August 26-28 With Free Live Jazz Performances in Marcus Garvey Park and Tompkins Square Park Plus Additional Free Jazz Events Across NYC August 24-27
Headlining Performers Include Terence Blanchard with the E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet, Jazzmeia Horn and Her Noble Force, Archie Shepp & Jason Moran featuring Cécile McLorin Salvant, and Many More
Today, Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage, New York City’s beloved outdoor performing arts festival, is thrilled to announce the 30th anniversary celebration of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, our city’s annual salute to the eponymous late saxophonist, returning for a three-day celebration of free live jazz performances August 26-28 in Harlem’s historic Marcus Garvey Park and Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. As the sounds of music return to our city’s parks, we honor that legacy with performances from innovative artists representing jazz’s past, present, and future in the neighborhoods near where Parker worked and lived. Many of this year’s performers are veterans of the festival, and return with new bands, new music, and new perspectives. In addition, there will also be partnered jazz events around the city including acoustic performances, film screenings, panels, master classes and more from August 24-27. Fans can find the full 2022 festival lineup at https://cityparksfoundation.org/charlieparker/ and can watch a preview trailer for the festival here:
“We’re excited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the beloved Charlie Parker Jazz Festival this August and look forward to continuing the tradition of celebrating Parker’s music and legacy with fans across the city,” said Erika Elliott, Executive Artistic Director of SummerStage and the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. “It is always an honor to present some of the jazz world’s most exciting and iconic musicians each year in such historic locations for New Yorkers of all ages to enjoy.”
Harlem’s historic Marcus Garvey Park will serve as center stage in the neighborhood’s vibrant jazz scene when Jazzmeia Horn returns to SummerStage to headline opening night of the festival on Friday. She is set to perform works from her first album with Her Noble Force, a 15-piece ensemble that offers new challenges for her daring arrangements. Saturday’s lineup stars SummerStage alumnus Terence Blanchard, who celebrated his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in the park last year, bringing the combined talents of his electro-acoustic quintet E-Collective and violinist David Balakrishnan’s Turtle Island Quartet to perform cuts from their latest album Absence. On Sunday in Tompkins Square Park, near where Parker lived in the East Village, Archie Shepp and Jason Moran—two avant-garde jazz musicians from different generations that share a penchant for pushing the envelope—perform works from their 2021 duets album Let My People Go featuring special guest Cécile McLorin Salvant.
Charlie Parker Jazz Festival Performances
Friday, August 26, 2022
Jazzmeia Horn and Her Noble Force / Calvin Booker On Tap & Friends
Co-Presented by Jazzmobile
7:00 – 9:00pm
Marcus Garvey Park
18 Mt. Morris Park West, New York, NY 10027
On Friday August 26, Jazzmeia Horn and Her Noble Force, along with Brooklyn-born tap dancer Calvin Booker On Tap & Friends in Association with Jazzmobile, will perform in Marcus Garvey Park (124th St. & Fifth Ave.) from 7:00pm-9:00 PM. A Grammy-nominated American jazz singer in the vein of Betty Carter and Sarah Vaughan, Jazzmeia Horn is one of the boldest voices in modern jazz. Her new album Dear Love is her third, but her first with Her Noble Force, a 15-piece ensemble that expands her sound and offers new challenges for her daring arrangements. She’s joined by Calvin Booker, a multi-disciplinary dancer and DJ born and raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn. An original member of the Broadway production of FELA!, he brings his unique style of tap-dancing to the festival for the first time. For more information: https://cityparksfoundation.org/events/cpjf-jazzmeia-horn
Saturday, August 27, 2022
Terence Blanchard Featuring the E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet / Buster Williams & Something More / NIKARA Presents Black Wall Street / Vuyo Sotashe
3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Marcus Garvey Park
18 Mt. Morris Park West, New York, NY 10027
On Saturday August 27, Terence Blanchard featuring the E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet, NEA Jazz Master bassist Buster Williams featuring his quartet Something More, NIKARA Presents Black Wall Street, and Vuyo Sotashe will all take the stage in Marcus Garvey Park (124th St. & Fifth Ave.) from 3:00 – 7:00 PM. Terence Blanchard isn’t your average jazz musician—the world-renowned trumpet player and festival alum is also a prolific Academy Award-nominated film composer and an exciting new voice in the opera world. For his latest album Absence, his electro-acoustic quintet E-Collective joins forces with violinist David Balakrishnan’s Turtle Island Quartet. Their performance will feature works from the Wayne Shorter tribute album, which features five compositions from the legendary saxophonist. They’re joined by the jazz bassist Buster Williams, who has played with a Who’s Who of jazz greats from Mary Lou Williams to Herbie Hancock, and is the subject of the JazzTimes Documentary Film of the Year, “Bass to Infinity.” Buster will play with his all-star quartet Something More. Vibraphonist Nikara Warren will perform her album Black Wall Street, which melds hip-hop, jazz, neo-soul, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms into an abstract sound-collage that “take pieces of black music and give it a platform to show black musical beauty.” Vuyo Sotashe, a South African jazz vocalist, is making his mark in the New York jazz scene.
