(HUDSON, N.Y.) – The 2022 edition of the Hudson Jazz Festival, dubbed “Lift Every Voice” after the Black national anthem, promises an eight-day festival celebrating the artistry of Black jazz musicians and their innovation of the genre. The festival, taking place over the course of two long weekends (February 10-13 and 17-20) at Hudson Hall, features performances by multi-Grammy Award-nominated singer Jazzmeia Horn, multi-Grammy Award-nominated duo the Baylor Project; rising star vocalist Alexis Morrast; acclaimed vibraphonist Warren Wolf; Grammy Award-nominated saxophonist/composer Jimmy Greene and his quartet; and spoken-word artist, activist and Tony Award-nominated actor Daniel J. Watts. All mainstage concerts will take place live and in person at Hudson Hall and will also be available for free via livestream.

 

The Hudson Jazz Festival 2022 also offers a free visual art exhibition curated by Mike Mosby, featuring the extraordinary work of Kirby Crone, Scott Keightley, Marisol Martinez, Louise Smith, and Catalina Viejo Lopez de Roda. Other highlights include a free film screening of the documentary Let Freedom Sing: How Music Inspired the Civil Rights Movement and a partnership with the Louis Armstrong House Museum & Archives (LAHM), including an installation of footage from their extensive archives and a performance entitled “Armstrong Now! An Evening of Spoken Word & Music” — featuring Daniel J. Watts and an all-star ensemble. The co-presentation with LAHM is part of its “Voices of Freedom” series, exploring the role of art as a vehicle for social change.

 

Festival curator Cat Henry said, “Music and art played a significant role during the pandemic in sustaining people through isolation, loss, and uncertainty. The festival now allows artists to reconnect with live audiences to provide enrichment of the soul and spirit to the Hudson community.”

 

COMPLETE 2022 HUDSON JAZZ FESTIVAL LINE-UP

 

All events at Hudson Hall, 327 Warren Street, Hudson, N.Y.

 

 

WEEKEND #1 – FEBRUARY 10 — 13

Opening Night Exhibition and Street Party

Sponsored by Chronogram

 

Thursday, February 10, 2022, from 6pm

Free; cash bar

The 2022 Hudson Jazz Festival kicks off with the opening of LOOK AGAIN, an art exhibition that brings together a range of artists working in the field of abstraction. Guests are invited to attend the timed-ticketed show and then encouraged to step outside to City Hall Place for a casual drink under the stars. The street party will include libations courtesy of Kat Dunn of Barside Manner (cash bar) and music by DJ FULATHELA.

 

Concert: The Baylor Project

Friday, February 11 at 7pm

Tickets start at $35

Jean Baylor (vocals)

Marcus Baylor (drums)

Freddie Hendrix (trumpet)

Keith Loftis (saxophones)

Keith Brown (piano)

Richie Goods (bass)

Faith, love, and a sense of community ground the married duo of Jean and Marcus Baylor, who together are the force behind four-time Grammy Award-nominated the Baylor Project. Their music springs from gospel, blues, and soul – culminating in a richly integrated take on jazz. Vocalist Jean was formerly half of the duo Zhane, while Marcus has drummed with the acclaimed quartet the Yellowjackets. According to Jazz Times, their recent album, Generations, with its “brassy swagger and cool vocals… cements [the Baylors’] role as trendsetters.”

 

 

Concert: Alexis Morrast

Saturday, February 12 at 7pm

Tickets start at $25

 

Alexis Morrast (vocals)

James Austin, Jr. (piano)

Ben Rubens (bass)

Jeremy Warren (drums)

Just 20 years old, singer/songwriter Alexis Morrast has already performed at major venues like the Kennedy Center and Dizzy’s Club (Jazz at Lincoln Center), captivating audiences with her charisma and imaginative stylings. She is a two-time Apollo Amateur Night champion and a winner of Showtime at the Apollo on national television. Her collaborations include recordings with Tony Award-winner Christine Ebersole, Greg Phillinganes, and Grammy Award-nominated Michael Feinstein.

