Juneteenth Jazz At New Rochelle Library To Bring Chops To The Party

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — New Rochelle is pulling out all the stops to celebrate Juneteenth this year.

The New Rochelle Public Library will host two jazz concerts this month in celebration of Juneteenth. These concerts are part of a collaborative New Rochelle Juneteenth Celebration presented by The Lincoln Park Conservancy.

On Friday, June 7, at 7 p.m., the library will host a concert with Firey String Sistas. Featuring Nioka Workman on cello, Marlene Rice on violin and piano, and vocalist Mala Waldron, the trio blends world music, global funk, soul, and jazz, using violin, cello, bass, piano, and percussion. Organizers say that attendees will be immersed in an unforgettable evening filled with unique sounds and uplifting messages, as they explore family traditions and tackle issues like climate change and the pandemic. Registration is requested and can be done here.

On Friday, June 14, at 7 p.m., the library will present the Eddie Allen Quintet, who will light up the stage with jazz standards made legendary by jazz greats such as Horace Silver, Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, and others. Eddie Allen, on the trumpet, will lead the charge alongside Bruce Williams on alto/soprano sax, Oscar Perez on the keys, Kenny Davis on the acoustic bass, and Jerome Jennings on the drums. Registration is requested and can be done here.

Curated by Linda Tarrant-Reid, Executive Director of The Lincoln Park Conservancy, Inc., "Black Icons of New Rochelle — Activists, Artists, Religious Leaders & Community Advocates" will be on display in the library’s Lumen Winter Gallery until June 21, during regular library hours. The library says that the exhibit features the influencers of the Black community and their impact from the 1960s to the present, and illustrates the ties these influential individuals had to the historic New Rochelle African American Community, and to the world.

The concerts, which are free and open to the public, will take place in the Ossie Davis Theater at the New Rochelle Public Library, located at 1 Library Plaza in New Rochelle.

Find out more about the New Rochelle Library on their website.