Central Jersey Jazz Festival returns next week, bringing music to three counties

For nearly a decade, the Central Jersey Jazz Festival (CJJF) has spanned three counties. But this year, it’s spanning genres, too.

The festival, which takes place Sept. 9-11 with performances in Somerville, New Brunswick, Metuchen and Flemington, will feature various genres of jazz including blues, scat, soul, Latin jazz and Afro-Latin jazz.

“Not many festivals can boast that their events fill three counties with jazz music, food, art and one-of-a-kind experiences over the course of one weekend,” said Natalie Pineiro, executive director of the Downtown Somerville Alliance.

“It’s truly a unique, community-driven ambiance and a fun way to take in travel and tourism in Middlesex, Hunterdon and Somerset counties,” she continued. “We encourage jazz and arts enthusiasts to plan each day — or even their entire weekends — to take in all that these communities have to offer, from music, to history and culture and beyond.”

Jazz fans have a host of local organizations to thank for the collaboration including New Brunswick City Center, the New Brunswick Jazz Project, Metuchen Arts Council, Friends of Metuchen Arts Council, Metuchen Jazz, the Flemington Community Partnership, the Downtown Somerville Alliance, and Arts on Division.

The festival is sponsored by RWJBarnabas Health. But without the late Stephen Jones, the former president and CEO of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and the Robert Wood Johnson Health System, that might not be so, as he was instrumental in initiating the relationship between the festival and the health system, said Pineiro. He was also a founding member of the New Brunswick Jazz Project’s Board of Trustees.

This year, the festival is dedicated to him.

“Steve passed away last December and the dedication of this year’s jazz festival in his memory is an acknowledgement of his steadfast partnership and his role in ensuring that jazz music is accessible to those in Middlesex, Hunterdon and Somerset counties through the Central Jersey Jazz Festival,” Pineiro said.

The rain-or-shine, outdoor festival is free in all towns. Visitors are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets.

Here’s what to expect from the festival in every corner of Central Jersey.

Flemington: Friday, Sept. 9

In recent years, Flemington’s Stangl Road has become a hub of art and culture, and it continues to serve as that on Friday, Sept. 9 when CJJF performances take place there 6:30-10 p.m.

As the Flemington performances will focus on theatrical jazz and blues, Marion Cowings featuring AC Lincoln will perform 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Blues People will perform 8:30 p.m.-10 p.m. CD sales and signings will follow each performance.

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Food for purchase from local restaurants, such as Viva Mexico, Theresa's Cafe, Nature's EnerQi and Humdoo Ice Cream, will be available near the outdoor stage. A bar with frozen drinks, seasonal cocktails, wine and selections from Lone Eagle Brewery will also be onsite. Although performances will not start until 6:30 p.m., food and drinks will be served starting at 5 p.m. when the site opens.

VIP seating will also be available for $10 per person.

To reach the stage, take Route 12 to the parking lot entrance near Liberty Village and enter Stangl Road on foot from the south end by the Polo Outlet and Lone Eagle Brewing.

Years ago, the Flemington portion of the jazz festival was hosted on Main Street, but was moved to Stangl Road for the time due to the borough's redevelopment and construction.

"It is much more welcoming to have events on a block where everyone is connected and engaged," said Robin Lapidus, executive director of the Flemington Community Partnership. "Everyone on Stangl has embraced the arts and cultural experience."

Metuchen: Saturday, Sept. 10

As the newest festival location after being added to the schedule last year, Metuchen will host Latin jazz performances on Saturday, Sept. 10 from 6-9:30 p.m.

The Metuchen Dance Centre will perform 6-7 p.m.; the Metuchen High School Jazz Ensemble will perform 7 p.m.-8 p.m. and Bobby Sanabria and Ascensión will perform 8 p.m.-9:30 p.m. at Metuchen Town Plaza.

Street parking is free after 6 p.m., and there is also a parking garage is next to the plaza.

It’s only Metuchen’s second time being a part of the CJJF, but the borough is no stranger to jazz. The Cornerstone on New Street was a popular jazz venue until it closed years ago.

“[The Cornerstone] was across the street from the Metuchen Town Plaza where the jazz festival takes place,” said Lynne Mueller, producer of the Metuchen portion of the festival. “Those major jazz musicians who performed at the Cornerstone years ago would certainly be smiling to know there is now a jazz festival in downtown Metuchen.”

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Mueller expects last year’s 300 Metuchen festival visitors to nearly double this year due to increased visibility and the headliners.

The festival arrived in Metuchen last year after the Metuchen Arts Council launched its own jazz festivals at the local high school in 2018 and 2019. The council then realized it could garner a larger audience by hosting the festival at the Metuchen Town Plaza, and decided to approach CJJF organizers to join efforts.

New Brunswick: Saturday, Sept. 10

Four years after the festival’s creation in Somerville, it headed to New Brunswick thanks to the New Brunswick Jazz Project. This year, it will again take place along Livingston Avenue near the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC) from 1-6 p.m. on Sat., Sept. 10.

Lee Hogans Quintet will perform 1 p.m.-2:15 p.m.; Lucy Yeghiazaryan Quintet featuring Houston Person will perform 2:45 p.m.-4 p.m. and Cyrus Chestnut Quartet will perform 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.

Hogans was a close friend of Jones, and a set will be performed in his honor.

"Steve was a tireless supporter of the arts. His love for jazz music was profound, and his drive and enthusiasm to enrich our community helped springboard the New Brunswick Jazz Project and the Central Jersey Jazz Festival to where we are today," said Michael Tublin, co-founder of the New Brunswick Jazz Project.

Visitors should park in the city's parking decks, the closest being at 60 Bayard St. Livingston Avenue will be closed from George Street to New Street.

No food tents will be onsite, however, visitors are encouraged to purchase food from local restaurants and bring it to the festival. Alcohol will also be served at the NBPAC.

Somerville: Sunday, Sept. 11

The hometown of the festival will host its performances on Sunday, Sept. 11 from 1:30-6 p.m. on the Somerset County Court House lawn on the corner of East Main and Grove streets. With more than 6,000 usual attendants, CJJF is one of the most popular events of the year in the borough.

Lezlie Harrison Quartet performs 1:30 p.m.-2:40 p.m.; Curtis Lundy & Emoja Ensemble perform 3:10 p.m.-4:20 p.m. and Dizzy Gillespie Afro-Latin Experience performs 4:50 p.m.-6 p.m.

Free parking will be available in all municipal parking lots and there is also on-street parking. East Main Street between Grove and Bridge Streets will be closed to cars.

Food and beverage tents will also sell fare on East Main Street.

For the first time, Somerville performances will join forces with another art event in the borough. Art All Day, an Arts on Division festival that includes an artisan market, mural painters, art exhibits from local schools, performance artists, chalk artists, demos and children’s activities, usually takes place the day before Somerville’s run of the jazz festival. But this year, it will be on the same day.

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“Understanding the impact that the arts — both visual and performing — have on the local economy and the cultural value of making the arts accessible to the community, we thought combining the events into one arts festival would have a greater impact without fragmenting the audience of people that might not be able to make it out for both events,” said Pineiro.

Go: Sept. 9-11 in Flemington, Metuchen, New Brunswick and Somerville; centraljerseyjazzfestival.com.

Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA Today Network New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Contact: JIntersimone@Gannett.com or @JIntersimone.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Central Jersey Jazz Festival returns Sept. 9-11: Schedule, locations