Jazz & Blues Festival Returns To The Morristown Green This Month

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Morristown music lovers are trading in the end-of-summer blues for blues music this month, with the annual Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival returning in just a couple of weeks.

For the first time, the festival, which draws thousands of fans and several accomplished musicians and has become a regular community event in Morris County, will be held over two days this year.

Attendees can head down to Morristown on Sept. 22 and Sept. 23.

"Thanks to Mayor Tim Dougherty and the Town of Morristown, music fans of all ages will enjoy great music both on Pioneer’s Plaza, which is conveniently located on Speedwell Avenue between Headquarters Plaza and 1776, and on The Green," event organizers said.

The music will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday at Pioneer Park, which is conveniently located on Speedwell Avenue between Headquarters Plaza and 1776. Saturday's music will take place on the Morristown Green from noon to 10 p.m.

The festival will memorialize two of its founders, Linda Smith and Michael Fabrizio, who both died in June 2021, as it has done for the past two years.

The Spectrum Jazz Band, formed of Morristown High School students, will open the Friday event, followed at 5:00 by jazz singer and entertainer Ty Stephens. He has toured the world with his jazz, funk, and R&B band, Soul Jaazz.

Ty Stephens will be followed by Debra Devi, a guitar sensation who has been compared to Susan Tedeschi. She brings her all-star band, which has been tearing up the festival circuit.

The final group on Friday night is a mainstay in the Chicago blues clubs, The Downtown Charlie Brown Blues Band, whose leader hails from Morristown. In fact, singer and keyboardist Charles Brown is celebrating his 50th reunion from Morristown High School, where he sang and played trumpet in a band.

On Saturday, Sept. 23, the festival will shift to the Morristown Green, and the music begins at noon with The Commodores, the United States Navy's premier jazz ensemble. This 18-piece ensemble performs big band arrangements ranging from the Swing Era to contemporary music and everything in between.

The event takes a Latin turn at 2 p.m. with the dynamic Gotham City Latin Jazz Septet, led by Grammy Award-nominee percussionist Richard Baratta.

At 4 p.m., it's The Hot Sardines, who were praised by Forbes magazine as "one of the best jazz bands in New York City today."

At 6 p.m., Ana Popovi will take the stage. The California-based guitarist and singer, who last performed at the festival in 2017, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the start of the pandemic. However, after a series of difficult treatments, she is now in remission.

Louis Prima Jr. & The Witnesses take the stage at 8 p.m. to pay tribute to Louis Prima Junior's incomparable father, who penned some of the most well-known hits such as "Sing Sing Sing," "Jump Jive an' Wail," and "Just A Gigolo."

"We are thrilled to be able to expand the festival to include Friday evening," said Mayor Dougherty, who initiated the festival in 2011. "With great jazz and hot blues, there is something for everyone’s tastes. It’s no wonder that we draw fans from more than just the metropolitan area. We have people from across the country and even overseas. We are so grateful to our generous sponsors for making this incredible free festival possible."

The Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival will be held on Sept. 22 and 23, rain or shine, beginning at four o'clock on Friday and noon on Saturday.

Admission is free, and many area eateries will be offering festival-goers deals. Attendees are welcome to bring lawn chairs and blankets to relax on while jamming out to some good music.