Younger Returns to BRIC JazzFest as Artist Curator

  I  
Image

Makaya McCraven will perform at Brooklyn’s BRIC JazzFest on Oct. 18.

(Photo: Courtesy BRIC)

BRIC, a multi-disciplinary arts and media institution based in Brooklyn, New York, has announced the return of the BRIC JazzFest, which will run Oct. 17–19 at BRIC House (647 Fulton St.).

Since its inception in 2015, BRIC JazzFest has presented the next generation of cutting-edge jazz talent at BRIC House alongside some of the biggest names in the genre. The festival fosters opportunities for rising stars like Artist Curator Brandee Younger, who has grown from a young performer at the first-ever BRIC JazzFest in 2015 to BRIC’s esteemed 2024 curatorial partner.

“BRIC JazzFest 2015 was a transformative experience,” Younger said. “The backstage energy was electric, and witnessing Kamasi Washington’s live debut was a career-defining moment. To return as curator a decade later is surreal. Beyond the thrill of performing, I’m deeply honored to celebrate this incredible community of artists. Seeing dear friends ascend to headlining status and discovering fresh talent is a dream come true.”

Set across two stages and three nights, this year’s BRIC JazzFest lineup includes drummer, composer and producer Makaya McCraven (Oct. 18); saxophonist, arranger, composer and educator Lakecia Benjamin (Oct. 19); groundbreaking harpist Brandee Younger with her trio featuring Rashaan Carter and Allan Mednard (Oct. 17); bassist Reggie Workman (Oct. 19); drummer, producer and educator Terri Lyne Carrington’s Art of Living project (Oct. 18); vocalist and poet Allysha Joy (Oct. 19); Spanish composer, trumpeter and flugelhorn player Milena Casado (Oct. 17); Panama-born, Chicago-based drummer and DJ Daniel Villarreal (Oct. 18); and bassist, singer and composer Mali Obomsawin (Oct. 17).

To view the full BRIC JazzFest 10th anniversary lineup, CLICK HERE. DB



  • Coltrane_John_008_copy_2.jpg

    “This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.

  • 2tx3p_BNJF2025LineupApr11080x1350--1_copy.jpg

    The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall.

  • Ethan_Iverson_by_David_Moressi_2024_copy.jpg

    “I’m certainly influenced by Geri Allen,” said Iverson, during a live Blindfold Test at the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival.

  • Isaiah_Collier_by_Michael_Jackson_2025.jpg

    “At the end of the day, once you’ve run out of differences, we’re left with similarities,” Collier says. “Cultural differences are mitigated through 12 notes.”

  • Andy_Bey_NYC_2014_by_Steven_Sussman_copy.jpg

    “It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”

    Vocalist Andy Bey Dies at 85

    Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…


On Sale Now
June 2025
Theo Croker
Look Inside
Subscribe
Print | Digital | iPad