By Eva Kapanadze | Front Row Jazz Charlie Parker Jazz Festival - Ravi Coltrane - Photo © Eva Kapanadze - Front Row Jazz Every August, New York remembers how to listen. For one weekend, two parks become sanctuaries — Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park and the East Village's Tompkins Square Park — and the whole city seems to lean in. This year marked the 34th edition of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, honoring one of the greatest musicians in jazz history, in the very streets where

Spirit & Soul of Jazz at the Montclair Jazz Festival

By Eva Kapanadze | Front Row Jazz | August 8,2026 Front Row Jazz was at Madison Square Park on Saturday, August 8th, for the closing day of the NoMad Jazz Festival. There'd been talk the day before of postponing the late show due to weather concerns — but thank you, Mother Nature, because Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day, and the crowd got to witness the full mainstage lineup exactly as planned. Godwin Louis Saxophonist Godwin Louis opened the main stage, kicking the

By Eva Kapanadze | Front Row Jazz Front Row Jazz caught the magic of The Downtown Jamaica Riddim and Jazz Festival at Rufus King Park, where Southeast Queens came out in force for an afternoon of unforgettable performances — headlined by the legendary Branford Marsalis Quartet. This is what community and culture sound like. Branford Marsalis Quartet: Branford Marsalis – tenor saxophone & clarinet Justin Faulkner – drums Geoffrey Keezer – piano Barry Stephenson – bass Chris Le

Inside the Vanguard: James Brandon Lewis Quartet Brings Omni Home

For thirty years, Vision Festival has stood as one of the last true gathering places for creative improvised music — a space where the avant-garde isn't a niche, it's the whole point. This year's edition, presented by Arts for Art at Abrons Arts Center on New York's Lower East Side, closed out its six-night run with two of the most vital nights of the week. Front Row Jazz was on the ground for both, camera in hand, to document a lineup that stretched from elder statesmen to t

The Hudson River waterfront transformed into jazz paradise over Memorial Day weekend as Jersey City welcomed back one of New Jersey's most celebrated musical events — the Jersey City Jazz Festival 2026, produced by Riverview Jazz.