Sony Hall
June 28 — Chief Adjuah—Blue Note
June 28 — Bombino with Etran De L'Air — Sony Hall
June 28—Os Mutantes—Brooklyn Bowl
June 29 — Chief Adjuah—Blue Note
June 29 — Program with Bill Bruford — Sony Hall
June 29 — Brass Queens Brunch—Blue Note
June 30 — Chief Adjuah—Blue Note
June 30 — Harlem Gospel Choir — Brunch with Blue Note
July 1—Joey Alexander—Blue Note
July 7—Ezra Collective—Venue TBD
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/concerts/blue-note-jazz-festival-2024-lineup-1235648728/
