Detroit Jazz Festival will be back in person, but also stream free online

The Detroit Jazz Festival returns to a live audience, in-person format this Labor Day weekend for the first time since 2019. While the festival continued in a digital, streaming-only version in 2020 and 2021, this year will take advantage of both opportunities simultaneously, welcoming visitors back to stages in Hart Plaza and Campus Martius and broadcasting to viewers around the world.

Running Friday through Monday evenings, the event will serve up four days of world-class jazz live and online, and with an additional platform for watching from home, Quincy Jones’ Qwest TV. The subscription, video-on-demand service is co-curated by Jones, music legends and genre experts, featuring performance material ranging from jazz, soul and funk to classical, electronic and global music. Qwest TV will carry Friday’s opening night performances on its Jazz & Beyond channel.

"Last year’s Detroit Jazz Festival was an absolute killer, and this time will be no different! I'm honored to announce that, yet again, my beloved Qwest TV will be the broadcast partner to one of the most beautiful festivals in the world, right in the home of Motown,” said Jones via press release. “Grab a seat on September 2nd and hear The Soul Rebels as well as Chucho Valdés performing ‘The Creation,’ a show retracing the emergence of Yoruba culture in the Caribbean alongside Hilario Duràn, John Beasley, and the Yoruban Orchestra.”

Festival director Chris Collins said the entire festival can be streamed free at DetroitJazzFest.org; additionally, the Carhartt Amphitheater performances will stream on the festival YouTube page, while the JPMorgan Chase Main Stage acts will be viewable on the festival’s Facebook page. The Detroit Jazz Festival is the world’s largest jazz festival that remains free to attend, and Collins said making it accessible to audiences beyond Detroit is key to keeping that mission intact.

“In 2020,” he said, “we reached nearly a million viewers. And then to everyone’s surprise, after triple-checking metrics, we got nearly two and a half million in 2021. Qwest TV took note and contacted us about doing something together. Adhering to the mission of the festival, we asked that it remain free on their outlets, so we zeroed in on the opening night party and concerts. I have a feeling this will be the beginning of a lovely relationship.”

The Downtown Detroit Partnership will also host a weekend-long viewing party at Campus Martius Park, where Hart Plaza performances will be live-streamed.

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“For 43 years now, the festival has focused on being free to attend,” Collins said. “I once asked Gretchen Valade, the chairperson of our board who is also a major donor to our festival, ‘Is there something I can do for you?’ It was around Christmas and I saw people giving her gifts, and I asked, ‘What can I do for you?’ And she looked at me very clearly, and she said, ‘Chris, keep the festival jazz—real jazz—and keep the festival free.’ And I was so touched by that answer.”

That goal, he said, is what keeps the heartbeat going for the festival mission.

“When you look at the nearly two and a half million viewers we’ve built over the last two years and the millions who come with Qwest TV and the 325-530,000 people live and in-person in downtown Detroit… however you choose to experience the festival, you will be part of one of the largest single jazz audiences in the world. It’s historic.”

Can’t-miss music

Friday’s opening night is easy to take in, with only three acts performing on Hart Plaza’s Carhartt Amphitheater stage. The kickoff party will feature a double-dose of brass bands, with Dr. Valade’s Brass Band featuring New Orleans drummer Shannon Powell opening and New Orleans’ Soul Rebels closing the evening. In between, this year’s festival artist-in-residence, Chucho Valdés, will join forces with fellow Cuban pianist Hilario Durán, pianist John Beasley and the Yoruban Orchestra for “La Creación (The Creation),” a three-movement Latin jazz piece.

“It is the story of Africans in the Caribbean, but also of Africans on the continents of the Americas,” Valdés told the Free Press, “and is a form of educating the people — of sharing the knowledge of where we come from.”

Three acts to catch Saturday

The first full day of the Detroit Jazz Festival is packed with world-class acts. Here are three you shouldn’t miss.

Ranky Tanky with Ms. Lisa Fischer: A 2019 Grammy winner for sophomore album “Good Time,” Ranky Tanky honors the bandmates’ Charleston, South Carolina roots by transforming traditional songs from the West African-rooted Gullah culture into grooving, funky jazz workouts. Joining them for this performance is Grammy-winning, category-defying vocalist Lisa Fischer, one of the most revered singers active in the music industry. (7:15 p.m., Carhartt Amphitheater Stage, Hart Plaza)

Abdullah Ibrahim & Ekaya: South African pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim will lead his band Ekaya (Zulu for “home” or “homeland”) through soulful, meditative music weaving tales of struggle, freedom and love from their excellent 2019 album “The Balance.” (8 p.m., JPMorgan Chase Main Stage, Cadillac Square)

Ulysses Owens Jr. Big Band with special guest Marquis Hill: Drummer Owens is hot off his cooking 2021 release “Soul Conversations,” and brings his elegant, driving swing outfit to the festival to close out Saturday night, promising stellar solos and huge sound. The band will be joined by Hill, a young trumpeter burning up the scene. (9:15 p.m., Carhartt Amphitheater Stage, Hart Plaza)

Three acts to catch Sunday

Sunday’s Detroit Jazz Festival lineup demonstrates the full diversity the event is famed for. Here are three acts to check out.

José James presents “Yesterday I Had the Blues: The Music of Billie Holiday”: James, a richly talented vocalist, will share his interpretation of tunes from the repertoire of Holiday, who inspired him in his youth to become a jazz singer. (4 p.m., JPMorgan Chase Main Stage, Cadillac Square)

Tottori-Detroit Reunion Band: The product of a partnership that began in 2019 between the festival and musicians in Tottori, Japan, this performance will see a collaboration between artists from both locations. Pianist Himiko Kikuchi, founder of the Tottori Jazz Festival, will join Detroit Jazz Festival director Chris Collins, young flutist Shun Katayama and Detroit artists onstage. (5:45 p.m., Pyramid Stage, Hart Plaza)

Artist-in-residence duets: 2022 festival artist-in-residence Chucho Valdés will close Sunday night by performing intimate duets with a pair of Grammy winners, singer Dianne Reeves and saxophonist Joe Lovano. These duo settings are always a magical moment at the festival, allowing masters great freedom to create and explore together. (9:15, Carhartt Amphitheater Stage, Hart Plaza)

Three acts to catch Monday

The final day of the Detroit Jazz Festival presents revered performers and young lions to close things out. Here are three acts to look for.

[human music]: This crackling unit from the Manhattan School of Music won the festival foundation’s 2022 Collegiate Combo Competition, and will play a 75-minute set early in the day. It’s just one of several great opportunities during the weekend to glimpse the future of jazz. (2 p.m., Pyramid Stage, Hart Plaza)

Alvin Waddles Trio: A staple in the Detroit jazz scene, commanding pianist and singer Waddles is the festival’s 2022 Legacy Artist and always delivers a highly entertaining show. (4 p.m., Absopure Waterfront Stage, Hart Plaza)

Chucho Valdés Quartet: One of the godfathers of Latin jazz is this year’s festival artist-in-residence, and Valdés’ uncompromising approach to Afro-Cuban groove is a tremendous way to wrap up a fabulous weekend of live music. (7:15 p.m., JPMorgan Chase Main Stage, Cadillac Square)

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Jazz Festival back in person, but will still stream free