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BOROUGH PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES NEW BROOKLYN JAZZ FESTIVAL

Photograph by Kathryn Kirk
	In photo: Pictured from left to right - Lifelong Brooklynite and noted jazz musician, Leonard Gaskan, Jazz diva Sarah McLawler and Borough President Markowitz

Brooklyn’s first borough-wide jazz festival comes alive this spring with the historic launch of 24/7 Jazz Brooklyn, a month-long event in April, in celebration of the borough’s thriving jazz scene. The festival, organized by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, the 24/7 Jazz Brooklyn Committee, and in partnership with the Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium, promotes the exciting jazz spirit throughout Brooklyn today.

“I envision people from all over Brooklyn, and the tri-state area, celebrating the wonderful music scene in Brooklyn today,” Borough President Markowitz said. “Brooklyn’s importance as a jazz center is one secret Brooklyn doesn’t want to keep any longer. 24/7 Jazz Brooklyn is the perfect way to let the world know that the best jazz clubs, musicians and audiences are right here in Brooklyn! I am also thrilled because, since I work at my job 24/7, it will be a great chance for me to be entertained 24/7 throughout the month of April.”

"The Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium is happy to be working with the chief executive of this borough toward furthering the objective of this organization which is to bring recognition to jazz in Brooklyn," Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium Chairman Jitu Weusi said.

Borough President Markowitz and the 24/7 Jazz Brooklyn Committee announced 24/7 Jazz Brooklyn at the Sugarhill Supper Club, one of dozens of venues that will participate in the festival. Clubs, restaurants, churches and music schools throughout Brooklyn will host dozens of performances showcasing talent like Pete Yellin, violinist John Blake, Healing Rain, Ahmed Abdullah's Ebonic Tones, Sonny Fortune, Akua Dixon's Kuartette Indigo, Cyrrus Chestnut and Arturo O'Farill Quartet.

Jazz diva Sarah McLawler, who has performed with everybody from Sammy Davis, Max Roach, and Nat King Cole, and lifelong Brooklynite and noted jazz musician, Leonard Gaskan, both gave historical perspectives on the jazz scene in Brooklyn. A group of talented Brooklyn jazz musicians also treated the audience to a sampling of what will be heard throughout the borough in April.

Brooklyn today is home to countless jazz musicians living in neighborhoods from Fort Greene to Brighton Beach. The borough also has a long and resonant history as a place of performance and appreciation of jazz, and the growing number of clubs and restaurants showcasing jazz attest to its continued drawing power.

The 24/7 Jazz Brooklyn Committee includes the Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium (the successful producer of three annual jazz festivals during the first two weeks of April); the Brooklyn Music School; BAMcafe; Trilok Fusion Arts; BRIC Studios; Parlorjazz; the Up Over Jazz Café; Pumpkins; Sista’s Place; Brooklyn Museum of Art; the BAM Local Development Corporation; Williamsburg Music Center; Hanson Place Methodist Church; Jazz 966; Jazzy Jazz; Jazzpazazz; Positive Vibes Entertainment Guide; Brooklyn Historical Society; Devoe Street Baptist Church; Circuit Productions; The Jazz; Jane United Methodist Church; and First Presbysterian Church.

The programming committee contact is Liz Koch, who can be reached at 718-802-3852. Dates are filling up fast, so any interested venue should contact Ms. Koch as soon as possible.

All the events will be listed on the Borough President’s website, www.brooklyn-usa.org, with a hotline to call for more information. A calendar and map will be widely distributed to guide visitors to participating locations. The event will be promoted city-wide through the media and mailings. In addition, participating venues will have the opportunity to display a street banner marking their restaurant or club as a participant in the festival.

Sponsors include Con Edison, (in formation).