Montclair To Jazz It Up For Free September 14
Circle the date. Montclair has proclaimed September 14 as the FREE 2024 Downtown Jamboree wherein eight solid hours of great music from noon to 8:00 p.m. will be performed in the street on Bloomfield Avenue between Grove Street and Midland Avenue (the area will be roped off to cars). Retailers and restaurant storefronts will remain open.
This 15th annual edition of the Montclair Jazz Festival will star vocalist Lisa Fischer and her band Grand Baton, described as “an organic gumbo of progressive rock and psychedelic soul amid African, Middle Eastern and Caribbean rhythms with classical influences.” Fischer has performed on stages with the Rolling Stones, Tina Turner and Luther Vandross, finally stepping in front after the 2013 documentary 20 Feet From Stardom spotlighted her back-up vocal status.
This event is produced by bassist-composer-educator Christian McBride and wife Melissa Walker via their Jazz House Kids organization. McBride—who can be seen in the upcoming documentary The Jersey Sound—will perform with his Inside Straight band. Trombonist Steve Turre—also from Montclair—will bring his sextet to the stage. At 75, he’s better than ever, still using seashells as percussive instruments. His 20 albums traverse jazz, rock and Latin. He’s been a member of the Saturday Night Live band for 39 years, recorded with Santana and toured with Ray Charles. Many point to him as the #1 ‘bone man in the world. Also performing will be Jerome Jennings, Edmar Castaneda, Brianna Thomas, The Montclair State University Jazz Ensemble, comedian Alonzo Bodden and, in a tribute to Newark’s own Sarah Vaughan, The Jazz House Collective.
For more information on this event plus other shows throughout the summer, visit https://www.montclairjazzfestival.org/events-calendar
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