Although the full schedule hasn’t been released yet, Jazz House Kids has announced three of the headliners who will be performing at the Montclair Jazz Festival Grand Finale on Saturday, September 13: saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, vocalist Jazzmeia Horn, and bassist Christian McBride and his band Ursa Major.
Benjamin’s 2023 Whirlwind recording, Phoenix, was nominated for a Grammy Award, and DownBeat‘s Frank Alkyer called it “an amazing album”. It was followed in 2024 by Phoenix Reimagined (Live), a performance that AllAboutJazz‘s Mike Jurkovic said, “blisters the paint on the wall.”
In a review of Horne’s 2021 Empress Legacy Records album, Dear Love, Patrick Hadfield of UK Jazz News wrote that Horne, “has a voice that pulls you in and makes you want to listen . . . it’s a powerful voice, capable of blasting out high notes that soar over the band.”
McBride, a nine-time Grammy winner, is JHK’s Artistic Director and Curator of the Montclair Jazz Festival. His band, Ursa Major, created in 2022, features four rising stars: pianist Mike King, guitarist Ely Perlman, drummer Savannah Harris, and tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover. (Photo above, from left: McBride, Harris, Glover, King, and Perlman).
In July and August, JHK will present two Soundcheck events, leading up to September’s Grand Finale. On Wednesday, July 9, New Jazz Underground will be the headliner; and on Saturday, August 16, drummer/percussionist Pedrito Martinez will be the main performer. Both Soundcheck concerts run from 7-9:30 p.m. and also include performances by Jazz House Kids’ student musicians. The concerts are held at the Wellmont Arts Plaza, 5 Seymour St. in Montclair.