Spirit & Soul of Jazz at the Montclair Jazz Festival
Updated: Sep 4
By Eva Kapanadze | Front Row Jazz
Saturday, August 15th marked Front Row Jazz's first time covering the Montclair Jazz Festival, and it did not disappoint. The day kicked off with Gotham Kings, led by Alphonso Horne, who opened the festival in true New Orleans fashion with a second-line parade down Bloomfield Avenue — instantly setting the tone for a day built on community and celebration.
From there, the mainstage lineup ran deep:
Spanish Harlem Orchestra / JAZZ HOUSE Big Band
Dianne Reeves
Take Me to the River New Orleans All-Stars, featuring Cyril Neville, Omari Neville, Ian Neville, and Big Chief Gerard "Bo" Dollis Jr.
Patrice Rushen
Christian McBride Big Band featuring Bilal
Each act brought something different to the day, b. Still, therough-line was unmistakable — this was a festival built on generations of Black American music talking to each other, from New Orleans brass tradition to big band, soul-jazz, and Latin jazz all sharing the same stage.
Take Me to the River New Orleans All-Stars brought the spirit and musical history of New Orleans straight to Montclair 🎺⚜️. Featuring Big Chief Gerard "Bo" Dollis Jr., the all-star collective honored the city's rich sound through second-line brass, jazz, funk, R&B, and soul — ih the horn lines carrying that unmistakable New Orleans street-parade weight thethroughout who thith generations of New Orleans artists sharing the stage, including the Neville family lineage, the performance played as a full celebration of the city's past, present, and future.
The standout moment of the set belonged to Dollis Jr. himself, stepping out as soloist and vocalist in the role of Big Chief — the ceremonial leader of a Mardi Gras Indian tribe, a New Orleans tradition passed down through generations. He performed in a fully handmade suit, hand-sewn and beaded, the kind that can take months to build — a living piece of craft and history as much as a costume. Seeing that tradition on a Montclair stage was one of the most powerful moments of the day.
Over on the JAZZ HOUSE Stage, the festival made space for the next generation and for reflection, with the JAZZ HOUSE Collective honoring the centennials of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, alongside JAZZ HOUSE Emerging Talent performances and a set from Joel Ross's "Good Vibes."
Dianne Reeves brought a masterclass in vocal jazz to the mainstage — that rich, elastic voice moving effortlessly between standards and her own material, backed by a band that gave her all the room she needed to stretch out and improvise. It was a reminder of why she remains one of the defining vocalists in jazz.
Front Row Jazz stayed through the Christian McBride Big Band featuring Bilal, and it closed the day out in the biggest way possible. McBride led a full big band through arrangements that hit with serious horn-section power, and Bilal's vocals rode on top of it with that unmistakable soul edge — part jazz revue, part R&B show, and all celebration. It was the perfect way to close out the day, and the whole crowd was on its feet by the end. We had to head out before the closing Block Party DJ set with DJ Prince Hakim, but by then the festival had already delivered a full day of world-class music.
A huge welcome to the Montclair Jazz Festival community — this won't be the last time Front Row Jazz is on the ground here.
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