 

 

Film Screening:

Let Freedom Sing: How Music Inspired the Civil Rights Movement (2009)

Sunday, February 13 at 3pm

FREE, reservations recommended

Whether it was blues, folk, gospel, or R&B, the civil rights movement drew strength, focus, and power through music. Narrated by Louis Gosset Jr., Let Freedom Sing (dir. Jon Goodman, 2009) is a formidable chronicle of the individuals who cried out, in song, against inequality, racism, poverty, and war. From never-before-seen footage and affecting accounts from the Mississippi Freedom Riders, who sang every day as they risked life and limb, to Grammy Award-winning artists who continue to pen inspired lyrics capable of moving a nation, this powerful documentary explores the civil rights movement and its continuing impact on music, politics, and culture.

Please note: The previously announced “Community Sing” has been replaced by a short film performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” featuring Hudson community members led by Anneice Cousin and accompanied by David Sytkowski.

 

 

 

WEEKEND #2 – PRESIDENTS’ DAY WEEKEND, FEBRUARY 17–20

Armstrong Now! An Evening of Spoken Word & Music featuring Daniel J. Watts

Co-presented by the Louis Armstrong House Museum

Thursday, February 17 at 7pm

Tickets are $25

 

Daniel J. Watts (actor, tap)

Jake Goldbas (music director, drums)

Alphonso Horne (trumpet)

Michael Stephenson (saxophone)

Mathis Picard (piano)

Zwelakhe-Duma Bell le Pere (bass)

 

Recent Tony Award-nominee Daniel J. Watts has teamed up with Louis Armstrong House Museum program director Jake Goldbas to create an unforgettable evening of music, spoken word, and tap dance. Louis Armstrong is as much a part of the future as his legacy defined the past. Watts will lead the audience through poems, songs, and more that deconstruct the complexities of Armstrong’s life, with a stellar band featuring Alphonso Horne, Michael Stephenson, Mathis Picard, Zwelakhe-Duma Bell le Pere and Jake Goldbas.

In partnership with the Louis Armstrong House Museum’s “Voices of Freedom” project and the Hudson City School District, this event is preceded by a 3 week in-school spoken word workshop for Hudson High School students led by Daniel J. Watts.

 

Concert: Warren Wolf

Friday, February 18 at 7pm

Tickets start at $25

Warren Wolf (vibraphone)

Alex Brown (piano)

Virtuoso musician and multi-instrumentalist Warren Wolf is joined by his close friend and frequent collaborator Alex Brown to perform the music of Gary Burton and Chick Corea. One of the top duos in jazz, Burton and Corea captured the hearts of audiences worldwide with their musicality and astounding chemistry. Wolf and Brown perform classics from their extensive repertoire such as Armando’s Rhumba, Spain, Falling Grace and others.

 

 

Concert: Jazzmeia Horn

Saturday, February 19 at 7pm

Tickets start at $35

Jazzmeia Horn (vocals)

Chris Beck (drums)

Sean Mason (piano)

Barry Stephenson (bass)

Jazzmeia Horn’s name is an eerily accurate moniker for a musical prodigy – and indeed, this young singer/songwriter has forged an exhilarating path forward while keeping an ear trained on the classics. Raised in Dallas, Horn attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts before moving to New York City. She studied at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, where her talent was encouraged by mentors such as Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln, and Bobby McFerrin. After winning notable jazz competitions in 2013 and 2015, Horn’s 2017 debut album, A Social Call, garnered a Grammy nomination; her second album, Love and Liberation (2019) was also nominated. Horn is an NAACP Image Award recipient, and her recently released Dear Love – an album that features big band boldness as well as sublime spoken word – has been nominated for a 2022 Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. The album, which was released on her own Empress Legacy Records label, makes history as the first time a female vocalist has composed, arranged, and fronted a big band album in its entirety.

