Riverview Jazz Festival back for bigger year


By Summer Dawn Hortillosa / The Jersey Journal
on May 30, 2014 at 8:04 AM


Only a year after its inception, the organization behind the Riverview Jazz Festival in Jersey City Heights is hoping to take the entire city by storm.

With the second annual Riverview Jazz Festival coming up this Sunday, arts organization RiverviewJazz.org is kicking off what they hope will be a year of music events. The festival, which will run in conjunction with the Farms in the Heights farmers market in Riverview-Fisk Park, features five local artists from different ends of the jazz spectrum.

Performers include returning act New Tricks featuring JC trumpeter Ted Chubb, drummer Vince Ector?s Organatomy and the Mark Guiliana Quartet with soprano Gretchen Parlato. To wrap, the Brightside Trio from Brightside Tavern will lead the day?s performers in an all-star jam.

?Last year, it was just a few of us who lived near Ogden Avenue and the Heights community doing this. Now we?re working year-round to really get this up,? said co-founder Bryan Beninghove, who is also playing the festival with Beninghove?s Hangmen, a group that plays ?surf-noir? tunes that sound like they came straight from a Tarentino film.

Beninghove says while Jersey City?s hunger for jazz and other live music is growing, there are few venues to give the crowds their fill. The people need more than outdoor music showcases like Groove on Grove and nontraditional venues like Lamp Post Bar and Grille, he says.

?The community is ripe to support different arts events and I really think this event has potential to be a bigger thing, with even more venues involved and doing events throughout the week,? he added. ?The Heights has changed so much now -- the community really wants to do things.?

The Riverview Jazz Festival will be Sunday, June 1, from noon to 6 p.m. at Riverview-Fisk Park, Palisade Avenue between Bowers and Griffith streets, in Jersey City. For more information and to learn more about the lineup, visit RiverviewJazz.org.

No big band?

We're expecting a beautiful, sunny day, with a high of 74? and a slight breeze. Here's a quick guide if you'll be using public transportation.

From New York:

Port Authority But Terminal, Bus #123
http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/bus/T0123.pdf

or

From Hoboken PATH Station to NJ Transit #87 Bus
http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/bus/T0087.pdf

From Downtown Jersey City:

NJ Transit 86P Bus
http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/bus/T0086.pdf

Jitney

From Union City:

NJ Transit 84P Bus
http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/bus/T0084.pdf
NJ Transit 86P Bus
http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/bus/T0086.pdf

Jitney

From Newark:

PATH to Journal Square

From Journal Square:

NJ Transit 84P Bus
http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/bus/T0084.pdf

Jitney

This lineup is worthy of a venue like Lincoln Center! I'm so pleased to see this in my neighborhood, and for free!! See you there.

The Jersey City Heights? burgeoning jazz scene will be the focus of the second annual Riverview Jazz Festival, June 1, at Jersey City?s Historic Riverview Fisk Park.




Rain Date: June 8

Presented by RiverviewJazz.Org and Farms in the Heights, the festival will be a free, day-long event
featuring live performances, food vendors, a jazz photography exhibit by reknowned photographer Mickey
Mathis, and children?s activities.

?We are excited to be showcasing some amazing live talent and celebrating the vibrant diversity of Jersey
City Heights,? said Will Tatz, the festival?s organizer. ?Anyone who has been to Riverview Fisk Park knows
how spectacular the views are. It?s a great showcase for the newly designated Riverview Arts District,
and even though our historic gazebo was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, this park has hosted live
performances dating back to the early 20th century, and we intend to keep the tradition alive. It will be a
unique musical experience for the city.?
The lineup for the festival features five musically diverse artists, each with ties to Jersey City, which is one
of the most culturally diverse communities in the world. The festival is being held in conjunction with the
weekly Farms in the Heights farmer?s market, which features locally-sourced and wholesome food
vendors.

