Winter Jazzfest 2023 initial lineup: Jaimie Branch tribute, Makaya McCraven, Dawn Richard/Spencer Zahn, more
Winter Jazzfest didn’t happen in 2021 or 2022 due to Covid, but it’s set to return in 2023 from January 12-18 at venues all over NYC. They’ve announced the initial lineup which includes Makaya McCraven, Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn‘s ‘Pigments’, Brandee Younger, Irreversible Entanglements, Joel Ross, the Mary Halvorson / Sylvie Courvoisier Duo, Donny McCaslin and lots more.
The festival once again includes “marathon” nights in Manhattan (1/13) and Brooklyn (1/13) that allows badgeholders to hop around venues all located within walking distance of each other and catch sets from dozens of performers. Part of the 2023 marathons are a celebration of Marshall Allen, bandleader of Sun Ra Arkestra (who will perform), and a tribute to Meghan Stabile — who died last year at 39 — featuring Louis Cato, Pete Rock with his band The Soul Brothers, Igmar Thomas´ Revive Big Band and more.
There will also be a tribute to Jaimie Branch, who died this August, at Nublu on January 15, performers TBA.
Opening night (1/12) features Terri Lyne Carrington’s New Standards Live with performances by Michele Rosewoman, Melanie Charles, Michael Mayo, Linda May Han Oh, Kris Davis, Tia Fuller, Caroline Davis, Helen Sung and Mary Halvorson. There is also a French jazz showcase featuring Vincent Peirani’s “Jokers”, Émile Parisien’s “Louise”, and the Avishai Cohen Quartet.
More: pianist, composer and filmmaker Samora Pinderhughes will present “an incarnation of his politically charged multimedia project ‘Grief & Process,’ a collaborative exhibition and performance series; and Nate Mercereau presents “Take Two,” which will feature a listening party of Pharoah Sanders’ classic 1974 album album Elevation, followed by a performance featuring musicians playing “a live reinterpretation of what they just heard.”
There’s lots more at Winter Jazzfest. Check out the initial lineup below and head to the festivals website for more into and tickets.
WINTER JAZZFEST 2023 Initial Lineup:
Adam O’Farrill’s Stranger Days
Alfredo Colon
Alissia
Avishai Cohen Quartet
Ben Wendel
Black Lives: From Generation to Generation
Brandee Younger
BREAK.FAST.CLUB
Caroline Davis
Chase Elodia
Chris Lightcap’s ‘Superette Deluxe’
Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn’s ‘Pigments’
Donny McCaslin
Doug Wamble
Emile Parisien ‘Louise’
Endea Owens
Gilles Peterson
Ghost Funk Orchestra
Halvorson/Courvoisier Duo
Hera
Immanuel Wilkins
Irreversible Entanglements
Isaiah Collier
Jamaaladeen Tacuma
JaRon Marshall
Joel Ross ‘Parables’
Julius Rodriguez
Lakecia Benjamin
Linda May Han Oh
Louis Cato
LNDFK
Makaya McCraven
Marta Sanchez
Maurice Brown
Miho Hazama
Nate Mercereau
Nathalie Joachim
New Standards Live curated by Terri Lyne Carrington
Orrin Evans Trio
Pete Rock & The Soul Brothers
Photay with Carlos Niño
DJ Raydar Ellis
Reid Anderson
Revive Big Band & Special Guests
Rich Ruth
Samora Pinderhughes ‘Grief & Process’
Sara Serpa ‘Intimate Strangers’
Sarah Elizabeth Charles
Sun Ra Arkestra
Sungazer
Surya Botofasina
Susan Carol
Takuya Kuroda
Vincent Peirani ‘Jokers’
Yamandu Costa
Zoh Amba
