20 A publication of The Hudson Reporter 18 JUNE Riverview Jazz 6 th Annual Festival Fri 6.1 – Sat 6.9 Jersey City FOR DETAILS SEE riverviewjazz.org through the Blue Panel By James Ruggia So the legend goes: if you need someone to explain it, you’ll never know what jazz is. That, they say, came from the mouth of Satchmo himself, Louis Armstrong. Why Satchmo? In those old joints and places of ill repute down in New Orleans, where you Riverview Jazz Festival • May 27, 2018 • 2 might have heard musical tatters from King Oliver’s Band waft- ing from a window, early deep-into-late some Saturday night, Armstrong played trumpet and was paid in cash after his hard day’s night and then he had to walk hard streets, the kind of streets where Mack the Knife prowled. So he hid his cash in his prodigious mouth, his ‘satchel mouth.’ It wasn’t long before he was being called Satchmo, short for satchel mouth, and like he said, if you need it explained you’re not going to get it anyway. Jersey City finds itself lodged between two mighty jazz giants: Newark and New York City. Many of its finest musicians live here in Jersey City and play there. Not this time. The jazz is coming home. From June first to ninth the Riverview Jazz Festival (www.riverviewjazz.org) comes to town 3 • Riverview Jazz Festival • May 27, 2018 for the sixth time. It promises to be a celebration of the people who live and work here. The festival started up in 2012 in Riverview Park’s Farmer’s Market with a couple of hundred peo- ple in the audience. By its third year it reached 10 events, and now there are 40 different happenings. It’s grown from just the park to several venues throughout town and up to 10,000 people and more. “You know,” says Bryan Beninghove, executive director of the festival and local musician, “Rock and roll is radio friendly. You can blast it in your car to get it going. The thing about jazz; you never know where it’s going. Most of the musicians don’t know and people in the audience are willing to follow where it goes. It’s really free that way.” For each of us, the spirit of jazz might live in a particular cas- sette or CD. You could say that about any kind of music, but some music (some painting, some poetry) may enter your head through the same old door as any of the music you might hum or whistle, but great stuff often builds its own door and that door becomes a window and before you know it you’re looking out that window at something new and maybe you notice the glass is kind of blue. Let the adventure begin. The Sixth Annual Riverview Jazz Festival • May 27, 2018 • 4 Riverview Jazz Festival Returns to Jersey City! Bringing Music to the People JUNE 1-9, 2018 Clear your calendars, grab your lawn chairs, and get ready for some great music! Jersey City’s most prolific festival returns for its sixth year of world-class jazz in its annual week-long celebration this June. Enjoy food trucks, children’s activities, a record riot, local vendors, and hundreds of professional musicians throughout the week. The sixth annual Riverview Jazz Festival will feature over 40 events, capped by two outdoor festival events June 1st and 9th. “Jersey City is nestled between two of the most historically important jazz locations in the country - Newark and New York City. There are so many incredible players that live in the community and there is an increasing audience for world-class entertainment here,” says Riverview Jazz Executive Director Bryan Beninghove. “We feel so fortunate that we are able to connect the music to the people while also putting a shine on the hard-working clubs that are producing shows on a weekly basis.” A new addition to the festival, the Riverview Jazz Kickoff Party sponsored by Exchange Place Alliance begins Friday, June 1 on the Exchange Place J. Owen Grundy Park Pier at 4:30pm. There will be a marching brass band led by Andrae Murchison, a ZT Amplifiers Artist Showcase featuring jazz guitar masters Dave Stryker, Vic Juris, and Charlie Apicella, the psycho-mambo band Gato Loco, and the salsa legend John “Dandy” Rodriguez’s Live in The Parlour Dream Team. In addition, there will be buskers galore honking May 31 8pm Hugh Pool away, DJ Prestige on the wax, food trucks, beer selections by Lutz Biergarten, and more! The event is free to the public. Jun 1 10pm T.K. Blue The closing festival on Saturday, June 9 will once again be held at Riverview Fisk Park in Jersey City Heights and run from Jun 2 10pm Nicki Denner noon to 8pm. New this year will be the Skyline Stage, a stage built on the hill overlooking the New York City skyline creating Jun 5 7:30pm Backroom Broadsides (spoken word) an amphitheater setting. Also new this year will be a Record Riot hosted by Iris Records, local vendors