*This engagement of Buster Williams & Something More is made possible through the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. For more info: https://cityparksfoundation.org/events/cpjf-terence-blanchard/
Sunday, August 28, 2022
Archie Shepp and Jason Moran Featuring Cécile McLorin Salvant / Melissa Aldana / Bria Skonberg / Pasquale Grasso
3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Tompkins Square Park
E 10th St, New York, NY 10009
On Sunday, August 28, avant-garde jazz legendary saxophonist Archie Shepp with genre-bending pianist Jason Moran, featuring Cécile McLorin Salvant, multi-award winning saxophonist Melissa Aldana, world renowned trumpeter Bria Skonberg, and leader in the field and mentor guitarist Pasquale Grasso, will perform at Tompkins Square Park (E 10th St.) in the East Village from 3:00 – 7:00 PM. Archie Shepp and Jason Moran are two avant-garde jazz musicians from different generations that nonetheless share a penchant for pushing the envelope. Shepp is a veteran saxophonist who has been called both a musical firebrand and a cultural radical, standing out even amongst myriad talents in the free jazz generation. Moran is pianist 37 years Shepp’s junior, with an equal respect for tradition and trailblazing. Their 2021 collaboration “Let My People Go” is a warm and intimate collection of duets recorded live in 2017-2018, a pristine portrait of two masters at work. They’ll be joined by special guest Cécile McLorin Salvant, a once-in-a-generation vocalist known for transformative performances of well-traveled standards. The bill also includes the Grammy-nominated tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana, who plays with a ferocious energy and deft musicality; Bria Skonberg, a jazz trumpeter and bandleader once described by The Wall Street Journal as one of the most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation; and Pasquale Grasso, a master be-bop guitarist known for elevating the instrument through his pianistic approach, showing the influence of Bud Powell and Art Tatum in a revolutionary, hard-swinging way. For more information: https://cityparksfoundation.org/events/cpjf-archie-shepp/
For more information about Charlie Parker Jazz Festival performances, visit www.charlieparkerjazzfestival.org
In addition to the core festival performances, a series of exciting free partner events will also be presented around the city from August 24 -27:
Charlie Parker Jazz Festival Partner Events (visit www.CharlieParkerJazzFestival.org for more information)
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Jazz in the Garden: Joaquin Pozo y La Clave Suena
In Association with The Jazz Foundation of America and Ariana’s List
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
El Sol Brillante
522 E 12th Street, Manhattan
Free; first come, first served
Thursday, August 25, 2022
WInard Harper & Jeli Posse and Screening: “Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony”
In Association with NYC Parks and The Jazz Foundation of America
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Hansborough Recreation Center, 35 W 134th St.
Free; first come, first served
Thursday, August 25, 2022
Screening: “Buster Williams Bass to Infinity” / Q&A with Buster Williams and Adam Kahan
In Association with the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music at The New School
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
The New School, 55 W 13th St.
4th fl., Ernst C. Stiefel Hall
Free with RSVP (limited seating) here: https://event.newschool.edu/basstoinfinity
Friday, August 26, 2022
Masterclass with Buster Williams
In Association with the National Jazz Museum in Harlem
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, 58 W 129th St.
Free with RSVP (limited seating) here: https://jmih.org/event/masterclass-buster-williams/
Friday, August 26, 2022
Jazz in the Garden: Parlor Entertainment Featuring Marjorie Eliot and Rudel Drears
In Association with the Jazz Foundation of America and Ariana’s List
5:30 am – 6:30 pm
Harlem Rose Garden, 6 E 129th St.
Free; first come first served
Friday, August 26, 2022
Acoustic Set with Courtney Wright Trio
Presented by the National Jazz Museum in Harlem
5:00 pm – 5:50 pm
Marcus Garvey Park, 124th St. & Fifth Ave.
Free; first come first served
Saturday, August 27
Acoustic set with Courtney Wright Trio
Presented by the National Jazz Museum in Harlem
2:00 – 2:50pm
Marcus Garvey Park, 124th St. & Fifth Ave.
Free; first come first served
Generous private support for the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival is provided by The Shubert Organization, J.E. & Z.B. Butler Foundation, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, and the NYU Community Fund. Support for the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival is provided, in part, by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Public support is also provided from the NYC Council through Council Member Carlina Rivera. This engagement of Buster Williams & Something More is made possible through the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is generously provided by our dedicated festival audience and SummerStage Members. Capital One is the title sponsor of Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage. In partnership with NYC Parks.
In all of its programming and activities, City Parks Foundation partners with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to improve neighborhood parks and the communities they serve.
About City Parks Foundation
At City Parks Foundation, we are dedicated to invigorating and transforming parks into dynamic, vibrant centers of urban life through sports, arts, community building and education programs for all New Yorkers. Our programs — located in hundreds of parks, recreation centers and public schools across New York City — reach thousands of people each year. Our ethos is simple: thriving parks mean thriving communities.
About SummerStage
Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage is one of New York’s most beloved, broadly accessible, free outdoor performing arts festivals. SummerStage presents free concerts in parks throughout the five boroughs. With performances in genres that represent the cultural fabric of New York City ranging from jazz, hip hop, Latin, global, indie and contemporary dance, SummerStage fills a vital niche in New York City’s summer arts festival landscape. Since its inception nearly 40 years ago, more than six million people from New York City and around the world have enjoyed SummerStage. In 2020, Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage Anywhere was launched in response to the global pandemic, presenting free digital performances, spanning all genres, available to viewers around the world.
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., had $311.0 billion in deposits and $432.4 billion in total assets as of December 31, 2021. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has branches located primarily in New York, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “COF” and is included in the S&P 100 index.
