The Charlottesville Jazz Society — a local non-profit — is hosting the first annual Charlottesville JazzFest Thursday through Sunday, showcasing a collection of jazz performances from a variety of artists and groups. The Society works to grow and provide jazz among the Charlottesville community through partnerships with performing musicians and event venues, and promote the art in all its forms on the University’s radio station, WTJU.
Coinciding with the Charlottesville Downtown Mall’s 50th anniversary, the Society is partnering with various venues on the Mall to host local jazz musicians and international stars. With 21 performances across seven venues — ranging from a presentation on jazz history by former University professor Jeff Decker to the headlining performance by international jazz star Veronica Swift — there will be no shortage of jazz for Charlottesville residents to enjoy this weekend.
Although it is only the first iteration of the festival, Gary Funston, president of the Charlottesville Jazz Society board of directors, said he plans for it to reoccur annually. The idea for the festival came from Royce Campbell, a jazz musician based near Harrisonburg who regularly plays gigs in Charlottesville. Campbell said he has been advocating for a jazz festival in Charlottesville ever since he performed at a similar event in Mineral, Va.
“I thought if they can have a jazz festival, Charlottesville should,” Campbell said. “I started kind of spreading the word that I think that should happen, and it all came together, and the rest is history.”
Funston and fellow board member Steve Brecker were also present at the event in Mineral, and according to Brecker, the three ideated the concept of a festival in Charlottesville. Campbell, who has toured with R&B artist Marvin Gaye and film composer Henry Mancini, will be performing at the festival at Vault Virginia — an event venue on the Downtown Mall — Sunday at 12 p.m.
“When we first started talking about it, we were thinking of doing it at a winery and having like three bands,” Brecker said. “First of all, you have to have a car to get to a winery, right? There's the weather to consider, you have to be 21 or older, and so then we switched gears — why don't we do it someplace where people can walk?”
The Society reached out to several venues on the Mall, whose responses Brecker described as incredibly enthusiastic and supportive. They also contacted Ting Pavillion to collaborate with their Fridays after Five summer event — a set of free weekly concerts during the summer hosted at the Pavillion.
A diverse selection of jazz performances will be on display this weekend across the venues on the Mall and the Ting Pavillion. Composer Greg Weaver’s group “The Hard Modes,” which plays video game music, will be performing at Rapture 9:00 p.m. Friday. Former professor Decker’s aforementioned presentation at the Paramount will discuss the effects that jazz had on the Civil Rights Movement and the impact of the Movement on jazz. The other performers at the festival also vary greatly in age, musical style and industry prominence.
“We all had different visions of it,” Brecker said. “We all had big dreams … we're all pretty happy with how it's going to turn out.”
The Society’s relationships with the University, as well as Albermarle’s public school district, contributed greatly to this year’s lineup. Jazz ensembles from Walker Upper Elementary School and Lakeside Middle School will be performing at the Paramount Saturday morning, followed by a multi-highschool jazz orchestra and a University jazz combo put together by University music instructor Mike Rosensky. Funston said he hopes young performers draw in University-age audiences.
“We don't always attract students to jazz concerts,” he said. “The matinee with the student bands I hope would be of interest to students.”
Other notable guests include the U.S. Navy Band Commodores and the R4nd4zzo Big Band performing at Ting Pavillion for Fridays after Five as well as John D’earth’s Cville All-Stars band performing at the Paramount Saturday at 7:00 p.m., opening for the headliner Veronica Swift.
Jazz and bebop singer Swift grew up in Albemarle county and took trumpet lessons from D’earth — a former University professor and former director of the University Jazz Ensemble — when she was younger. Now, she is on a continuing world tour for her upcoming album “Home,” spanning as far as Japan, and is returning to Charlottesville to perform at the festival. Swift’s mother, Stephanie Nakasian, another prominent Charlottesville Jazz musician, is also performing at the festival, with a show at the Front Porch Thursday at 8:00 p.m.
Looking forward, Brecker noted that a goal for future iterations of the festival is to bring in more African American performers. D’earth described the festival overall as a celebration of Black American music, acknowledging that “jazz is Black music, end of story.”
“This [is] Black music played by all kinds of people, honored and celebrated,” D’earth said.
With such a wide variety of artists in one place, D’earth said he sees the festival as an opportunity to bring performers and listeners alike together to celebrate Charlottesville’s vibrant jazz scene.
“I hope that it'll be a feeling of the Charlottesville jazz community,” D’Earth said. “That means musicians and listeners alike will celebrate their incredible culture here. The jazz culture here is so alive.”
Charlottesville residents can expect to see Swift, D’earth, Campbell and over a dozen others perform across the Mall this weekend. More information, including the full schedule for the Charlottesville JazzFest, can be found on the Charlottesville Jazz Society’s JazzFest page.
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