Hub City Jazz Festival New Jazz Series Announced At The Zimmerli Museum

The Hub City Jazz Festival and Gerald Veasley's Unscripted Jazz along with The Zimmerli Art Museum and Rutgers University have created a partnership that will present a series of live jazz performances. International jazz greats will be featured along with talented student musicians from the Mason Gross School of The Arts Jazz Department.

Monica Weeks, Rutgers Alumnus, and Executive Director of The Hub City Jazz Festival, has stated that the Unscripted Jazz Series taps into the trend for smaller focused live music events, intimate venues, and a diverse mix of jazz music. Voorhees Hall at The Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick is the perfect setting for this type of programming.

The concert series will be spread over the academic school year and will bring a host of eclectic and diverse jazz artists together from around the country and will be curated by the world-renowned guitarist and Philadelphia's Ambassador of Jazz, Gerald Veasley. The first event will be held Saturday, April 20th and will feature acclaimed saxophonist Kim Waters.

"Since the beginning of the twentieth century, jazz music and the visual arts have been long-time companions. While jazz as a musical style is an American art form, one need only look to Paris in the period 1900-1925 when Black jazz musicians flocked to Paris to play in famous jazz clubs like the renowned Bricktop's from all over the world. Artists like Mabel Mercer and Josephine Baker were only two of the treasures who earned their chops in the City of Lights. I hope that the Zimmerli's collaboration with Hub City Jazz and Mason Gross School of the Arts will provide another great moment in musical and arts history" stated Thomas Sokolowski, Director of The Zimmerli. The first program will open with the Rutgers Jazz Afro-Caribbean Ensemble.

The first New Brunswick Jazz Festival (now Hub City Jazz Festival) was held in 2004 and was the brainchild of Allen McGriff, a local New Brunswick entrepreneur and Mason. The Festival was a fundraiser for the Progressive Temple Lodge and was a two-day event featuring local artists including talented high school musicians. After five years the festival outgrew its original venue and expanded to a four-day event attracting jazz fans from throughout the Northeast. During the four days of the festival international jazz greats and up and coming local artists are showcased at venues throughout New Brunswick. In 2016 the festival began operation as The Hub City Jazz Festival, Inc. which is a 501©3 non-profit organization with the emphasis on supporting music education for student musicians and great live music experiences for people of all ages. The Festival is proud to promote jazz as an art form and to acknowledge its cultural relevance in the field of music as well as provide financial support to music education initiatives. "At the centerpiece of our work is a signature event in the City of New Brunswick-world class music festival" stated Allen McGriff, Founder of The Hub City Jazz Festival. The organization's motto is "Connecting great music which is food for the soul with a gift from the heart."

Corporate and Community Partners for this event are The Hub City Jazz Festival, Inc., The Zimmerli Art Museum, Mason Gross School of the Arts, and Middlesex Cultural and Heritage Commission.

5:00-8:00P Hub City and Unscripted Jazz Presents Kim Waters and The Gerald Veasley Band

Reception begins at 5P. Music Provided by The Rutgers Jazz Afro-Caribbean Ensemble.

Location: The Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers U., 71 Hamilton St., New Brunswick, 08901
Tickets for the Unscripted Jazz Series are $35.00 and can be purchased at www.hubcityjazz.com

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