Community, Culture, and Riddim: Branford Marsalis Lights Up Rufus King Park
- Jazz Paparazzo
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
By Jazz Paparazzo | 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 Lewis – tenor saxophone
Now in its fourth year, the festival has grown into a true cornerstone of Southeast Queens' cultural calendar — a free, all-ages celebration that brings jazz, soul, salsa, and global rhythms together on the same stage. Having Branford Marsalis Quartet headline this year's edition was a statement in itself: one of the most respected working bands in jazz, out in the open air of Rufus King Park, for anyone who wanted to walk up and listen.
And the crowd did more than listen. The park was packed with families, longtime jazz heads, and curious first-timers, all pulled in by a set that moved between fire and tenderness without ever losing the room. The quartet dug into a blistering take on Thelonious Monk's "Criss-Cross," with Keezer's piano and Marsalis's tenor trading the kind of angular, playful energy Monk's music demands. Faulkner and Stephenson kept the rhythm section locked in and constantly shifting underneath, giving Chris Lewis and Marsalis room to weave two-tenor lines around each other all afternoon.
The set closed with "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It," and it was nothing short of incredible — a joyous, foot-stomping send-off that had the whole park moving and sent the afternoon out on the highest possible note.
Huge shoutout to JCAL (Jamaica Center for the Arts and Learning) for curating world-class programming that keeps the borough moving. Free, outdoors, and built for the whole community — this is exactly the kind of event that makes Southeast Queens a real destination for jazz.
