BRIC Announces Lineup and Dates for Third Annual BRIC JazzFest

BRIC is pleased to announce programming and other details of the 2017 BRIC JazzFest, the third annual edition of the celebrated Brooklyn jazz festival, conceived and curated by Jack Walsh, Lia Crockett and Brice Rosenbloom. As it expands even more in its third year, the Festival continues to deliver on the promise Nate Chinen suggested in The New York Times when he wrote, "Given what's still a limited infrastructure for jazz in Brooklyn, BRIC JazzFest could be an important force for good." The Festival takes place over the course of a week (October 14-21), featuring film, dance, panel discussion and student workshops, and culminates with a three-day concert marathon, with performances taking place simultaneously in the various spaces comprising BRIC House (647 Fulton Street, Brooklyn).

With BRIC JazzFest, BRIC brings its decades of experience hosting the celebrated 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."

The three-night jazz marathon includes performances by Maceo Parker, The Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen, Vijay Iyer, Terri Lyne Carrington Band, GoGo Penguin's Koyaanisqatsi A New Score (performed live), Harriet Tubman, Rudresh Mahanthappa Indo-Pak Coalition, Samora Pinderhughes, Miles Mosley & The West Coast Get Down, Papo Vazquez Mighty Pirate Troubadours, Theo Croker Escape Velocity, Troker, Butcher Brown, Braxton Cook, Miramar, Imani Uzuri: Wild Cotton, Dave Douglas Meets The Westerlies, Kavita Shah Quintet, Matana Roberts and many more. Performances take place in the state-of-the-art Ballroom, the relaxed Stoop overlooking the Brooklyn Photographs art exhibition in the BRIC Gallery, and the BRIC Artist Studio which transforms into an intimate jazz club.

For the second year, two nights of film on two giant screens in BRIC House will feature an array of classic films that shed light on influential artists and historical moments in jazz, including John Scheinfeld's Chasing Trane (2016). Additional films to be announced.

The Festival adds another genre this year with a free, all-ages and skill levels EVIDENCE Community Dance Class taught by master artist/choreographer Ronald K. Brown.

Also new this year is a free Jazz & Justice panel discussion on the growing number of jazz elders and newcomers who are creating music that indicts, confronts and critiques, without pretending to provide easy answers. Moderated by author and musician Greg Tate, whose writings on culture and politics have been published in The Village Voice, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Artforum, Rolling Stone, VIBE, and many others; Tate is widely praised for his groundbreaking work on music's social, political, economic and cultural implications. Panelists to be announced.

Elementary and middle school students are invited to new Student Workshops, where they will engage with world-class jazz artists and educators in a workshop that opens the minds and ears of our youth to the history and wonder of jazz music. Artist to be announced.

BRIC President Leslie G. Schultz said, "BRIC is thrilled to present the third annual BRIC JazzFest, offering an extraordinary array of jazz programming throughout the engaging spaces in BRIC House. Connecting New Yorkers from all backgrounds to world class live arts experiences in Brooklyn is core to BRIC's mission."

"This is not your traditional jazz festival," said Jack Walsh, BRIC's Vice President of Performing Arts. "The BRIC JazzFest is curated using a broad, multidisciplinary, and inclusive approach that BRIC is known for and which connects this all-important musical genre to a range of audiences as diverse as Brooklyn-from curious newcomers to die-hard fans."

Free events require RSVP at BRICartsmedia.org. Tickets for the BRIC JazzFest Marathon, which go on sale to BRIC members on Tuesday, July 18 and to the general public on Friday, July 21, are $25 advance/$30 door (per day), with limited 3-day passes available for $65. 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.

About BRIC

BRIC is the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, and one of the largest in New York City. We present and incubate work by artists and media-makers who reflect the diversity that surrounds us. BRIC programs reach hundreds of thousands of people each year.

Our main venue, BRIC Arts | Media House, offers a public media center, a major contemporary art exhibition space, two performance spaces, a glass-walled TV studio, and artist work spaces.

Some of BRIC's most acclaimed programs include the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival in Prospect Park, several path-breaking public access media initiatives, including BRIC TV, and a renowned contemporary art exhibition series. BRIC also offers education and other vital programs at BRIC House and throughout Brooklyn.

In addition to making cultural programming genuinely accessible, BRIC is dedicated to providing substantial support to artists and media makers in their efforts to develop work and reach new audiences.

BRIC is unusual in both presenting exceptional cultural experiences and nurturing individual expression. This dual commitment enables us to most effectively reflect New York City's innate cultural richness and diversity.

Learn more at BRICartsmedia.org.

Support for BRIC

BRIC's programs benefit from generous private funding from 66 Rockwell, Alloy, American Express, Astoria Bank, The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, The Bay and Paul Foundations, Bloomingdale's, City Point, Con Edison, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, The Educational Foundation of America, Ford Foundation, Forest City Ratner Companies, Howard Gilman Foundation, The Hearst Foundations, Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, Lambent Foundation, Robert Lehman Foundation, M&T Charitable Foundation, New Music USA, New York City Cultural Agenda Fund in the The New York Community Trust, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Oppenheim Family Foundation, Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Kim Soule/Compass, The Shubert Organization, TD Bank, Tiger Baron Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and Pia and Jimmy Zankel, as well as numerous individual supporters. BRIC's media programs are made possible by generous funding from Verizon, Optimum, RCN, and Spectrum.

Generous public support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts; The Institute of Museum and Library Services; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; Mayor Bill de Blasio, Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl; Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams; New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito; the Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council; New York City Council Members Inez Barron, Robert Cornegy, Laurie Cumbo, Rafael L. Espinal, Jr., Mathieu Eugene, Vincent Gentile, Brad Lander, Stephen Levin, Alan Maisel, Darlene Mealy, Mark Treyger, and Jumaane Williams; and the Theater Subdistrict Council.

To post a comment, you must register and login.