For Atlantan jazz fans, the holiday season comes in spring. May is on its way, and it’s bringing the 38th Annual Atlanta Jazz Festival (AJF) along with it. One of the largest free jazz festivals in the nation, the three-day event takes place in Piedmont Park on Memorial Day weekend, May 22-24.
The festival features a variety of gifted jazz artists from all over the world, showcasing both modern-day greats and rising stars. Headliners include Thundercat, the bass virtuoso who was “at the creative epicenter” of rapper Kendrick Lamar’s acclaimed album “To Pimp a Butterfly”; Derrick Hodge, a Grammy-winning bassist and composer; and the Pharoah Sanders Quartet, featuring influential guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and led by legendary saxophonist Sanders, who has been called “the best tenor player in the world.”
The festival, presented by the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, is the grand finale of 31 Days of Jazz, a month-long series of jazz concerts. According to the event website, these performances occur at numerous venues throughout metropolitan Atlanta, “from MARTA stations, to museums, jazz clubs, restaurants, and local neighborhood parks.”
This year’s AJF season will begin with a Kick-Off Party hosted by up-and-coming jazz trio BADBADNOTGOOD (BBNG). The band hails from Toronto, and is made up of Matthew Tavares on keyboards, Chester Hansen on bass and Alex Sowinski on drums. They are known for their raucous, high-energy live performances, as well as for the way their music transcends genre boundaries.
BBNG’s unique brand of instrumental jazz is infused with a heavy dose of hip-hop. The band has collaborated with several well-respected rappers, including Earl Sweatshirt of Odd Future, Danny Brown and MF Doom. Their latest release, “Sour Soul,” is a critically-acclaimed collaboration with Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan.
BBNG will kick off the AJF’s 31 Days of Jazz at the Westside Cultural Arts Center on May 1. Doors open at 8:00 p.m. and the show starts at 9:00 p.m. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door, but enter coupon code “JazzCat2015” and you can get your ticket for just $30.
For performance schedules and other information, visit the AJF’s website.
You can also follow festival updates via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
