This Free Jazz Festival Is Taking Over Montclair All Summer

What started as a small gathering of musicians in a park has now grown to the largest jazz festival in the region. The 17th annual Montclair Jazz Festival is coming this summer with headliners including Dianne Reeves, Patrice Rushen, and the Christian McBride Big Band, as Jazz House KiDS releases its full lineup spanning June through August. 

This year’s festival honors the U.S. semiquincentennial and the centennials of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, and marks the first time the Smithsonian Institution has selected Montclair Jazz Festival as a collaborator for its nationwide “Of the People” festival tour. “There was always this dream to bring jazz to those who wouldn’t traditionally have access to it,” said Montclair Mayor Dr. Renee Baskerville. “When this first began, we maybe had only one or two tents set up. If you look at it now, it’s a testament to the community and culture. Jazz House had the vision of exposing all of our children to jazz not just in Montclair, but Newark, East Orange, and other places where children may not have had jazz.” 

Several American cities will also have the spotlight on them, all of which are rooted in jazz: New York City, Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Newark, Kansas City, Houston and Los Angeles. Montclair Jazz Festival artistic director Christian McBride has selected the artists to represent each city. 

“The cities that we’re spotlighting at this summer’s festival are among the most important cities in the history of jazz,” said McBride. “Places where the music just didn’t develop, but helped shape the cultural identity of the cities themselves.” 

The festival begins in June with the Soundcheck Series concerts at the Wellmont Arts Plaza with Bobby Watson and Jason Mora on June 16 with Bobby Watson and Jason Moran. The series is scheduled to continue throughout July and August. 

Headlining the festival’s grand finale, the Downtown Jamboree, are Dianne Reeves, the Christian McBride Big Band with Bilal, Patrice Rushen, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, and Take Me to the River New Orleans All Stars featuring Cyril Neville. Past festivals have seen upwards of 30,000 attendees. 

The Gotham Kings, led by trumpeter Alphonso Horne, will be kicking off the festivities of the Downtown Jamboree the morning of as the band marches through Montclair from Church Street and Park Avenue to the Lackawanna Plaza where the Jamboree will take place.

There will also be a second stage where over 150 young musicians of Jazz House KiDS, that are a part of the Jazz House Collective, will share the fruits of their labor with the Jazz House All Stars as they perform in honor of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. 

“We are at a time in our nation’s history where we cannot take the type of programming, activity, and cultural enrichment that Jazz House KiDS is providing for granted,” said Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill. “We’re lucky that we have a program like this providing that work for us.” 

Also for the first time in its existence, the Smithsonian Institute has selected the Montclair Jazz Festival as a collaborator for “Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals,” making it one of a select number of festivals to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.

The Smithsonian’s annual Folklife Festival, its oldest and largest public event, will make a stop at the Montclair Jazz Festival as it travels across the country in honor of the semiquincentennial as a means of amplifying how these festivals serve as enduring tools for civic engagement and cultural exchange. 

Here is the schedule for the Montclair Jazz Festival: 

Soundcheck Series at Welmont Arts Plaza, 6 to 10 p.m. 

June 16: Bobby Watson and Jason Moran
July 1: The Legendary County Basie Orchestra with guest conductor Jon Faddis
July 14: Michele Rosewoman and Quintessence, Orrin Evans, underwritten by the Chamber Music America presenter Consortium for Jazz 
July 28: Joel Ross’ Good Vibes 
Aug 4: Rebirth Brass Band, underwritten by the Gia Maione Prima Foundation

Downtown Jamboree Artists at Lackawanna Plaza, August 15

Kickoff, 11 a.m.

• The Gotham Kings 

Main Stage, Noon to 8 p.m. 

• Take Me to the River New Orleans All Stars Featuring Cyril Neville, underwritten by the Gia Maione Prima Foundation
  Christian McBride Big Band with Bilal 
• Patrice Rushen 
• Dianne Reeves 
• Spanish Harlem Orchestra

Second Stage, noon to 8 p.m. 

• Jazz House Collective honoring Miles Davis and John Coltrane 
• Jazz House All Stars 
• Jazz House Emerging Artists studying at the Jazz House Summer Workshop

Block Party presented by United Airlines, August 15 from 8 to 10 p.m. 

• Featuring DJ Prince Hakim
  

The Montclair Jazz Festival has usually been free to the public, but due to how big the event has grown over the years, fans are required to register for a Jam Pass to attend the Downtown Jamboree at the Lackawanna Plaza.

In order to keep things affordable, there will be a “Pay What You Wish” option. Everyone that registers will also be entered for a chance to win a Take 5 VIP Club membership and access to the VIP tent.

More information and Jam Pass registration can be found online at www.montclairjazzfestival.org.