By Sophie Griffin
Despite its bounty, there are a few things the East End lacks. Affordable housing, for one. A drive-in movie theater. Traffic-free roads. And, until this year, a jazz festival.
But this summer, the Jam Session (which many may know from its radio show or weekly jazz nights at the former Bay Burger in Sag Harbor) is hosting the inaugural Hamptons Jazz Fest, which, in the coming weeks, will bring free jazz to venues from Southampton to Montauk. Featuring some of jazz’s biggest names and new up-and-comers, the festival aims to make great jazz accessible to all.
Funded by an anonymous donor, the idea for the Hamptons Jazz Fest had been rattling around for a few years and grew out of the Jam Session. But only a few months ago did the planning begin in earnest, and the organizers, who are musicians themselves, have whipped up a slate of 50-plus free shows in record time. Concerts will take place mostly outside, in venues like the Southampton Arts Center, Parrish Art Museum, Hayground School and Baron’s Cove, among many others. The long list of high-caliber artists includes Donald Harrison, Ravi Coltrane, Conrad Herwig, Paquito D'Rivera, Yacouba Sissoko and lots of others. And, to top it all off, the concerts are free.
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Festival organizer Bill O'connell is also a pinaist and composer. He performs with the festival on July 19 and July 26.[/caption]
“That has been [our] philosophy for a long time: high quality music available to all who want to listen. And also musical and cultural diversity, so we represent artists from our local and global community in many styles,” Claes Brondal, president of Hamptons Jazz Fest and the director and co-founder of the Jam Session, said in a recent interview.
“Jazz is a multicultural art form already, but uniquely American,” he added. “The roots of jazz go way back to the Europeans, and the African roots, and to the Caribbean roots and the Brazilian roots. And then the work song of the South and the blues and the Mississippi Delta and New Orleans. We try to represent all those roots of jazz within the Jam Session context.”
The Hamptons Jazz Fest will bring together both local and international artists who play many different kinds of jazz. All told, about 200 musicians will take part.
“Local and global rhymes because that's what we do,” Brondal said. “We have local musicians with a mix of international musicians. We’re lucky to be so close in proximity to New York City because we have the whole world right there. The musicians we are presenting are literally from all over the world. They're from Italy, Denmark, New Orleans, Africa, South Africa, Brazil, Cuba. The list goes on and on.”
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Randy Brecker performs on September 24. Photo John Abbott.[/caption]
As part of its efforts to include the whole community, the Jazz Fest is partnering with Organización Latino-Americana (OLA) of Eastern Long Island to help with outreach in the Latino community.
“The collaboration with Hamptons Jazz Fest and the support of their outreach and this event is really just part of our mission to make sure that everyone in our community has access to all kinds of cultural events,” said Sandra Dunn, associate director of OLA. “I think especially with jazz, people can make the assumption that only a certain kind of person listens to jazz. We want to try to break down those stereotypes and ensure that as many people as possible understand and are aware that these events are happening, whether they're the Latin jazz events or not.”
The Hamptons Jazz Fest will be presenting concerts with Latin artists and Latin jazz music, specifically at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton. On August 12, Hector Martignon Banda Grande, an 18-piece Latin/jazz big band will perform there.
“I think that will be a wonderful way to join hands with the Latino community and invite them as equals out here, because they're always just on the sideline,” Brondal said. “It's getting old and it's a cliché. They’re important partners out here, and they’re not getting their due respect or visibility.”
If this year goes successfully, the plan is for the festival to become an annual event, where every summer, the best jazz musicians come to the East End to play. Though jazz audiences tend to be quite niche, festival organizers hope to change that.
“I want to expand the jazz audience out [here],” said Bill O’Connell, the festival’s artistic director. “Jazz is not necessarily the first type of music that I think comes to mind to the average music lover. I would like this music to grow its audience, not just in the Hamptons, but everywhere. We really want to reach out to the people and let them see how wonderful this uniquely-American art form is.”
O’Connell is a musician himself. He’s been playing piano for over 40 years with some of the best jazz players out there, and will be featured in a few shows during the festival. On July 31, he’s headlining at the Southampton Arts Center with Paquito D’Rivera as guest soloist.
The Jazz Fest is coming after a very hard time for working musicians. As concerts were canceled and venues closed for more than a year due to the pandemic, many artists lost their entire livelihood almost overnight.
“Nobody knew it was gonna last this long at the beginning. People said, okay, so we'll have a couple of dates canceled. Everybody thought by summer of last year we'd be back on the road,” said Joel Chriss, the festival’s lead producer and assistant to the director of The Jam Session. “Luckily, we didn't know. I think people would have been traumatized if they knew that this was going to last 14 or 16 months, but the fact that we thought it was going to be just a month or two I think helped.”
“When it comes to crisis, jazz musicians are — I don't want to say they live in an improvised fashion, but work for jazz musicians comes and goes,” he added. “You go on a tour and you may not know whether you've got any other live performances on the calendar from, you know, weeks, a month.
“Jazz musicians are used to living in an insecure financial world. This actually is a test to that kind of stamina for sure,” he continued. “And as deep as the financial stress was, what I heard more from jazz musicians, rather than, ‘Jesus I’m going deep into debt,’ or ‘I don't have money to pay my rent,’ was the fact that they were missing the communication with an audience, missing live performances.”
They say jazz is an acquired taste. Hopefully, the Hamptons Jazz Fest, with its roster of eager, world-class musicians and free outdoor concerts, helps some East Enders acquire it.
