Montclair Jazz Festival

Each year, Montclair hosts a free music festival for residents and travelers to attend, and this year, more than 25,000 people came to enjoy the music.

The 15th Annual Montclair Jazz Festival Downtown Jamboree brought in more attendees than in years prior, according to Jazz House Kids, a local jazz education and performance studio. 25,000 patrons filled the space of Bloomfield Avenue to listen to a lineup of famed musicians. The festival included several stages and around 170 food sellers and vendors.

Kenny Garrett, a Grammy Award-winning saxophonist, headlined the festival. Jazz House Kids founder Melissa Walker also performed as a vocalist with the Jazz House Collective Celebrating Sarah Vaughn. Grammy Award-winning bassist Christian McBride directed the music for the festival and also performed with his quintet, Inside Straight.

Other formers include: singer Lisa Fischer and Grand Baton, drummer Jerome Jennings and ill Philosophy, Colombian harpist Edmar Castañeda Quartet, veteran trombonist Steve Turre Sextet, Brianna Thomas and the Montclair State University Jazz Ensemble with director Oscar Perez.

The number of attendees, the highest number thus far, allowed for a proper celebration of the festival’s 15th year. McBride and Walker, interviewed by The New York Times, were overjoyed with the event’s turnout.

Walker, reflecting on the festival, shared that “It is a testament to the power of jazz to unite, bringing people together from all walks of life, young and old and to literally dance in the streets with neighbors and strangers.”