Each spring the Jersey City Jazz Festival brings a wide array of talent and a strong feeling of community to Jersey City. While the city continues to grow and change around us, the festival continues to gather neighbors, musicians, families, and passersby into an annual reminder that music, especially jazz, is about showing up and listening together.
This year marks the festival’s 12th edition, and it’s shaping up to be both familiar and fresh. The main event returns to Exchange Place Plaza on Friday, May 30, and Saturday, May 31, with additional performances happening throughout Jersey City starting Tuesday, May 27.
The festival has grown over the years, but it hasn’t lost its sense of ease. You can come for the headliners or just catch a set while strolling along the waterfront. There’s space for dancing, lounging, and meeting new people. Most of the events are free with a few ticketed events.
“We’re excited for what’s shaping up to be a really enjoyable year,” says Bryan Beninghove, the saxophonist and bandleader who started Riverview Jazz, the nonprofit behind the festival. “The waterfront helps, of course — but it’s really about the music, and how the community has shown up for it.”
This year’s lineup includes:
Artemis, the all-women jazz supergroup recently named Downbeat’s Jazz Group of the Year
The Rumble, a brass-heavy funk group out of New Orleans
Local icon Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, representing the roots of Jersey City jazz
Steven Bernstein’s MTO, featuring powerhouse vocalist Catherine Russell
Keyboardist and producer Sam Barsh, who’s worked with everyone from jazz legends to Kendrick Lamar
A quartet of jazz heavyweights: Fred Hersch, John Hébert, Bennie Wallace, and Billy Drummond
Also featured are April May Webb and Tyreek McDole, both past winners of the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, and a strong showing from local youth and community ensembles, including WBGO’s Next Gen Collective, NJCU Jazz Ensemble, and the United Children’s Music Program Latin Ensemble.
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In the days leading up to the weekend, venues all over Jersey City will host performances that range from classic to experimental, including:
Champian Fulton and Lezlie Harrison at The Junto (May 27–28)
John Hébert and Tim Berne in the Pet Shop basement (May 27–28)
Kali Rodriguez Peña at The Statuary (May 29)
Songs in the Key of Wonder with James Austin Jr. at Live at Brennan’s (May 29)
A jazz night at Groove on Grove (May 28)
Orion Turre at the Hyatt Regency (May 30)
An official jam session led by Charlie Sigler at Hyatt House (May 30)
And a closing party at Moore’s Lounge (June 1) — a local treasure of a venue
It’s the kind of week where you might find yourself at a show you didn’t plan to see, in a space you didn’t know existed — and leave feeling a little more connected to your city.
Full schedule and more info: www.JerseyCityJazzFestival.com