by Michelle Mullen

Nonprofit Riverdale-Kingsbridge Jazz Collective is working to bring more live music to the northwest Bronx, offering low- or no-cost performances while creating new opportunities for musicians who reside here.

Known as RiKi Jazz, the organization is led by a four-member board helmed by local musicians — Rob Susman, Tony Romano, Dan Asher and Chris Anderson — who formed the collective to expand access to the genre in Riverdale and Kingsbridge, particularly in spaces outside traditional clubs and concert halls.

Although the four sometimes perform together, the collective was not formed as a fixed band, instead bringing guest musicians into its rotating lineup to fill up a stage alongside performing members. Susman said each member was chosen not only for what they bring musically, but for skills that help run and grow the organization, from social media and community connections to professional experience in the jazz world.

The group has staged several performances at Riverdale Neighborhood House’s annual Music in the Garden and other community events. Eventually, its members hope to expand into restaurants, schools and religious institutions, with the larger goal of organizing a Riverdale-Kingsbridge jazz festival.

The idea grew from something Susman noticed was missing from greater Riverdale, he said. He had performed with similar nonprofit organizations elsewhere in New York, including Washington Heights’s Jazz WaHi, and wondered why a neighborhood with so many working musicians and jazz listeners had relatively few opportunities to share their craft with an audience.

“A lot of people who live in Riverdale are great musicians or jazz fans,” Susman said, but when it comes to live music, “Riverdale’s a little bit of a desert.”

Susman, who teaches music production and band at Riverdale Country School, assembled the board not simply as a performing group, but as an organization that could help provide work for other musicians.

“We’re not a band, although we do play together a lot, and we like playing together a lot,” he said.

RiKi Jazz tries to feature at least one guest artist at each performance, sometimes two, giving musicians from the area another place to be heard.

Romano, a guitarist who has lived in Riverdale for 22 years and worked as a professional musician and educator for more than three decades, said joining the project felt natural.

“Just being part of the community, I thought it was a perfect thing to do,” Romano said. “Just bringing the music to people and bringing people together, I think, is an awesome thing to do.”

Riverdale Neighborhood House has become something of a home base for the young organization. Romano already had ties to its Music in the Garden series and suggested it as a venue when RiKi Jazz was getting started last year.

The setting also helped the collective reach families and younger listeners who might be less likely to encounter jazz in a nightclub or formal concert hall. Instead, it served as a space where children gathered nearby, dancing as the band played.

“That’s my favorite,” Romano said. “It just kind of warms your heart when that happens.”

Children, he said, often respond to music before developing preconceived ideas about what they like. They hear drums or a horn and begin moving.

“That’s sort of like just unbiased enthusiasm that comes out of them,” Romano said.

Exposing new listeners to jazz is a central part of the collective’s mission. Romano said jazz occupies a much smaller place in mainstream American music than it once did, making live performances especially important for introducing the genre to people who may not encounter it through radio, streaming services or social media.

Live performance is also fundamental to jazz itself, Romano said, because improvisation allows musicians to respond to one another and the audience in real time.

“It’s like you’re having a conversation musically,” he said. “That’s the essence of what jazz is.”

RiKi Jazz remains in its early stages and has not yet secured formal grant funding, but formed as a nonprofit last fall. Board members have largely donated their time when performing, while small donations have allowed the organization to compensate some guest musicians.

Grant funding could allow the collective to expand that model.

Susman hopes to place small ensembles in Riverdale and Kingsbridge restaurants, using outside funding to compensate musicians without putting the cost entirely on businesses. He also wants to bring concerts into schools and other community institutions that may not have the resources to hire professional performers.

Romano would also like RiKi Jazz to eventually provide opportunities for younger local musicians, including high school students looking for places to perform.

The biggest ambition, however, is a jazz festival showcasing the musicians who call the area home.

Romano said Riverdale has seen an influx of strong musicians during his two decades in the neighborhood, while Susman has imagined a festival that could eventually include a major stage in Van Cortlandt Park.

For now, the collective is concentrating on building an audience, adding venues and securing the support needed to grow.

“There’s lots of communities, including lots of Westchester and New Jersey, that have pretty good jazz festivals,” Susman said. “Riverdale should have one.”

Keywords

RiKi Jazz,

Riverdale-Kingsbridge Jazz Collective,

Riverdale jazz,

Kingsbridge jazz,

live music,

Bronx jazz,

northwest Bronx,

Rob Susman,

Tony Romano,

Dan Asher,

Chris Anderson,

Riverdale Neighborhood House,

Music in the Garden,

Jazz WaHi,

local musicians,

jazz festival,

Van Cortlandt Park,

Bronx arts,

community music,

live performances,

jazz education,

Riverdale Country School