This year’s festival celebrates several firsts: a free, prefestival outdoor block party and concert/jam session in Hudson Hall’s theater; a citywide expansion to several different venues, and a shift from winter to fall to take advantage of the region’s famous leaf-peeping season. Having grown in both size and reputation since it first began in 2018, the seventh annual Hudson Jazz Festival presents world class headliners with wide-ranging musical influences and styles in a celebration of music, art, and community. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase not just some of the most exciting jazz artists of today, but the unique beauty of our region during the spectacular fall season,” Hudson Hall Executive Director Tambra Dillon said.
The 2024 Hudson Jazz Festival main stage lineup at Hudson Hall features “performers that delight audiences with their ability to effortlessly integrate tradition, innovation, and fun!” festival curator Cat Henry said. Cameroonian-American vocalist and two-time Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition finalist Ekep Nkwelle kicks off the festival with an evening dedicated to the indomitable spirit of Ella Fitzgerald; Downbeat magazine’s 25 for The Future trumpeter Riley Mulherkar headlines the Saturday evening slot; and jazz pianist and “master of melody” (Downbeat) Ethan Iverson closes out the mainstage Sunday afternoon with his “truly remarkable” trio (Jazzwise). Media personality and host of the popular jazz podcast “Artimacy,” Keanna Faircloth, joins the festival as host.
New for 2024, the Hudson Jazz Festival expands citywide with the addition of three new festival venues. Hudson brewery and taphouse Return Brewing hosts the Hudson Jazz Festival Opening Night Party with live music by Phat, Incorporated (Oct. 4), jazz pianist Jesse Fischer brings his quartet to The Half Moon (Oct.
5), while Wayne Tucker and The Bad Mothas offers festival goers a chance to wind down their weekend in style at Kitty’s Backyard (Oct. 6). The festival vibe permeates throughout town all weekend thanks to popup performances by Bard College jazz musicians and local jazz artists.
Also new for 2024, the festival offers a prefestival free Community Day on Saturday, Sept. 28. The day includes an outdoor block party, an art exhibition in Hudson Hall’s first floor galleries, and Melanie Charles’ Make Jazz Trill Again: Trill Mega Jam.
Vocalist/flutist Charles leads a high-energy set featuring an all-star ensemble. “Melanie Charles is an artist that ‘takes us on a journey that embodies the soul of jazz’ (NPR) and a central figure in a vibrant musical community made up of loving, talented, and innovative musicians, poets, DJs, and artists,” Henry said. Following the set, audiences are invited to participate in a community jam session.
Hudson-based artist Reginald Madison curates the 2024 Hudson Jazz Festival visual arts exhibition at Hudson Hall, opening at Community Day (Sep 28) with an artists reception. Titled “Between the Cracks,” the exhibition features his own work alongside Hudson Valley artists Nchota Badila, Lyle Ashton, Francine Hunter McGivern, Shanekia McIntosh, Sedat Pakay (1945-2016), Rando, Kianja Strobert, and Lennox, Massachusetts-based artist Jim Youngerman..
