Herbie Hancock, Masego and other dazzling headliners at this year's Atlanta Jazz Festival
One of the longest-running free music festivals, the Atlanta Jazz Festival, is back in person with an incredible lineup. The three-day festival takes place at Piedmont Park over Memorial Day weekend. Headliners include the jazz giant Herbie Hancock, emerging saxophone star Masego and some of Atlanta’s great jazz artists. To talk more about the lineup, “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes was joined via Zoom by Camille Russell Love, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, and Atlanta-based jazz pianist Joe Alterman, who will perform at the festival.
The Atlanta Jazz Festival has a reputation for securing dazzling international headliners, but it always throws some love back to its local music scene. “We always look to see if there are legends like Mr. Hancock who are available and willing to come and present at our festival,” said Love, “And then we try to create a mix of what I would consider to be emerging jazz musicians who have a national reputation … We don’t have to look very far from Atlanta.” Many of the acts are Atlanta-based or -born, like saxophonist Kebbi Williams and vocalists Kathleen Bertrand and Julie Dexter. Though now based in Los Angeles, another Georgia native on the bill is Naia Izumi, whose 2018 NPR Tiny Desk Concert endeared her to a worldwide jazz and soul-loving audience.
Venturing further afield, the Atlanta Jazz Festival will bring in New Orleans-based husband-and-wife team The Baylor Project, as well as the Paris-born, Chicago-transplanted, self-described “beat scientist” Makaya McCraven. On Saturday, Puerto Rican jazz piano legend Eddie Palmieri brings his blend of salsa and Afro-Caribbean jazz to the stage with a seven-piece backing ensemble.
Local luminary Joe Alterman expressed his excitement at joining the festival lineup, saying, “When I lived in New York, people would talk about the Atlanta Jazz Festival, and it’s something I’m really proud of that exists in Atlanta. And it’s just an honor to attend it and a special honor to be a part of it.” He’ll be performing several original compositions and some selections by his jazz heroes and friends, like Les McCann and Ramsey Lewis.
There are a couple of notable differences about this year’s festival, as Love explained. “We are expanding the festival to three days instead of two days, and we’re also concentrating all of the performances on one stage. We have heard in the past that having a lot of performers was great, but people were losing time and not being able to see performances because they were navigating from one stage to the other.” This year’s generous three days on one stage problem nips the problem neatly in the bud, and audiences can revel in one unified experience without scrambling to see it all.
The festival remains, as always, free and open to the public. Love spoke about new Mayor Andre Dickens’ commitment to the tradition, saying, “One of our office’s main objectives is to make sure that Atlantans have access to high-quality cultural experiences, and keeping the Atlanta Jazz Festival that way provides access, democratic access, for anyone and everyone who wants to come.”
In addition to the main stage events, the Mayor’s Office is working with MARTA and several other local venues to present “31 Days of Jazz,” a month-long celebration that began May 1. It culminates in the official festival performances on May 28-30 at Piedmont Park. More information about the Atlanta Jazz Festival and this month’s live events across the city can be found at atljazzfest.com.
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