There is still time to experience one of Queens’ most iconic jazz events, with free concerts continuing every Thursday evening through September.
The Queens Jazz Trail Concert Series, which started in June, will stop in Far Rockaway on Aug. 15, Baisley Pond Park on Aug. 29 and Astoria on Sep. 5.
The summer concert series will have an event on Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Rockaway Beach Amphitheater, located at 1-12 Cross Bay Pkwy. Sam Martinelli and The Brazilian Jazz Collective will bring the unique sounds of international jazz to the local stage.
The next performance will be held on Aug. 29 at 6. p.m. at Baisley Pond Park, located at Baisley Boulevard in Jamaica. The Family Tradition will pay tribute to Don “Minister of Funk” Blackman, a jazz/funk pianist and singer/songwriter born and raised in Jamaica. Blackman was known for his legendary career in the entertainment industry, rising to fame in the early 1970s through collaborations with Earth, Wind and Fire, Roy Ayers and Parliament/Funkadelic. Blackman released his debut solo album titled “Don Blackman,” which featured the hits “Holding You, Loving You,” “Heart’s Desire” and “Since You’ve Been Away So Long.”
The final performance of the jazz trail is on Sep. 5 at 6 p.m. in Astoria Park, on 19th Street, between Astoria Park South and Ditmars Boulevard. The George Gee Swing Orchestra will headline the concert, bringing high-energy swing music to western Queens. The orchestra was pivotal in the modern swing resurgence for the past 40 years. The George Gee Swing Orchestra regularly headlines at Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night Swing and was named a favorite of the legendary Savory swing dancer Frankie Manning. The orchestra has performed around the globe in Manning’s honor, including New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Tokyo.
Sponsored by the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College, Flushing Town Hall and the Louis Armstrong House Museum, in partnership with NYC Parks, the Queens Jazz Trail Concert Series explores the little-known history of jazz in the borough of Queens. Since the 1920s, Queens has been the home of jazz and the residence of choice for hundreds of jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie. Created by Flushing Town Hall, the Queens Jazz Trail aims to highlight the music history by showcasing a detailed map showing the addresses of significant musicians who lived in Queens and includes addresses and locations, updated in 2023.
