Internationally Renowned Musicians Coming to JazzFest White Plains September 11-15

The 8th annual JazzFest White Plains features a lineup of internationally renowned musicians celebrating jazz, culture and community from September 11-15. The five-day festival is produced by ArtsWestchester, The City of White Plains and The White Plains BID.

JazzFest takes place during the White Plains Jazz & Food Festival from noon to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15. Music and entry are free, with food and beverage vendors taking over Mamaroneck Avenue in front of the historic ArtsWestchester building. Five bands will perform throughout the day, ending with the New Orleans sounds of two-time Grammy-nominated trumpeter Alphonso Horne and the Gotham Kings.

In addition to dozens of free and affordable concerts taking place throughout the city, headlining performances will include artists such as Mwenso & the Shakes, Camille Thurman, and Emmet Cohen with George Coleman and Jimmy Cobb.

Janet Langsam, CEO of ArtsWestchester, explains: “The 2019 JazzFest White Plains lineup presents a diverse roster of path-breaking artists from young rising stars Joel Ross (vibes),
Melissa Aldana (sax), Emmet Cohen (piano), and Camille Thurman (voice/sax) to jazz legends George Coleman (sax) and Jimmy Cobb (drums). Featured artists are known for their work as performers and composers, bringing jazz into conversation with Afro-Brazilian music, Colombian folk rhythms, Cuban charango, hip-hop, Ashanti drumming, funk and reggae. There’s truly something for everyone at this year’s JazzFest.”

The 2019 JazzFest White Plains Lineup:
Wednesday, Sept. 11
Noon |Downtown Music at Grace Church, 33 Church St.
Nanny Assis Trio (FREE)
Bahia native Nanny Assis is a singer, drummer, percussionist and songwriter. He is a master of Brazilian Jazz, Afro-Brazilian music and other popular and folkloric sounds from his homeland. 
12:30 pm |Court Street Farmer’s Market, 59 Court St.
Kristina Koller (FREE)
As a vocalist, arranger and composer, Kristina Koller pushes “vocal jazz” in a new direction. Her music melds different genres with uplifting traditional jazz standards.
5:30-9:30 pm | Downtown White Plains Jazz Stroll (FREE)
5:30 pm | Mediterraneo White Plains (189 Main St.)   Albert Rivera Quartet -Saxophonist Albert Rivera has toured North America and played at venues such as the River Room in Harlem and Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Lincoln Center. In 2009, he was the recipient of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award.
6:30 pm | Morton’s The Steakhouse (5 Mamaroneck Ave.) Pablo Mayor’s Folklore Urbano -NYC Trio Pablo Mayor is one of the leading contemporary voices of Colombian music. His trio combines the native rhythms of Colombia with Jazz, Salsa, and Cuban Charanga. The Folklore Urbano NYC Trio has been heard throughout the USA, including renowned venues across the NYC area, as well as Canada and Colombia.
7:30 pm | The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester (3 Renaissance Square) The Brian Carter Quartet -Jazz drummer Brian Carter has affiliations with many musicians, including Bob Baldwin, Gil Parris, Bernie Williams, Eddie Henderson, Wali Ali, Nico Morelli and the late Didier Lockwood.
8:30 pm | Sunset Restaurant Bar (49 Mamaroneck Ave.) Gilberto Colon Jr. & Ensalada De Pulpo- Gilberto “Pulpo” Colón Jr. is a pianist, composer, arranger, producer and band leader best known for his role as Musical Director for salsa superstar Héctor Lavoe. Colón has worked & recorded with some of Latin music’s most popular artists.
Thursday, Sept. 12
Noon | Jazz at Noon: White Plains Public Library Plaza, 100 Martine Ave. Eunha So Quartet (FREE) -Pianist and composer Eunha So plays across genres, from classical to jazz. She has trained under several prominent artists, including Eric Gunnison, Art Lande, and Pete Malinverni. She is a graduate of SUNY Purchase’s graduate program in Jazz Studies.
6:30 pm | Outdoor Plaza at 5 City Place
Keyon Harrold (FREE) – Keyon Harrold, who was raised in Ferguson, Missouri, was schooled in the straight-ahead jazz tradition. The trumpeter has been featured on more than one hundred jazz, R&B, hip-hop, gospel and blues albums, in addition to Miles Ahead, the Grammy Award-winning movie about Miles Davis. Harrold has recorded or performed with Gregory Porter, Prince, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige and many others.  8:00 pm | ArtsWestchester, 31 Mamaroneck Ave. Pete Malinverni’s Jazz-Chester, feat. Ralph Lalama, Mike Migliore and Aaron Seeber ($25) – Pete Malinverni is Head of Jazz Studies at the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College. He has been a fixture on the New York City jazz scene since moving there in the early 1980s, and has recorded fourteen times as a leader in solo piano, trio, quartet, quintet, big band and choral contexts. During his time in NYC, Malinverni has recorded and performed with a host of masters, including Joe Lovano, Vernel Fournier, Charles Davis, Mel Lewis, Dennis Irwin, Jon Faddis, Karrin Allyson, Steve Wilson and many others.
10:00 pm | ($10) ArtsWestchester, 31 Mamaroneck Ave.
Jazz Jam – Audience members can sign up for a jazz jam led by Jake Robinson of the Music Conservatory of Westchester, Ed Palermo of Hoff-Barthelson Music School, Bob Gingery from Concordia Conservatory and Pete Malinverni from SUNY Purchase College.
Friday, Sept. 13
Noon | Jazz at Noon: White Plains Public Library Plaza, 100 Martine Ave.
The Marcio Garcia Trio (FREE) -Dominican pianist, composer and educator Marcio Garcia has performed at the Stanford Jazz Institute, the 2016 Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival, Five Points Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, Blue Note NYC, Birdland and Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.
5:00 pm | White Plains Plaza, 1 N. Broadway
Kotoko Brass (FREE) -Kotoko Brass melds the traditional drum rhythms of Ghana, the sturdy bass and keyboards of the Caribbean, and the joyous horns of New Orleans to forge a new sound of its own. The band has shared the stage with Femi Kuti, the California Honeydrops, Vieux Farka Toure, Innov Gnawa, Take 6, the Boston Pops and more.
7:30 pm | ArtsWestchester, 31 Mamaroneck Ave.
Joel Ross ‘Good Vibes’ ($20 for 7:30pm | $35 for both 7:30 & 9pm)
Chicago native Joel Ross, twice selected as a Thelonious Monk Institute National All-Star and a 2013 Young Arts Jazz Finalist, has performed with established artists like Herbie Hancock, Louis Hayes and Christian McBride, as well as with cutting-edge contemporaries like Gerald Clayton, Jon Batiste and more. He’s also performed at the Brubeck, Monterey, Seattle and Chicago Jazz Festivals, and internationally-celebrated venues like Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in New York, SF Jazz in San Francisco, and Club Vibrato in Los Angeles. Ross recently completed a two year fellowship with the Brubeck Institute
Jazz Quintet in California.
9:00 pm | ArtsWestchester, 31 Mamaroneck Ave. Joel Ross ‘Good Vibes’ feat. Melissa Aldana ($20 for 7:30 pm | $35 for both 7:30 & 9 pm) – Chilean saxophonist and composer Melissa Aldana has had a remarkably rapid evolution, from being a six-year-old sax prodigy to now being widely considered one of the most compelling tenor saxophonists on the scene. In 2013, Aldana became both the first female instrumentalist and the first South American to win the Thelonious Monk Competition. She is also a recipient of the Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center and a double recipient of the Altazor Award, Chile’s prestigious national arts prize. Aldana has released four recordings as a leader. Recently, she premiered the commissioned suite, Visions for Frida Kahlo, before touring Brazil, Europe and Australia with her quartet.

