Among the shows is the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, which will be held in Tompkins Square Park on Sunday, Aug. 25, from 3 to 7 p.m.
Details on what to expect in Tompkins on that day... via the City Parks Foundation website...
As part of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, the newly minted (2023) Jazz Master Louis Hayes is joined by some of the more impressive talents in modern jazz. Hayes, a one-time member of McCoy Tyner's trio, has been leading bands since he was a teenager in 1950s Detroit, recorded with John Coltrane and Yusef Lateer, and did stints in quartets with Horace Silver and Cannonball Adderley, as well as time with the Oscar Peterson Trio.He's supported by the 24-year-old Cameroonian-American jazz vocalist Ekep Nkwelle, a Juilliard grad and rising star of Jazz at Lincoln Center; and Alexis Lombre, the Chicago-born pianist, vocalist, and composer whose 2017 debut Southside Sounds pays homage to her home’s artistic and cultural heritage.The bill also features a performance from SuperBlue, the collaboration between Kurt Elling — one of jazz's preeminent male vocalists — and Charlie Hunter, the guitar virtuoso who plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars that allow him to play bass lines, chords, and melodies simultaneously.They're supported by the high-energy, horn-driven Brooklyn-based ensemble Huntertones. Multi-talented DJ and host of WBGO's podcast Milestones DJ KulturedChild aka Angelika Beener is on the ones and twos.
The festival, which started in Tompkins Square Park in 1993, holds a significant place in the jazz community. It takes place near or on Parker's birthday on Aug. 29. Additional dates were added in Harlem in 2000, further expanding its reach.
Parker, who died in 1955 at age 34, lived at 151 Avenue B from 1950-1954. That residential building between Ninth Street and 10th Street is landmarked.
Does Tompkins Square Park receive any money for hosting the incredible world-renowned Charlie Parker Jazz Festival? The City needs to invest this park. Tompkins Square Park needs either a full-time gardener or two part-time gardners.
ReplyDeleteWhen will there be a capital project to repave all of the pathways in the park? or to redo the main playground?
The Tompkins Square Park venue disrespects both audience and music. It is too small and leads to a crowded and uncomfortable experience for festival goers. The seating area is so small that unless one gets there early and stays there you will not find a seat. With the festival running at this location since 1993 I don't understand why the venue and the park itself is not upgraded and made into a site worthy of the music that plays there. Not to mention the general uncleanliness of the park and the persistent stench. Unless there are some major improvements to the site, I for one will not be in attendance again at the CPJF at this location, as much as I love the music. The comfortable and clean stadium seating at Marcus Garvey Park shows how a venue should treat the music lovers who venture out for this festival.
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