“The Red Hook Jazz Festival exists contentedly on the margins, like its namesake neighborhood and much of the music on its bill…The mood in the audience was neighborly, with a higher ratio of small children to youngish adults than I’ve seen at any musical event not expressly pitched as a kids’ show.”
— Nate Chinen, New York Times
“The lineup seems to get better every year at the Red Hook Jazz Festival, held on two successive Sundays at the Urban Meadow. These bands have widely varying instrumentation but a shared independent spirit, an ethic as purposeful and rigorous as it is experimental.”
— David R. Adler, Village Voice
“The Red Hook Jazz Festival deserves an award for ‘event deserving wider recognition’.”
— Tom Greenland, New York City Jazz Record
“Lemme tell ya, this is what makes Brooklyn Brooklyn, it really is.”
— former Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz, proclaiming “Red Hook Jazz Festival Day” in Brooklyn at the 2012 RHJF
Sexmob (l. to r. Kenny Wollesen, Steven Bernstein, Briggan Krauss, Tony Scherr) closes out Day 1 of the 2016 Red Hook Jazz Festival.
Celebrating its ninth continuous year presenting the finest jazz musicians playing today — and proudly from the grassroots — the 2016 Red Hook Jazz Festival will be presented on two consecutive Sundays, June 12 and 19 from 1-6 PM in the community garden and ecological center the Urban Meadow, located at the corner of President and Van Brunt Streets near the Columbia St. waterfront in Brooklyn, NY. General admission will be $10 and will be available at the Meadow entrance — no advance tickets will be sold. As with all past editions of the festival, all children will be admitted to both days of the festival free of charge.
The lineups represent the state-of-the-art in jazz, reaching across multiple styles and demonstrating the breadth and originality that defines the new jazz of this century. The schedule for the 9th annual Red Hook Jazz Festival will be (in order of appearance each day):
June 12
Joe Fiedler’s Big Sackbut
Joe Fiedler, Ryan Keberle, Luis Bonilla: Trombones
Jose Davila: Tuba
Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up
Tomas Fujiwara: drums/compositions
Michael Formanek: bass
Mary Halvorson: guitar
Brian Settles: tenor saxophone/flute
Jonathan Finlayson: trumpet
Rez Abbasi’s Junction
Rez Abbasi: guitar/compositions
Mark Shim: tenor saxophone/MIDI wind controller
Ben Stivers: keyboards
Kenny Grohowski: drums
Judi Silvano’s Zephyr Quintet (with special surprise guest)
Judi Silvano: vocals
Bruce Arnold: guitar
Kenny Wessel: guitar
Ratzo Harris: bass
Bob Meyer: drums
Sexmob
Steven Bernstein: slide trumpet
Briggan Krauss: alto saxophone
Tony Scherr: bass
Kenny Wollesen: drums
June 19
Jeff Davis Authorities Trio + 1
Jeff Davis: drums/compositions
Kirk Knuffke: cornet
Eivind Opsvik: bass
Special Guest Jonathan Goldberger: guitar
Matt Pavolka Horns Band
Matt Pavolka: acoustic bass, trombone
Kirk Knuffke: cornet
Loren Stillman: alto saxophone
Jacob Garchick: trombone
Mark Ferber: drums
Ari Hoenig Group
Ari Hoenig: drums
Other players TBA
James Brandon Lewis Trio
James Brandon Lewis: tenor saxophone
Luke Stewart: electric bass
Warren Trae Crudup III: drums
Bobby Previte & the Visitors
Bobby Previte: drums/compositions
Mike Gamble: guitar
Michael Kammers: saxophones/keyboards
Kurt Kotheimer: bass
The Red Hook Jazz Festival is co-directed by Mike Golub, Tamar Smith and James Keepnews. It was conceived by Mike in 2008 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, while remaining an entirely volunteer-run event, 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, strong commitment to giving younger ears an opportunity to hear this vital music by waiving admission costs for children and by the RHJF’s continued presentation of the greatest jazz talents performing today. In June 2012, then Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz declared one day of the RHJF “Red Hook Jazz Festival Day” in Brooklyn.
Please read Tom Greenland’s review of the 2015 RHJF in the New York City Jazz Record:
http://www.nycjazzrecord.com/issues/tnycjr201507.pdf
And see Nate Chinen’s review of the 2012 RHJF for the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/arts/music/red-hook-jazz-festival-at-urban-meadow-in-brooklyn.html
Watch George Coleman Jr.’s Rivington Project throw down at 2014’s fest:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=semr_mXRs4A
Here are video excerpts from past RHJF performances:
Local Red Hook musician Willie Martinez and his La Familia Sextet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIv-XhEnhL4
Clarence Penn Quartet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfoaiwaUjV0
Mike Pride’s Bacteria to Boys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdQort5zOOA
Allison Miller’s Big Molasses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiRXtLbKFTw
For more information about the Red Hook Jazz Festival, please see its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RedHookJazzFestival
