The 7th annual Red Hook Jazz Festival will take place once again in Brooklyn’s Urban Meadow on two consecutive Sundays, June 8 and 15, 2014 from 1-6 PM. As part of its continuing grassroots tradition, the RHJF is a 100% volunteer-run event that receives no major corporate sponsorship beyond in-kind donations from local businesses, nor any major grants this year. It remains committed to being uniquely artist- and community- focused, dedicated to the support of the great music of jazz, the great musicians who perform it and to bringing new individuals to the singular community-run resource that is the Urban Meadow. This dedication is clearly shared by those audiences who have come from around the world over the last six years to the Waterfront District of Red Hook, Brooklyn to hear exceptional artistry performed in a comfortable, unpretentious and beautiful urban ecological education center and botanical oasis near the docks along the East River.

The Red Hook Jazz Festival was started in 2008 by co-directors Mike Golub, Tamar Smith-Golub and Paul Delucia — in 2013, longtime festival volunteer James Keepnews replaced Delucia. It was conceived as an opportunity to present artists who lived locally and to bring new attention to the work of the Urban Meadow, which had been reclaimed from an abandoned lot down the street from the Smith-Golub home. Over the course of subsequent years, the Red Hook Jazz Festival has established itself as a major annual event for jazz listeners globally, recognized for its relaxed vibe, family-friendly environment — children may attend every festival for free — and consistent presentation of the greatest jazz artists at work today. In June 2012, then Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz declared one day of the RHJF “Red Hook Jazz Festival Day” in Brooklyn.

2014 promises to be the most exciting year yet for the Red Hook Jazz Festival, featuring ten remarkable ensembles, all representing the incredible variety and history of this great American music. The lineups for this year’s RHJF will be:

June 8, 2014

Azares
Jean Carla Rodea – vocals
Ryan Ferreira – guitar
Joe Morris – guitar
Pascal Niggenkemper – bass
Gerald Cleaver – drums

Ralph Alessi Trio
Ralph Alessi – trumpet
Drew Gress – bass
Mark Ferber – drums

Amanda Monaco‘s Deathblow
Amanda Monaco – guitar
Michael Attias – alto saxophone
Sean Conly – bass
Satoshi Takeishi – drums

Harris Eisenstadt‘s Aberikula
Curtis Hasselbring – trombone
Sara Serpa – voice
Chris Washburne – bass trombone, tuba
Nate Wooley – trumpet
Harris Eisenstadt – drums, arrangements

International Brass & Membrane Corps:
Ted Daniel – trumpet, cornet
Joseph Daley – tuba
Charles Burnham – violin
Newman Taylor Baker – drums

June 15, 2014

The Museum Band of Teeth and Respect
Josh Rutner – tenor saxophone
Red Wierenga – keyboard
Dan Loomis – bass
Jared Schonig – drums

Welf Dorr Unit
Welf Dorr – alto saxophone, bass clarinet
Dave Ross – guitar
Dmitry Ishenko – bass
Joe Hertenstein – drums

George Coleman and The Rivington Project
George Coleman – drums
Brian Charette – organ
Mike DiRubbo – alto saxophone

Gene Ess & Fractal Attraction
Gene Ess – guitar
Thana Alexa – voice
Gabriel Guerrero – keyboard
Thomson Kneeland – bass
Chris Beck – drums

DECAY
Tim Berne – alto saxophone
Ryan Ferreira – guitar
Michael Formanek – bass
Ches Smith – drums


Please read more at the festival website.