“Nobody will come to any of these shows and be disappointed by the music, there's something for everybody,” Chriss said. “Every show will be open and accessible to most people who have ears for music. We want to lay a nice foundation for listeners to feel comfortable.”
Hamptons Jazz Fest concerts begin this weekend and run through September. For more information visit hamptonsjazzfest.com.
Hamptons Jazz Fest 2021
Saturday, July 3: Iris Ornig Trio, 3 p.m. Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton
Wednesday, July 7: John Ludlow & Dennis Rafflelock Duo, 6 p.m., Barons Cove, 31 West Water Street, Sag Harbor
Thursday, July 8: John Hart Quartet with special guest, 6 p.m., The Church, 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor
Monday, July 12: Wayne Sabella, 6 p.m., Barons Cove, 31 West Water Street, Sag Harbor
Wednesday, July 14: Julie Bluestone and Alberto Bengolea, 6 p.m., Barons Cove, 31 West Water Street, Sag Harbor
Thursday, July 15: Santi Debriano “Flash of the Spirit Arkestra,” 6:30 p.m., Hayground School, 151 Mitchell Lane, Bridgehampton
Friday, July 16: Morris Goldberg & SafroJazz, 6 p.m., Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill.
Monday, July 19: Bill O’Connell Solo, 6 p.m., Barons Cove, 31 West Water Street, Sag Harbor
Wednesday, July 21: Andrew Renfroe - Luke Sellick Duo, 6 p.m., Barons Cove, 31 West Water Street, Sag Harbor
Thursday, July 22: Andrew Renfroe - Luke Sellick Duo, 6 p.m., Gig Shack, 782 Main Street, Montauk
Thursday, July 22: Yacouba Sissoko World Collective, 6:30 p.m., Hayground School, 151 Mitchell Lane, Bridgehampton
Saturday, July 24: Baron Lewis Duo, 3 p.m. Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton
Wednesday, July 28: Peter Martin Weiss/Jane Hastay Ensemble, 7 p.m. Jewish Center of The Hamptons, 44 Woods Lane, East Hampton
Thursday, July 29: Ray Anderson Pocket Brass Band, 6 p.m., The Church, 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor
Thursday, July 29: HipLaJaz, 6:30 p.m., Hayground School, 151 Mitchell Lane, Bridgehampton
Saturday, July 31: Bill O’Connell with Paquito D’Rivera, 6 p.m., Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton
Wednesday, August 4: Sasha Berliner - Tribute to Chick Corea, 6 p.m., Barons Cove, 31 West Water Street, Sag Harbor
Thursday, August 5: Sasha Berliner - Chick Corea Tribute with Nicole Glover, 6:30 p.m. John Jermain Library, 201 Main Street, Sag Harbor
Wednesday, August 11: Yuma Uesaka with Alex Levine, 6 p.m., Barons Cove, 31 West Water Street, Sag Harbor
Thursday, August 12: Hector Martignon’s Banda Grande, 6:30 p.m., Hayground School, 151 Mitchell Lane, Bridgehampton
Thursday, August 12: Richard Baratta - Music In Film: The Reel Deal, time to be announced, Sag Harbor Cinema, 90 Main Street, Sag Harbor
Saturday, August 14: Benny Benack Quintet, 6 p.m., Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton
Thursday, August 19: Performer to be announced, 6 p.m., The Church, 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor
Saturday, August 21: Will Salenraad - Rene Hart Duo, 3 p.m. Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton
Thursday, August 26: Godwin Louis Haitian Project, 6 p.m., The Church, 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor
Saturday, August 28: Tom Manuel - Steve Salerno Duo, 3 p.m. Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton
Wednesday, September 8: Oscar Feldman Quartet, 6 p.m., Hampton Library, 2478 Main Street, Bridgehampton
Thursday, September 9: Olivia Foschi Quartet, 6 p.m., The Church, 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor
Thursday, September 9: Iris Ornig Trio, 6 p.m., Hampton Library, 2478 Main Street, Bridgehampton
Thursday, September 14: Caroline Davis Duo, 6 p.m., Hampton Library, 2478 Main Street, Bridgehampton
Thursday, September 16: Greg Lewis Quartet - Organ Monk, 6 p.m., Hampton Library, 2478 Main Street, Bridgehampton
Friday, September 24: Randy Brecker - Ada Rovatti Quintet, time/location to be announced, Sag Harbor American Music Festival
Saturday, September 25: HipLaJaz, time/location to be announced, Sag Harbor American Music Festival
Thursday, September 30: Seamus Blake/Alex Sipiagin Quintet, 6 p.m., The Church, 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor
More dates and artists to be scheduled, including Ravi Coltrane Quartet, Big Chief Donald Harrison, Trio Da Paz with Friends, Conrad Herwig Quintet Latin Side. Calendar is subject to change. Visit hamptonsjazzfest.com for details.
The Venues:
Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton
Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill.
Hayground School, 151 Mitchell Lane, Bridgehampton
Hampton Library, 2478 Main Street, Bridgehampton
Barons Cove, 31 West Water Street, Sag Harbor
The Church, 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor
Sag Harbor Cinema, 90 Main Street, Sag Harbor
Sag Harbor American Music Festival, Sag Harbor
John Jermain Library, 201 Main Street, Sag Harbor
Jewish Center of The Hamptons, 44 Woods Lane, East Hampton
Gig Shack, 782 Main Street, Montauk