curated by Jun 7 8pm Jenna Mammina & Rolf Sturm Marketplace JC, and art activities hosted by 107 Bowers Gallery on the newly renovated Jun 8 10pm Jocelyn Medina gazebo. The lineup includes trumpet legend Wallace Roney, Doug Jun 9 9pm Official After Party Jazz Jam hosted by Ted Chubb Beavers Salsa Orchestra, FOXANDCROWJC.COM @foxandcrowjc pub & parlour | 594 pAlisade | jc heights 5 • Riverview Jazz Festival • May 27, 2018 Winard Harper & Tap Sensational (a tap dancing revue), Rob Curto’s Forró For All (Brazilian), the dynamic saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin and Soul Squad, organist Brian Charrette’s Kürrent, guitarist Walter Parks’ Spirituals Reimagined, and The buyer completes a loan application at The buyer finds a property within the flutist Andrea Brachfield and Insight. Attendees of this free justin.njlenders.com. price point. Justin Bonura creates the credit Once the application is received and the family-friendly event are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, required documents are submitted, a approval letter and video (specific to the participate in children’s activities, and enjoy the beer garden request for loan approval is submitted to an property found) to send to the buyer underwriter at NJ Lenders Corp. and their agent by Low-Fidelity. If the credit information meets qualification The buyer’s agent then sends both the guidelines, the buyer will receive their credit approval letter and video to the listing There will be another 40 events throughout the area at clubs approval within 24-48 hours. agent to present to the seller and parks alike. A video is then sent to the buyer and their The borrower makes agent explaining the approval they received THE STRONGER OFFER! Highlights from the week’s activities include Louis Hayes at and outlining their price point for the purchase of a property. Licenses: NJ Lenders Corp. NMLS ID: 35286 www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org | Connecticut Mortgage Lender License No. 8566 | Florida Mortgage Lender the Moore’s Lounge Meet the Artist Series (Sunday 6/3). License No. MLD583 | Maryland Mortgage Lender License No. 19642 | New Jersey Residential Mortgage Lender License No. 9100938. Licensed by the N.J. Drummer Louis Hayes has performed with everyone from Justin Bonura Department of Banking and Insurance. | New York Licensed Mortgage Banker Senior Loan Ocer | NMLS# 73184 NYS Department of Financial Services. Mortgage Banker License No. B500605 and Exempt Mortgage Loan Servicer Registration No. B500605 | Pennsylvania Cannonball Adderly and Oscar Peterson to John Coltrane and Mortgage Lender License No. 22105 | Virginia NMLS ID No. 35286 (www. (201) 882-8283 [email protected] nmlsconsumeraccess.org). Virginia Broker License No. MC-3196; Lender License No. MC-3196. is information is not to be considered as a loan commitment or Ravi Shankar. The Johnathan Blake Trio will perform the Jazz at (201) 390-1251 justin.njlenders.com oer to extend credit as dened by Section 226.2 Reg. Z. Programs and terms are subject to change without notice. All borrower credit and eligibility requirements Harborside Series (Wednesday June 6 at 11:30am). Johnathan apply. Equal Housing Lender. is one of the most in-demand drummers in town. He has performed with Tom Harrell, the Mingus Band, Kenny Barron Trio and many more. Also Wednesday June 6, the Fox and Crow will host BeBimBop with special guest Gene Bertoncini. BeBimBop is a virtuoso acoustic instrumental trio featuring Brian Glassman, Joe Ravo, and Danny Mallon that can be seen at their weekly residency at the Morgan Library. Gene Bertoncini is one of the most pre-eminent jazz guitarists active today. He has been heard with Wayne Shorter, Benny Goodman, and Tony Bennett to name a few. Thursday June 7 will feature “Women in Jazz at the Rotunda” featuring vocalist Lezlie Harrison (7pm) and the Leni Stern Trio (8pm). The event will be held at the Brennan Courthouse on Newark Avenue and feature two of the most unique voices in jazz today. Tickets are $15. “The support has been tremendous this year and it will definitely lead to our best festival yet”, says Beninghove. “Besides all the excitement around our bookend events, we couldn’t be prouder to work with neighborhood fixtures like Moore’s Lounge, Fox and Crow, The Brightside Tavern, Madame Claude Bis; as well as fairly new clubs like FM, the Archer, the Hutton, and GPs.” Admission is free to both of the bookend concerts. However, a limited number of VIP passes are available for a $95 donation. VIP ticket-holders will receive a free T-shirt, mug, admission to VIP tents at both stages June 9, food and cocktails supplied by local restaurants, meet-the-artist opportunities, and more.