NEWSLETTER
MERCHANTS SOCIAL Offers Special In-Theater Menu to Festival Goers
Hudson Jazz Festival AFTER HOURS Events and Happenings Around Town
Hudson, NY (February 9, 2023) – Hudson Hall announces the final lineup of musicians, celebrity and guest artists – among them GRAMMY award-winning Meshell Ndegeocello and jazz radio personality Keanna Faircloth – for the 2023 Hudson Jazz Festival. The festival takes place February 16-19 & 23-26 in Hudson Hall’s historic 1855 theater. Titled “The Shape of Jazz Today” and curated by creative producer Cat Henry, the 2023 festival brings together adventurous, inventive artists whose bold vision take jazz in new directions while honoring traditions of the past. The 2023 lineup features Sarah Elizabeth Charles and her band SCOPE, Marquis Hill, Michael Mayo, Ulysses Owens Jr. & Generation Y, Aaron Parks and Samantha Rise, vocalists Vanisha Gould and Lucy Yeghiazaryan and bassist Endea Owens & The Cookout. See the full lineup here.
Single tickets start at $30; Weekend Passes $102. Student/veteran rush $10 at the door, under 25 with code UNDER25 at checkout. Tickets can be purchased at hudsonhall.org/event/hudson-jazz-festival or by phone at (518) 822-1438.
RENOWNED & GUEST ARTISTS ADDED TO LINEUP
Legendary guitarist and longtime Dizzy Gillespie collaborator Ed Cherry kicks off the festival with a free performance in Hudson Hall’s first floor galleries at the 2023 Hudson Jazz Festival Opening Night Party on Thursday, February 16 from 5-7pm. Cherry is joined by keyboardist Kyle Koehler to celebrate the opening of the festival visual arts exhibition, Marine Penvern: Body & Soul.
Weekend #1 sidemen performing with drummer Marquis Hill (2/18) include bassist Dezron Douglas, vibraphonist Joel Ross and drummer Michel Piolet.
NPR contributor and Artimacy podcast creator Keanna Faircloth adds celebrity flair to Weekend #2 as festival host. Recognized by Radio Ink Magazine as a 2019 African American leader in radio, Faircloth got her start on-air at WPFW 89.3 FM in 2003, most recently as the host of Late Night Jazz: The Continuum Experience. She has written for NPR Music, and worked for Radio One as an on-air personality, producer and voice-over talent and has interviewed artists like Wynton Marsalis, Matthew Whitaker, Jonathan Butler, and Dionne Warwick. Faircloth introduces Aaron Parks & Samantha Rise: Dreaming Home on Saturday, February 25 at 7pm and Endea Owens & The Cookout on Sunday, February 26 at 3pm.
Also adding star power to Weekend Two is GRAMMY award-winner Meshell Ndegeocello. The former Hudsonian is best known for pioneering the sound of neo-soul and contributing to records by John Mellencamp, Madonna, Chaka Khan, and The Rolling Stones, Ndegeocello joins the lineup as bassist on the world premiere of jazz pianist Aaron Parks and spoken word artist Samantha Rise’s Dreaming Home on Saturday, February 25 at 7pm. Commissioned by Hudson Hall and devised by Parks and Rise, the work draws on the teachings of plant and animal teachers, movement ancestors, and musical ceremony to encourage a rediscovery of the balance between individuality and belonging. JK Kim (drums) and Milena Casado (flugelhorn) complete the evening’s lineup. “Engaging our capacity for complex connections, and honoring the profound grief of our time, Dreaming Home acknowledges the ways in which we’ve become alienated from our planet and all its people,” says Parks. “It invites us to the challenge of reconciliation toward a more just, joyful world.”
FREE MASTERCLASS FOR STUDENTS & COMMUNITY DINNERS
The theme of connection and belonging weaves throughout the Hudson Jazz Festival, reflecting Hudson Hall’s mission to make the arts accessible to all.
Ulysses Owens Jr. gives a free masterclass for Hudson High School students on Thursday, February 23 ahead of his 7pm show with the quintet Generation Y.
Community connection is further strengthened with the closing show of the festival: bassist Endea Owens and her band The Cookout on Sunday, February 26 at 3pm. A star on the rise, Owens was Lincoln Center’s Emerging Artist of 2019 and is a member of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's house band. Early in the pandemic she established The Community Cookout, an organization that strives to make New York a better place through music, activism, and meals. In the spirit of Endea’s mission, Hudson Hall has partnered with Operation Unite NY to present the Hudson Jazz Festival Community Dinner, a communal livestream simulcast of Endea’s concert accompanied by a hot meal at the State Street AME Zion Church, plus meals delivered to homebound seniors and community residents along with access to the livestream.