 

 

Concert: Jimmy Greene Quartet

Sunday, February 20 at 3pm

Tickets start at $25

Jimmy Greene (saxophones)

Christian Sands (piano)

Reuben Rogers (bass)

Jonathan Barber (drums)

Saxophonist Jimmy Greene delves deep into the human condition as well as our collective potential for spiritual uplift. A native of Connecticut, Greene lost his daughter in 2012 to the Sandy Hook mass shooting. This tragedy, combined with the impact of various waves of social unrest, has led him to emerge as one of the most mature jazz artists working today.

Greene has released ten albums – including the Grammy Award-nominated Beautiful Life (2014) – and plays at festivals and venues around the world. He won the Benny Golson Jazz Master Award at Howard University, as well as Downbeat magazine’s 66th Annual Critics Poll for Rising Star, Soprano Saxophone. When he’s not on the road, Greene serves as Associate Professor of Music at Western Connecticut State University.

 

 

FESTIVAL EXHIBITIONS

Group Exhibition: LOOK AGAIN

Curated by Mike Mosby

February 10 – April 10, 2022

Featuring work by: Kirby Crone, Catalina Viejo Lopez de Roda, Scott Keightley, Marisol Martinez, Louise Smith

The works in LOOK AGAIN demonstrate each artist’s dedication to experimentations in color, form, and content. Coming from varied backgrounds and lived experiences, the artists emphasize the intangible bonds that connect us all, underneath perceived social differences.

 

Video Installation: ARMSTRONG NOW

A co-presentation with the Louis Armstrong House Museum

February 10 – 20, 2022

Featuring: Derrick Baskin, Melanie Charles, Braxton Cook, Naomi Extra, Kayla Farrish, Michael Mayo, Alita Moses, Martha Nichols, Christian Sands, Negah Santos, Vuyo Sotashe, Daniel J Watts, and Brett Williams.

The Louis Armstrong Archives is among the most significant Black archival collections in the world, and one of the most substantial of any jazz musician. Armstrong Now engages renowned Black artists to respond creatively to the newly digitized Armstrong Archives. The result of these engagements is the development of new collaborative projects, art works, and a suite of short films. With this new programmatic and interpretive expansion, Armstrong Now aspires to contextualize Armstrong’s contributions and place them firmly within historic and 21st-century constellations of Black making, thinking, and vitality.

 

 

Hudson Jazz Festival curator Cat Henry is a creative producer specializing in the visioning and planning of concerts, tours, and public programs. Curator of jazz programs for Hudson Hall, Henry has previously curated concerts for MoMA Summergarden: New Music for New York, featuring composers such as Henry Threadgill, Myra Melford, and Don Byron, and produced programs for Lincoln Center’s first ever Poet-in-Residence, Mahogany L. Browne. Henry was recently named executive director of Live Music Society, a foundation supporting grassroots music venues where musicians begin their careers and develop their craft. Previously, she served as Vice President, Concerts and Touring, for Jazz at Lincoln Center, where she oversaw hundreds of season performances and tours, co-productions with City Center Encores!, and artistic collaborations with partners including The Barbican Centre London, HopeBoykinDance, and Sesame Workshop. Henry is a fellow of the Executive Program in Arts and Culture Strategy at the University of Pennsylvania and holds a BFA in Jazz Performance from the New School. She lives in Brooklyn with her teenage daughter.

 

TICKETING: Single event tickets start at $25, Weekend Festival Passes (Valentine’s Weekend or President’s Weekend) start at $68. All mainstage concerts will be livestreamed. Reservations are encouraged for all free events and required to access the free live streams. Tickets and reservation information at Hudson Hall or by phone (518) 822-1438.

 

CONCESSIONS: Kat Dunn of Buttercup will be offering a delicious selection of food and drink throughout the festival. To view the full menu, visit Hudson Hall

 

COVID-19 SAFETY: Hudson Hall requires all ticket holders attending live, in-person events, as well as performers, staff and volunteers, to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19. In light of the recent surge in cases and in keeping with CDC recommendations, Hudson Hall now also requires proof of a COVID-19 booster shot for all those eligible to receive it. Click here to view the full COVID-19 policy.

 

For more information or tickets, visit Hudson Hall.