WBGO’s Kids Jazz Concert Series returns with three jazz concerts at area venues. On Saturday, October 21 at 11 a.m. at Flushing Town Hall, legendary bassist Reggie Workman will receive the Louis Armstrong Education Foundation’s Satchmo Award and he’ll perform with a group that includes dancer Savion Glover. Also performing at that event, hosted by WBGO’s Gary Walker, is saxophonist Calvin Johnson & Native Son Ensemble. Admission is free, but adults must be accompanied by a child. Learn morehere.
On Saturday, November 4 at 3 pm at the Victoria Theater in NJPAC, pianist Elio Villafranca and his quartet will perform music from his “Standing by the Crossroads” project, that speaks about his life, growing up in the small town of San Luis, Pinar del Rio, surrounded by Congolese drums, educated in Russian classical music, while falling in love with jazz. This free concert is part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival that runs November 4 through 19. Learn more here.
The third concert in this season will be held Sunday, September 9 at The Montclair Museum and will feature a performance by Riza Printup and her Jazz Explorers Band. More details to follow soon.
The program was founded more than 20 years ago by Dorthaan Kirk, who wanted to create events that would be family-friendly and that would introduce young people not only to jazz, but to WBGO as well. In fact, the first events were held in the WBGO studios, but soon moved to various venues in the Tri-State area. Among the artists who have performed in the series are the late Hilton Ruiz (who played at the first one), Dave Stryker, Jerome Jennings, Winard Harper, Vanessa Rubin, Joe Locke, Carla Cooke, Benny Benack III, Paquito D'Rivera and dozens more. Gary Walker, a frequent host of the events, says that the program has been around so long that things have come full circle "There are kids who attended our concerts who have grown up, gotten married and have had kids of their own," he explains. "And now they bring their kids to the concerts."