MERCHANTS SOCIAL OFFERS FESTIVAL GOERS SPECIAL IN-THEATER MENU
Hudson Hall is pleased to partner with Chef John DeLucie’s Warren Street restaurant, Merchants Social, to offer festival goers a delicious Hudson Valley-centric selection of food and drinks right in the comfort of the theater. Menu highlights include shrimp cocktail, roasted vegetable plate, and roasted chicken salad with garlic aioli, spelt-caramelized onion scone. View the full menu at hudsonhall.org/event/hudson-jazz-festival
‘HUDSON JAZZ FESTIVAL AFTER HOURS’ ANNOUNCED
The Hudson Jazz Festival experience deepens this year with the addition of local ‘Hudson Jazz Festival After Hours’ events at The Park Theater (723 Warren Street) and Padrona (17 North 4th Street). Produced by each venue and separate to the main festival lineup, the events give audiences a chance to sip, snack, and sway all weekend long. Events at the Park Theater include Tani Tabbal’s Trio Triptych hosted by Reggie Madison ($18; cash bar) on Saturday February 18 at 9pm, and The Tyler Blanton Group ($30; cash bar) on Saturday February 25 at 9pm. Padrona hosts pianist Tony Kieraldo (Postmodern Jukebox) for ragtime-inspired music on both Friday and Saturday evenings of the festival (no cover, no minimum). Information and tickets at parktheaterhudson.com and padrona-hudson.com.
2023 HUDSON JAZZ FESTIVAL: FULL LINEUP
Single tickets start at $30
WEEKEND ONE
Hudson Jazz Festival Opening Night Party
Thursday, February 16 from 5-7pm, Free
Exhibition Opening - Marine Penvern: Body & Soul
Live Music by Ed Cherry (guitar) & Kyle Koehler (keyboard)
Sarah Elizabeth Charles + SCOPE
Friday, February 17 at 7pm
Sarah Elizabeth Charles – vocals
Jesse Fischer – piano/keyboards
Rashaan Carter – bass
John Davis – drums
Laetitia Kaing – artwork
Marquis Hill – New Gospel Revisited
Saturday, February 18 at 7pm
Marquis Hill – trumpet
Joel Ross – vibes and piano
Dezron Douglas – bass
Michel Piolet – drums
Michael Mayo
Sunday, February 19 at 3pm
Michael Mayo, vocals
Andrew Freedman, keys
Tamir Shmerling, bass
Robin Baytas, drums
WEEKEND TWO
Ulysses Owens Jr. & Generation Y
Presented in Partnership with Louis Armstrong House Museum and Archives
Thursday, February 23 at 7pm
Ulysses Owens Jr. – drums
Anthony Hervey – trumpet
Birsa Chatterjee – saxophone
Tyler Bullock – piano
Philip Norris – bass
Milton Suggs – vocals
Lucy Yeghiazaryan & Vanisha Gould
Friday, February 24 at 7pm
Lucy Yeghiazaryan – vocals
Vanisha Gould – vocals
Dan Pappalardo – Bass
Eric Zolan – guitar
Ludovica Burtone – violin
Kate Victor – cello
Aaron Parks & Samantha Rise: Dreaming Home
Saturday, February 25 at 7pm*
Aaron Parks – piano
Samantha Rise – vocals
Meshell Ndegeocello – bass
JK Kim – drums
Milena Casado – flugelhorn and trumpet
*Hosted by Keanna Faircloth
Endea Owens & The Cookout
Sunday, February 26 at 3pm*
Endea Owens – bass
Alexis Lombre – piano
Jerome Jennings – drums
Ekep Nkwelle – voice
Jeffrey Miller – trombone
TBA, trumpet
*Hosted by Keanna Faircloth
ABOUT HUDSON JAZZ FESTIVAL
Since its inception in 2018, the annual Hudson Jazz Festival (HJF) has grown in both size and reputation, attracting audiences to the historic City of Hudson in the bucolic Hudson Valley (two hours north of New York City via Amtrak) to experience world-class jazz in Hudson Hall’s beautifully restored 19th century theater. The 2023 lineup cements the festival’s standing with exceptional talents: vocalist Sarah Elizabeth Charles and her band SCOPE, “dauntingly skilled trumpeter” (New York Times) Marquis Hill, genre-defying vocalist Michael Mayo, multiple GRAMMY-nominated drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. & Generation Y, visionary pianist Aaron Parks introducing songcatcher and performer Samantha Rise, the warmth and sophistication of vocalists Vanisha Gould and Lucy Yeghiazaryan presenting their ‘In Her Words’ project, and Lincoln Center’s Emerging Artist of 2019 and Detroit native, bassist Endea Owens & The Cookout. The 2023 Hudson Jazz Festival also features a visual art exhibition featuring the work of Hudson artist and fashion designer, Marine Penvern.
2023 Hudson Jazz Festival Announcement Press Release
High-Res Images available here