BRIC Announces Full Lineup For Fourth Annual BRIC JazzFest

BRIC has announced full programming for the 2018 BRIC JazzFest, the fourth annual edition of the celebrated Brooklyn jazz festival, whichcontinues a yearlong celebration to cap off four decades for the pioneering NYC arts-and-media organization and leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn. The multidisciplinary festival takes place over the course of a week (October 13-20) and thrives as what the New Yorker calls a "proudly eclectic gathering [that] remains unbounded by convention." This year's edition will feature film, dance, a panel discussion, workshops, and culminates with a three-night concert marathon, with performances occurring simultaneously throughout the various spaces comprising the dynamic BRIC House (647 Fulton Street, Brooklyn). For its 40th anniversary, BRIC has commissioned rising star trumpeter Keyon Harrold to write a new piece of music which will have its world premiere at the 2018 BRIC JazzFest.

The three-night jazz marathon (October 18-20) includes performances by Meshell Ndegeocello, Terence Blanchard and The E-Collective, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Cyrus Chestnut Trio, Stefon Harris & Blackout ft. Casey Benjamin, Brownout Presents: Fear of a Brown Planet ft. Third Root, Mark de Clive-Lowe, Xenia Rubinos, The Jazz Passengers, Keyon Harrold, Deva Mahal, Madison McFerrin, Kat Edmonson, JD Allen, Lakecia Benjamin & SoulSquad, Camila Meza, Resident Alien ft. Ali Sethi & Sunny Jain, Arnetta Johnson & SUNNY, Yassir Tejeda y Palotré, Yotam Ben-Or Quartet, Noa Fort, Melanie Charles & Make Jazz Trill Again, and Michael Sarian & The Chabones. Performances take place in the state-of-the-art BRIC Ballroom, the relaxed Stoop overlooking visual artist Mary Mattingly's What Happens After exhibition in the BRIC Gallery, and the BRIC Artist Studio, which transforms into an intimate jazz club.

BRIC JazzFest has, in its four years, shown how jazz's legacy, present, and future, can be approached through a variety of means. This year, film, poetry, dance, and discourse also add to the festival's explosive musical lineup. Two films, projected onto a giant screen in the BRIC House Ballroom, will shed new light on legendary figures from jazz history. Let's Get Lost, fashion photographer Bruce Weber's 1988 documentary about trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker, will screen at 4pm in the BRIC House Ballroom, October 14. The Telegraph describes the film as "so lyrical and so eloquent," continuing, "Let's Get Lost is not just a film about jazz; it is a jazz film, one that balances storytelling with stylized digressions and near-dream sequences-much as a soloist might veer away from the rest of his band to make space for improvisation." Phillip Cox's recent documentary Betty Davis: They Say I'm Different will screen at 6:30pm that same evening. Praising the film's depiction of how funk-rock pioneer Betty Davis "revolutionized the music landscape for black women," Little White Lies called it "compassionate" and "sizzling...a cinematic interpretation of Davis' life, emulating her subversive style by blending testimony with psychedelic animation and an assortment of unconventional nonfiction techniques."

BRIC's Brooklyn Poetry Slam-"a packed night of stellar local poets" (TimeOut)-comes to JazzFest this year, October 15. Mahogany L. Browne-the poet, activist, and educator whose most recent book, Black Girl Magic, was described by Kirkus Reviews as "an emerging, beloved tome for black girls of all ages to read and share...whenever or wherever one needs an assuring word"-hosts the event, with music by DJ Jive Poetic.

Boundary-pushing, Brooklyn-based dance company Urban Bush Women and GRAMMY-winning pianist George Caldwell will host Talk 'Trane, open to everyone, with no dance experience necessary (October 16). This interactive movement experience brings participants into the creative process by which Urban Bush Women and Caldwell made their 2015 performance Walking with 'Trane, an "evening full of fire, passion, and commitment" (The Washington Post) inspired by the musical life and spiritual journey of John Coltrane.

Jazz critic Nate Chinen, New Orleans trumpeter Terence Blanchard, and jazz guitarist and vocalist Camila Meza will discuss the evolution of jazz, and Chinen's new book, Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century, on October 17, with a book signing following the conversation.

"In its fourth year, we curated BRIC JazzFest using the multidisciplinary and inclusive approach that BRIC is known for, creating different points of entry to experience jazz in the broadest sense through film, dance, poetry and discussion; and an immersive, multi-stage concert experience where you can discover an array of new artists and see multiple legendary performers in full sets each night with accessible ticket prices," said Jack Walsh, BRIC's Vice President of Performing Arts.

With BRIC JazzFest, BRIC brings its decades of experience hosting the beloved summer-long BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival into their state-of-the-art home in Fort Greene, providing an experience that's true to their mission of making cultural programming genuinely accessible. Billboard writes, "[BRIC JazzFest] prove[s] an excellent argument for standing-room jazz functions in general: lower financial barrier to entry, higher population of listeners, and a more engaged audience."

Free events require RSVP at BRICartsmedia.org. Single-day tickets for the BRIC JazzFest Marathon, which go on sale to BRIC members on Tuesday, July 31 and to the general public on Thursday, August 2, are $30 advance/$35 door (per day), and there is a limited number of 3-day passes available for $75 (available now). Tickets can be purchased by visiting BRICartsmedia.org. The Box Office at BRIC House is open on performance days only, one hour prior to the event. BRIC House is located at 647 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn and is open weekdays and Saturdays at 8am and Sundays at 10am.