The Blue Note Jazz Festival will celebrate its Fifth
Anniversary, June 1-30 and headliners
include vocal icon Natalie Cole; Blues titan Buddy Guy; special collaborations
such as The Bad Plus Joshua Redman (performing music from their forthcoming
project on Nonesuch Records) and The Manhattan Transfer Meets Take 6; album
release performances by the Robert Glasper Trio (Blue Note Records) and bassist
Avishai Cohen's Trio (Razdaz Recordz); a double bill featuring Meshell
Ndegeocello & Roy Hargrove; acclaimed vocalists Darlene Love and Kathleen
Battle (the latter produced by Jill Newman Productions); global-centric artists
Buika, Bebel Gilberto, Abdullah Ibrahim, and Pedrito Martínez; and jazz/rock
artists Al Di Meola and Ginger Baker, among others.
Established
in 2011, the Blue Note Jazz Festival was initially formed to celebrate the 30th
anniversary of Greenwich Village's iconic Blue Note Jazz Club. Presented by
Blue Note Entertainment Group - which owns and operates the diverse venue
lineup of Blue Note, B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, Highline Ballroom,
Subrosa (its latest venue), and Lucille's Grill - the festival has quickly
grown into an annual 30-day event, emerging as the city's largest jazz festival,
with each venue offering its own unique cultural contribution to the New York
City music landscape.
"While
the festival's scope has expanded since its inception, the origin can be traced
back to our core family of venues," says Steven Bensusan, President of
Blue Note Entertainment Group. "With the launch of our new venue Subrosa
and B.B. King Blues Club's 15th anniversary, it's fitting that this year's
fifth anniversary puts the spotlight on the wide range of creative and
commercial programming at our core New York City venues," adds Bensusan,
"In addition to special theater shows such as Natalie Cole, Manhattan
Transfer Meets Take 6, and Buika at The Town Hall."
Most
notably, the festival adds Subrosa to its venue lineup. Latin for "under
the rose," Subrosa is an intimate 120-capacity Latin & World Music
listening room located in New York City's Meatpacking District (63 Gansevoort
St.), dedicated to showcasing music, art, and culture. Following a several
month-long soft-launch beginning in November 2014, the venue's grand opening
week is scheduled for April 14-20.
"We
opened Subrosa to provide a new creative hub for eclectic music, with an
emphasis on Latin music," says Bensusan. "The space is quickly
becoming a destination for listeners to discover new globally-influenced music
in an accessible setting. We're proud to showcase this new space as part of our
festival."
Subrosa's
festival lineup will feature the Pedrito Martínez Group for five days
throughout the month (who has an on-going monthly residency at the venue).
Other notable headliners include Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodríguez and his trio,
Fulaso, an 11-piece Latin soul group, and the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra,
among others to be announced.
This
year's festival also coincides with the 15th Anniversary of B.B. King Blues
Club. Located in Times Square, the venue has featured some of the biggest names
in blues, rock, hip-hop and pop music since opening its doors in June 2000
(ranging from Aretha Franklin and James Brown to Alicia Keys and Jay-Z). To
celebrate this landmark anniversary, Blue Note Jazz Festival will present Buddy
Guy on Thursday, June 11 with various special guests to be announced (the third
and final night of his festival engagement).
B.B.
King Blues Club and Highline Ballroom will present a wide range of
performances, including rock artists/groups such as singer Gary U.S. Bonds,
Johnny & The Asbury Jukes Group, keyboardist Al Kooper's annual birthday
show, roots/rock group The Subdudes, and psychedelic rock band Ozric Tentacles;
guitarist/singer Robert Cray Band rounding out Blues programming, in addition
to Buddy Guy; eclectic global-centric acts such as the South African
Afro-fusion collective Freshlyground, Indian vocalist Falu, and
Spanish-influenced guitarist/songwriter Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra; as well as vocalist Alicia
Hall Moran with Jason Moran (Produced by Jill Newman Productions).
Other
jazz headliners at Blue Note Jazz Club include celebrated dancer Savion Glover;
saxophonist David Murray, who will make his festival debut with a trio
featuring Terri Lyne Carrington and Geri Allen; drum legend Roy Haynes, who
returns to Blue Note following his recent three-night 90th birthday engagement
in mid-March 2015; and saxophonist Gato Barbieri, who continues his on-going
monthly residency at the venue. Additional shows include harmonicist Grégoire
Maret with special guest vocalist Lizz Wright and a surprise guest at Highline
Ballroom (Produced by Jill Newman Productions) as well as drummer Stanton
Moore's Trio at Blue Note with special guests.
Additional
partner events include the 2015 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards on
June 16 at Blue Note Jazz Club, among others. In addition to Blue Note
Entertainment Group properties, other festival venues include The Town Hall and
Central Park SummerStage, among others. Festival co-presenters include Jill
Newman Productions, Jazz Journalists Association, and JazzReach, among others.
No comments:
Post a Comment