Great jazz performances transport you—so do beautiful evenings on your Park’s green piers. Jazz at Pier 84 combines these in a series of free riverfront concerts that bring tremendous performers right to your west side backyard.
Presented in partnership with the Jazz Foundation of America, our Jazz at Pier 84 series proved so popular during its inaugural 2017 season that we’ve expanded the schedule for year two. During our 20th Anniversary Summer of Fun, there will be five opportunities to enjoy Thursday evening jazz performances on our largest public pier.
We kick off this year’s series on Thursday, May 31 with the jazz drummer and bandleader Ray Mantilla, whose remarkable career has spanned 60 years, and who describes his music as “”Latin Jazz with authentic Latino rhythms.”
On June 21, the Alvin Flythe Quartet will play powerful tributes to sax greats like John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt—multi-instrumentalist Alvin Flythe has worked with stars like Duke Ellington, Roy Haynes, Little Jimmy Scott and the Gap Band. The Sylvia Cuenca Organ Quartet takes the Jazz at Pier 84 stage on July 19 for a dynamic performance—lead Sylvia Cuenca is an active drummer on the NYC jazz scene with an impressive list of collaborators including Joe Henderson and Clark Terry.
A multi-talented jazz clarinetist, multi-woodwind player, composer and arranger as well as a prominent figure on the “free jazz” scene of the 1980s and 1990s, Michael Marcus joins us on August 16. Rounding out our 2018 lineup on September 13, George Braith returns to #HRPK. This legend and innovator in the field of modern progressive jazz was a huge hit last summer, and we are thrilled to have him back on Pier 84.
We can’t wait to fill your Thursday evenings with jazz legends all summer long, and to once again partner with Jazz Foundation of America. Special thanks to our partner JFA organization, who for almost 30 years has provided help to jazz and blues musicians, with both direct assistance and opportunities, to play fantastic shows like Jazz at Pier 84.
So mark your calendars, music lovers, and get ready for a summer of outstanding riverfront jazz!