Official Lineup for the Second Annual Riverview Jazz Festival
New Tricks featuring Ted Chubb : noon
Founded by Ted Chubb and Mike Lee, New Tricks is a tightly-knit quartet committed to musical
exploration, featuring memorable compositions, dynamic group interplay and infectious groove. New
Tricks has developed a unique sound and singularity of purpose over the past six years of touring
nationally and performing locally in NYC.
Originally hailing from Ohio and currently residing in Jersey City, trumpeter Ted Chubb has made a name
for himself performing with the likes of Wallace Roney, Billy Hart, Steve Turre, and Christian McBride to
name a few. Ted has presented clinics at some of the most recognized music schools and conservatories
nationwide, and serves as Manager of Student and Artistic Performance as well as Teaching Artist for
Jazz House Kids.
www.newtricksjazz.com

Vince Ector?s Organatomy : 1:15pm
Vince Ector is one of the most in demand drummers in the NJ/ NYC area, having worked with jazz
luminaries that include: NEA Jazz Masters, Freddie Hubbard, Randy Weston, James Moody, Slide
Hampton and Jimmy Heath; as well as Gloria Lynne, Charles Earland, Bobby Watson, Lou Donaldson,
Grover Washington Jr., Dr Lonnie Smith, Ron Carter, Claudio Roditi, and Shirley Scott. He currently is in
demand performing with the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars, Nat Adderly Jr, and Ben E. King. An
accomplished musician with no confinements, Mr. Ector is currently the Instructor of Jazz Percussion at
Princeton University. He is also the President and Executive Director of Arts For Kids Inc., a non-profit
arts-in-education organization providing workshops performances and professional development for
schools in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. (www.artsforkidsinc.org).
www.vinceector.com

Beninghove?s Hangmen : 2:30pm
Beninghove?s Hangmen is an instrumental downtown NYC-based sextet with a truly unique yet familiar
sound. Their ?creeptastic surf-noir? approach developed from a desire to mash the music of Tom Waits
and Danny Elfman, but with the menacing yet playful instrumentation, the result is more of a psychocrazed
soundtrack to a Tarantino film. They have been called ?NYC?s most cinematic noir band? (NY
Music Daily). Music from their latest recordings has been featured on Comedy Central, IFC, and more.
The band is led by saxophonist Bryan Beninghove, a Jersey City mainstay, who performs regularly in the
area in many different settings.
www.beninghoveshangmen.com
www.bryanbeninghove.com

Mark Guiliana Quartet with special guest Gretchen Parlato : 3:45pm
Mark Guiliana is an acclaimed drummer, composer, educator, producer and founder of the independent
record label, Beat Music Productions. His forward-thinking, conceptual approach to the instrument is
featured in Mehliana, the electric duo featuring Brad Mehldau on keyboards and synthesizers. Having
appeared on over 30 recordings to date, Mark has toured extensively with the likes of Meshell
Ndegeocello and Avishai Cohen, as well as his own bands Heernt and Beat Music. Still in his early
thirties, Guiliana, recognized by the New York Times as ?a drummer around whom a cult of admiration
has formed,? has earned international acclaim for his innovative and creative style.
www.markguiliana.com
Gretchen Parlato has emerged as one of the most inventive and mesmerizing vocalists of her
generation. Winner of the prestigious Monk competition in 2004, Parlato has performed in some of the
world?s most prestigious concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, London Jazz Festival,
and the North Sea & Montreal Jazz Festival. She was recently awarded the 2014 Nightlife Award for
Outstanding Female Jazz Vocalist.
http://gretchenparlato.com

Brightside Trio All-Star Jam hosted by Noel Sagerman : 5pm
The Brightside Tavern brings their Monday Night Jam Session to the Heights to close out the Festival.
Located at 141 Bright St. in Jersey City, the jam spotlights some of the best local singers and
instrumentalists in the north Jersey area. For over one year, local drummer Noel Sagerman has led his
piano trio while presiding as host. Sagerman has performed with such jazz legends as Pharoah Sanders,
David ?Fathead? Newman, and Big John Patton to name a few. The Brightside Tavern Jam is every
Monday night from 8-12am.
http://www.brightsidetavern.com/
2014 Sponsors:
Farms in the Heights, Riverview Neighborhood Association, Washington Park Association, The Distillery,
Jersey Cycles, Brightside Tavern, Orange and Olive Catering and Chef?s Table, Rockit Dockit Blog, The
Drum Den, and Remco Press.
The program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department
of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the arts, administered by the Hudson County
Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, Thomas A DeGise, County Executive, and the Board of chosen
Freeholders.