JVC Lights Up New York

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The 2008 JVC Jazz Festival in New York lights up the city June 15–28 with 38 concerts plus nearly 200 additional events at clubs, schools, museums, retail outlets and other venues throughout the city.

Highlights of this year’s fest include Herbie Hancock and the River Of Possibilities Tour; a celebration of 50 years of bossa nova starring João Gilberto; Bad Plus 1 featuring Kurt Rosenwinkel. Other artists include Jill Scott, Mos Def Big Band with special guest Gil Scott-Heron, Charlie Haden Quartet West and Bill Frisell Trio; tributes to pianist Hank Jones, Art D’Lugoff’s Salsa Meets Jazz and Jack Kleinsinger’s Highlights In Jazz, as well as performances by Chris Botti, Al Green, Cecil Taylor, Soulive with guest Joshua Redman, George Cables and Sergio Mendes.

Concerts will be held at several venues including Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium and Zankel Hall, New York Society for Ethical Culture, Le Poisson Rouge and Rubin Museum of Art.

Throughout the festival, clubs will offer special discounts to festival ticket holders for select shows at the Blue Note, Birdland, Cachaça, Iridium, Smoke and Zinc.

More info: festivalnetwork.com



  • Cassandra_Wilson_%40_2026_Mark_Sheldon-2_copy_2.jpg

    Wilson’s ability to connect to audiences helped her to win two Grammy awards and multiple other accolades. She was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2022.

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    Bertoncini was a specialist and advocate for the nylon-string acoustic guitar, turning down high-profile opportunities that were unsuited to the sound and techniques that he used with that instrument.

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    A solo concert by saxophonist Joshua Redman will close the first night of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Sept. 26.

  • Coltrane_John_by_Joe_Alper_copy.jpeg

    “It was just that suddenly … I could hear it,” Ravi Coltrane said of an epiphany he experienced during his late teens regarding his father’s music. “And it was almost like a calling, like something saying, ‘Hey, man, come on. It’s time to get serious.’ And the first time you really tune in and dial in and focus like that, it can be very life-changing.”

  • Thurman_copy.jpeg

    Camille Thurman took to the stage alongside bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Tommy Campbell for a rendition of Johnny Mercer’s “I’m An Old Cowhand” that recalled Rollins’ epochal 1957 trio outing Way Out West.