Saturday, Sept. 14
11:00 am |
Court Street Farmer’s Market, 59 Court St. Tim Veeder Quartet (FREE) – The Tim Veeder Quartet electrifies audiences locally, nationally and abroad with jazz/funk/fusion originals in addition to fresh, funky takes on jazz standards. Veeder has shared the stage with many
notable artists, including Bucky Pizzarelli, Richie Cannata, Jay Azzolina, drummer Richie Morales and many others.
2:00 pm | Galleria White Plains, 100 Main St. Jazz at the Galleria Youth Showcase (FREE)
2:00 pm |White Plains Public Library, 100 Martine Ave Hands-On Jazz for Families (FREE) – Join teachers from The Music Conservatory of Westchester for a participatory music event at the
White Plains Public Library.
8:00 pm | White Plains Performing Arts Center, 11 City Place Emmet Cohen Quartet feat. George Coleman & Jimmy Cobb ($29-44)
Recognized as a prodigy who began playing at age three, multifaceted American jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen has emerged as one of his generation’s pivotal figures in music. Cohen is the recent winner of the American Pianists Association’s prestigious 2019 Cole Porter Fellowship. In this performance, his ensemble will be joined by two of jazz’s greatest figures, George Coleman and Jimmy Cobb. Among countless accomplishments, Coleman was recognized as a National Endowment of the
Arts “Jazz Master,” played in Max Roach’s band, was a member of the Miles Davis quintet with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams, and played on Hancock’s landmark Blue Note recording, Maiden Voyage. Jimmy Cobb made his name in support of Dinah Washington, Cannonball Adderley,
Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery and Sarah Vaughan, and on hundreds of studio sessions. As the drummer on Davis’ legendary album Kind of Blue, Cobb may be the most frequently heard drummer in jazz history.
Sunday, Sept. 15:
Noon-5:30 pm |
Mamaroneck Ave. at Main St. White Plains Jazz & Food Festival (FREE ENTRY)
Noon-12:45 pm | Lagond Music All-Stars – Lagond Music School presents a lineup of some of Westchester County’s finest young musicians. The
ensemble performs a range of music from Latin jazz to danceable funk.
1:05-1: 50 pm | Art Bennett and The Organic Ensemble – Saxophonist Art Bennett was born and raised in White Plains, where he first began studying jazz. Active in the “Loft Jazz” movement of the 1970s in New York City, he has performed with greats Lonnie Smith, Rashied Ali, Roy Brooks, Willian Parker, and many others.
2:10–3 pm | Mwenso & The Shakes -Taking from the stylings of Fats Waller, Muddy Waters, James Brown and other American musical legends, Mwenso & The Shakes put on an electrifying show. Immigrating from Sierra Leone, London, South Africa, Greenwich Village, Madagascar, France, Jamaica, and Hawaii, the Shakes now call Harlem their home.
3:20–4:10 pm | Camille Thurman with The Darrell Green Trio -Camille Thurman is a “rising star” (Downbeat Magazine) who excels in both saxophone – from which energy soars, and vocals – from which she embraces a soulful dynamism and spirited “Fitzgerald-esque” (All About Jazz) scat. She has performed for audiences throughout the world. 
4:30–5:30 pm
| Alphonso Horne and The Gotham Kings -Two-time Grammy Award-nominated trumpeter Alphonso Horne has put together a band that weaves the sound of New Orleans into a rich musical fabric that demonstrates the history of the trumpet and the story of jazz. Inspired by the music of King Oliver Creole Jazz Band, The Gotham Kings use the
virtuosity of the young Louis Armstrong and innovative genius of King Oliver to take you on a journey of sound that encompasses rags, stomps, shouts and funk.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the festival website here.

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