Several Queens residents gathered to watch the first performance of the Queens Jazz Trail Concert Series on Thursday, July 9, at Travers Park.
Photo by Alice Moreno
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Queens is widely known as the world’s borough, but did you know that it contains a rich jazz history? Jazz legends such as Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Tony Bennett once roamed the streets of Queens, creating a culture of jazz that is still loved today.
The Queens Jazz Trail concert series brings jazz to the borough – all for free.
The Kupferberg Center for the Arts, Flushing Town Hall and the Louis Armstrong House Museum are hosting their third annual Queens Jazz Trail. Their first concert of the series was held on Thursday, July 9, at Travers Park in Jackson Heights. The event is inspired by the Queens Jazz Trail map, which was created by Flushing Town Hall to showcase locations where jazz legends once lived.
Attendees of the first performance of the Queens Jazz Trail Concert Series. Photo by Alice Moreno
“[Jazz Trail Concert Series] is to highlight [jazz] history, but also to point a direction in the future,” Kupferberg Center for the Arts Director Jon Yanofsky said. “So all these artists represent the kind of blossoming of this music and this art form the hyphenated forms of jazz: there’s afro jazz, there’s latin jazz, there’s acid jazz [and] there’s hip hop jazz.”
The first artist to appear in the Jazz Trail concert series was Telavana – a mix between Tel Aviv (where frontman Itai Kriss is from) and Havana, Cuba (the country that inspired their music). Members include Kriss on the flute, Tamir Shmerling on bass, Dan Aran on drums and Samuel Torres on percussion. Guest stars include Camila Cortina on piano and Alex Norris on trumpet.
Telavana performed at the first concert. Photo by Alice Moreno
Kriss moved to the United States from Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2002 to pursue a career in jazz. He started the band in 2013. He describes the band’s music as a love letter to not only Cuban and Caribbean sounds (such as salsa), but also the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
Itai Kriss (left), the frontman of Telavana, plays multiple instruments. Photo by Alice Moreno
“I fell in love with Cuban music and salsa and Latin music in general when I was still in high school,” Kriss said. “So coming from a jazz background, and then really getting into salsa and all of the different Latin American traditions, it just felt natural for me to combine all those influences. Plus, it’s the music that I’ve been hearing on the radio since I was a child back in Israel. So it all came together.”
Photo by Alice Moreno
During the show, Telavana played a variety of songs from their albums, including their self-titled record, “Virgo,” “Super Moon” and a double-album, “All Aboard Volume 1 Departures” and “All Aboard Volume 2 Arrivals.” Additionally, they played some songs that they have yet to record, for their upcoming album.
Photo by Alice Moreno
Future performances for the Queens Jazz Trail concert series include Vincent Herring and Steve Turre celebrating John Coltrane at Baisley Pond Park in Jamaica on July 16, Arturo O’Farrill at Forest Park Bandshell in Woodhaven on July 23, John Yao and his 17-piece instrument at Bowne Park in Flushing on July 30, Wycliffe Gordon at Rockaway Beach Park in Far Rockaway on Aug. 6, Wallace Roney Jr. celebrating Miles Davis at Archie Spigner Park in Jamaica on Aug. 13, Brass Queens at Cunningham Park in Fresh Meadows on Aug. 20 and Lucy Yeghiazaryan celebrating Tony Bennett at Astoria Park in Astoria on Aug. 27. All concerts are free and open to the public.
Photo by Alice Moreno