Montclair Jazz Festival: What To Expect At 2023 Grand Finale

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Jazz fans from across the state will be gathering in Essex County this weekend for another highly anticipated grand finale of the Montclair Jazz Festival.

The free festival – which has been happening over the past month at several locations – will wrap up with a massive “Downtown Jamboree” from 1 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9. The entertainment will take place on five stages, stretching down half a mile of Bloomfield Avenue from Lackawanna Plaza to Fullerton Avenue. There will also be nearly 150 food and art vendors at the festival, as well as a “family jazz discovery zone.”

The music lineup includes Regina Carter, Antibalas, Steve Turre, Melanie Charles, Person to Person with Eric Person and Houston Person, Edmar Castaneda, Vince Ector, Michael Mwenso and the Shakes, Jazz House Collective and Grammy Award-winning jazz maestro Christian McBride, the festival’s music director and curator. Read More: Montclair Jazz Icon Earns Yet Another Grammy Award

Here is the music schedule for Sept. 9:

DOWNTOWN @ BDP HOLDINGS STAGE | 1-9 PM

stage host: Alonzo Bodden

• 1:00 PM | JAZZ HOUSE Collective Celebrates Dexter Gordon
• 2:20 PM | JAZZ HOUSE All-Stars (Alumni Band)
• 3:00 PM | Steve Turre
• 4:30 PM | Melanie Charles Make Jazz Trill Again
• 6:00 PM | Christian McBride's New Jawn
• 7:45 PM | Antibalas

UPTOWN @ THE FULLERTON STAGE | 1-8:30 PM

stage host: Andromeda Turre

• 1:00 PM | Person 2 Person feat. Eric Person and Houston Person
• 2:30 PM | Edmar Castañeda Quartet
• 4:00 PM | Vince Ector Organatomy
• 5:30 PM | Regina Carter
• 7:10 PM | Michael Mwenso and The Shakes

JAZZ CRUISE ALUMNI STAGE @ MIDTOWN | 1-8 PM

• 1:05 PM | Montclair State University All-Stars
• 2:10 PM | Patrick Gannon Sextet
• 3:20 PM | Moody Scholars
• 4:30 PM | Liany Mateo Quartet
• 5:40 PM | JAZZ HOUSE All-Stars
• 7:00 PM | Alex Parchment

COMMUNITY STAGE @ CHURCH STREET | 1-5 PM

• 1:10 PM | JAZZ HOUSE Adult Community Band
• 2:10 PM | Jon Luks and the Jive Dukes
• 3:10 PM | Lauren Hooper
• 3:45 PM | Madison Dickson
• 4:00 PM | Chapel Coalition
• 5:00 PM | TBD

AMAZON FAMILY JAZZ DISCOVERY ZONE | 1-4 PM

• 1:00 PM | JAZZ HOUSE Little Scholars Workshop
• 1:45 PM | Montclair Early Music
• 2:20 PM | JAZZ HOUSE Little Scholars Workshop
• 3:05 PM | Montclair Library Story Time
• 3:25 PM | JAZZ HOUSE Little Scholars Workshop

According to the festival’s website, no tickets are required. Beach and lawn chairs are welcome, but pop-up tents and beach umbrellas are prohibited.

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TRAFFIC, ROAD CLOSURES

Montclair town officials are encouraging visitors to travel to the festival “by two wheels or on foot.” Bike valet parking, run by Bike Walk Montclair, will be available at the YMCA on Glenridge Avenue, organizers said.

The following street closures will take place during the festival, town officials said:

Supporting Street Closures: 3:00 am – 12 midnight | Event Time: 1:00 pm – 9:00 pm

• Bloomfield Ave. between Grove/Elm and Willow St.
• Lackawanna Plaza between Bloomfield Ave. and Glenridge Ave.
• Greenwood Ave. between Lackawanna Plaza and Glenridge Ave.
• Gates Ave. between Bloomfield Ave. and Union St.

Supporting Street Closures: 5:00 a.m. – 12 midnight | Event Time: 1:00 – 9:00 p.m.

• Bloomfield Ave. between Willow St. and Park St.
• N. Willow St. between Bloomfield Ave. and Glenridge Ave.
• S. Willow St. between Bloomfield Ave. and Roosevelt Ave.
• Glenridge Ave between Bloomfield Ave. and Forest St.
• N. Fullerton Ave. between Bloomfield Ave. and the Fullerton Parking Deck
• S. Fullerton Ave. between Bloomfield Ave. and The Crescent
• Church Street between Bloomfield Ave. and Park St.

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