The Queens arts community kicks off its annual salute to the borough’s long jazz history tonight, July 9, with the first of eight outdoor performances in the Queens Jazz Trail Concert Series.
The third annual series features free concerts on eight consecutive Thursdays at eight different parks in Queens through Aug. 27. Opening night features Grammy-nominated flutist and composer Itai Kriss & Televana in Travers Park in Jackson Heights.
All shows start at 7 p.m., and all performances are rain or shine. Lawn chairs, picnic blankets, snacks and dancing shoes are encouraged.
The series is presented by the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College, Flushing Town Hall, the Louis Armstrong House Museum and the city’s Parks Department.
“Just show up!” says one of the posters for the series.
The series is inspired by Flushing Town Hall’s Jazz Trail Map, which depicts the homes of jazz legends such as Armstrong, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett, Lena Horne and others.
“Flushing Town Hall is a home for jazz,” FTH Executive and Artistic Director Ellen Kodadek said in a press release. “And we’re delighted to share Queens’ rich Jazz history through this partnership.”
The illustrated map can be found online at tinyurl.com/2mbbbsk9.
Additional support for the series has been provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation; Resorts World New York City; Northwell Health; Maspeth Federal Savings; the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs; AARP New York; and Queens College.
“We’re proud to continue celebrating the extraordinary jazz history of Queens through this concert series,” said Jon Yanofsky, director of Kupferberg Center for the Arts. “Each summer, these performances bring communities together in parks across the borough while honoring the artists and cultural traditions that helped shape jazz history right here in Queens.”
Singers and musicians Vincent Herring and Steve Turre will perform a John Coltrane centennial celebration on July 16 at Baisley Pond Park in Jamaica.
Six-time Grammy-winning pianist, composer and bandleader Arturo O’Farrell will perform Afro-Latin jazz selections on July 23 at the Forest Park Bandshell in Woodhaven.
Trombonist, composer and arranger John Yao and his 17-Piece Instrument Band will perform big band numbers July 30 at Bowne Park in Flushing.
Internationally acclaimed trombonist, composer, recording artist and educator Wycliffe Gordon will appear Aug. 6 at Rockaway Beach Park in Far Rockaway. He also serves as director of Jazz Studies at Augusta University in Georgia.
Aug. 13 will feature trumpeter Wallace Roney Jr. on the stage at Archie Springer Park in Jamaica for a concert titled “Miles Davis @ 100.” He has performed with celebrated artists such as Chick Corea, Jimmy Heath and Ornette Coleman.
Brass Queens, a female-led, Brooklyn-based brass band, will perform on Aug. 20 at Cunningham Park in Fresh Meadows, blending New York energy with the traditions of New Orleans brass music combining jazz, pop, reggaeton, mambo and classic rock.
Singer and violinist Lucy Yeghiazaryan will bring this year’s series to a close in a Tony Bennett centennial celebration on Aug. 27 at Astoria Park . She has performed at Lincoln Center and the Birdland Jazz Club and Theater in Manhattan.
Additional information is available at kupferbergcenter.org.