BRIC JazzFest Adds Headliner, Announces Additional Programming

BRIC announces additional programming, marathon daily lineup, single day tickets, and other details for the 2019 BRIC JazzFest, the fifth annual edition of the celebrated Brooklyn jazz festival, which continues the 41st season for the pioneering NYC arts-and-media organization and leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn. The Festival takes place over the course of a week (October 19-26) and continues to be what the New Yorker calls a "proudly eclectic gathering [that] remains unbounded by convention." This year's edition will feature concerts, film, poetry, and conversation, culminating in a three-day music marathon, with performances taking place simultaneously in the various spaces comprising BRIC House (647 Fulton Street, Brooklyn).

The three-night jazz marathon (October 24-26) is headlined by critically acclaimed GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist, bandleader, and composer Ravi Coltrane and his quartet; multi-instrumentalist and producer Georgia Anne Muldrow; and the new supergroup Boyfriends, led by drummer Joe Russo and featuring multi-instrumentalist Josh Kaufman, drummer/percussionist Ben Perowsky, and multi-instrumentalist Stuart Bogie.

The marathon will also feature performances by percussionist Makaya McCraven; eclectic band Kneebody; drummer/composer Antonio Sanchez; multi-instrumentalist Louis Cole (Knower); saxophonist Tia Fuller; breakout vibraphonist Joel Ross' Good Vibes; drummer/vibraphonist Sasha Berliner Azalea; composer and planetary scientist Salami Rose Joe Louis; drummer/producer Kassa Overall; saxophonist María Grand; vocalist/songwriter Claudia Acuña; jazz/funk/hip-hop ensemble QNA; saxophonist Roxy Coss Quintet; Cousin From Another Planet, a new project from award-winning record producer, composer/songwriter and pianist Aaron Whitby; pianist Dayramir Gonzalez; composer, percussionist and vocalist Tosin Aribisala Trio; pianist Amina Claudine Myersand her group Generations 4; and pianist, composer, bandleader and educator Myra Melford and her quintet Snowy Egret. Performances take place in the intimate jazz club-like Artist Studio, the expansive Stoop overlooking the Gallery, and the state-of-the-art Ballroom-all within BRIC House.

BRIC JazzFest has, in its five years, shown how jazz's legacy, present, and future, can be approached through a variety of means. This year, film, poetry, 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 light on some of the most influential artists and historical moments in jazz. Blue Note Records: Beyond The Notes is an evocative journey behind the scenes of the legendary label Blue Note Records. The New York Times hailed the film as "A smart, exhilarating look at an influential label ... this documentary makes a point right off that Blue Note is still very much a thing of the present ... This tidy, thoughtful film gets at jazz's joy and pain." The recently released Amazing Grace documents two performances by Aretha Franklin in January of 1972 at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles, backed by the Southern California Community Choir. The audio recording of those performances became Franklin's biggest selling album. The Washington Postcalls the film "nothing short of a miracle."

BRIC's Brooklyn Poetry Slam-"a packed night of stellar local poets" (TimeOut)-returns to JazzFest, hosted by the poet, activist, and educator Mahogany L. Browne, with music by DJ Jive Poetic.

"In five short years, BRIC has been able to create a new, forward-looking jazz festival that has become an eagerly-awaited facet of the music scene here in Brooklyn," remarks Kristina Newman-Scott, President of BRIC.

Jack Walsh, BRIC's Senior Vice President of Performing Arts says, "We are thrilled to announce BOYFRIENDS to headline and close out BRIC JazzFest. Joe Russo, Ben Perowsky, Josh Kaufman & Stuart Bogie are all world-class musicians steeped in experimentation and improvisation; and I expect we will experience some explosive moments from this amazing New Group!"

With BRIC JazzFest, BRIC brings its decades of hosting the beloved summer-long BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival into its state-of-the-art home in Fort Greene, providing an experience that's true to its 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 Wednesday, August 7 and to the general public on Friday, August 9 at 10am, 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.

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