The Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL) is celebrating the summer with its biggest event of the season.
JCAL is hosting its free Downtown Jamaica Riddim and Jazz Festival on Saturday, July 26, at 2 p.m. in Rufus King Park, 150-29 Jamaica Ave. in Jamaica.
Last year’s festival drew thousands, and this year is expected to be even bigger. The lineup includes local and internationally renowned musicians performing jazz, salsa, and R&B.
The Downtown Jamaica Riddim and Jazz Festival will combine JCAL’s music series, Riddim Section, and Thursday Night Jazz.
This year’s festival is curated by Afro-Cuban percussionist Steven Kroon and the Jazz Gallery’s Artistic Director, Rio Saikairi. Artists in this year’s lineup include Jaleel Shaw, Miki Yamanaka, the Bartlett Contemporaries, and Steve Oquendo.
Shaw is an American jazz alto and soprano saxophonist who has long been a member of the Roy Haynes Quartet and the Mingus Big Band and recently joined Tom Harrell’s Color of a Dream band. He’s had a successful solo career and was named Alto Saxophonist of the Year in Jazztimes Magazine’s 2011 Readers Poll, along with legendary saxophonists Phil Woods, Lee Konitz, Bunky Green, and Kenny Garrett.
Yamanaka is a New York-based Japanese pianist, organist, composer, and educator. She’s gained international recognition from her albums as a leader, and her most recent release, “Chance” (Cellar Music), features her NYC rhythm section, Tyrone Allen and Jimmy Macbride.
The Bartlett Contemporaries are a Queens-based urban contemporary band that blends various music genres, including salsa, R&B, and jazz. The band, led by brothers Carl Bartlett Sr. and Charles Bartlett Jr., was formed at Andrew Jackson High School in 1964 and has performed for the likes of Spike Lee and Oprah Winfrey and opened for Latin music legend Tito Puente.
The Steven Oquendo Latin Jazz Orchestra (SOLJO) will perform as part of next Saturday’s lineup. Courtesy of JCAL. Oquendo is a trumpeter, band leader, educator, and New York native who leads the Steven Oquendo Latin Jazz Orchestra (SOLJO), a 19-piece big band. The band plays creative arrangements of Afro-Cuban, Latin Jazz, salsa, and mambo classics.
“Here we are, once again, ready to set Downtown Jamaica ablaze with joyous music,” said JCAL’s Artistic Director, Courtney Ffrench. “Rhythm and Blues, Latin Jazz, and more Jazz are all cued up to leave a lasting memory of a superb family and community experience. This is what downtown Jamaica needs, an annual event that safely highlights downtown Queens as a significant destination.”
