Peekskill Jazz Festival Lineup and Schedule Released

This was submitted by the Peekskill Business Improvement District: Peekskill, NY Thursday, May 24 -  Peekskill's 6th Annual Jazz & Blues Festival, presented by the Peekskill Business Improvement District (BID), is a free outdoor concert and fair that will be held Saturday, July 21, from 1pm-10pm at the intersection of Central Avenue and North Division Street, in historic Downtown Peekskill.  The City of Peekskill's downtown was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 2005.

The streets will be closed to traffic for the duration of the event, turning downtown Peekskill into a strollers paradise.  Local restaurants will be offering outdoor dining, artists and crafts people will be selling and displaying their work all over the downtown. There will activities for families. In addition, the Peekskill Farmers Market will be open all day long with the season's freshest produce.

Farmers Market will be open all day long with the season's freshest produce.

This year, the festival kicks off at 1pm with the Jazz & Blues Brunch featuring some of Peekskill's best local musicians performing at various downtown restaurants and cafes, the Craft Alley, featuring a variety of finely crafted handmade goods by local artisans, for sale, and, the Food Court. Besides the great eateries and pubs open for business all day on N. Division St., festival-goers will have the opportunity to sample some of the great diversity of tastes that makes Peekskill a unique urban melting pot of cuisine in the Hudson Valley.

Main Stage music performances start at 4 p.m. The year's line-up features the New Orleans meets Brazilian sounds of Nation Beat, the pianist Marc Cary, hailed by Down Beat as one of "the most multi-dimensional keyboard players on the scene today," will be bringing his critically-acclaimed Focus Trio, the irresistible jazz-tinged funk and R&B of Lakecia Benjamin & Soul Squad. Headlining and closing the day are the Masters of Latin Jazz, the Multi-Grammy®  nominated Bobby Sanabria & Ascensión.

Main Stage Schedule as follows:

 4:00pm           Nation Beat featuring Liliana Araujo, vocals | Scott Kettner, drums/percussion | Mark Marshall, guitar | Dennis Lichtman, fiddle | Mike LaValle, bass

New Orleans meets Brazil - This American/Brazilian collective plays a 21st century mash-up inspired by Brazilian maracatu drumming, New Orleans second line rhythms, funk and country-blues. They're the first American group to record in Brazil with the legendary Mestre Walter and Maracatu Nação Estrela Brilhante - and the first Brazilian band to perform withWillie Nelson who called Nation Beat "just a fantastic group".  Nation Beat's artistic director/founder Scott Kettner, a graduate of The New School University (NYC) and a 2006 Latin Jazz Ambassador, is at once following the path of such Brazilian luminaries as Lenine and Chico Science, and forging new trails with a distinct, contemporary. Nation Beat parades with an indispensable audacious energy, and seamlessly bridges folkloric Brazilian rhythms with classic American roots music--their explosive live show is frequently known to burst into crowd-wide Carnival-style drumming and singing. The soaring powerhouse vocalist and rising Brazilian star Liliana Araujo fronts the group. The band is rounded out by a remarkably talented, innovative and fearless group of musicians. www.nationbeat.com 

 5:30pm           Marc Cary Focus Trio featuring Marc Cary, piano | Burniss 'Earl' Travis, bass | Sameer Gupta, tabla/drums

Pianist, keyboardist, and composer Marc Cary has been hailed by Down Beat as one of the most, "multi-dimensional keyboard players on the scene today." Cary's continual search for his musical identity has brought him to all corners of the earth. A member of the High Integrity Band and later connected with Let Um Play and the Frontline Jazz Ensemble, Cary was among the pioneers of Washington, D.C.'s infamous "GO-GO" scene which defined that musical genre. His family's musical heritage includes his great-grandmother, who played piano at local movie houses and whose partner was Eubie Blake. His mother is a visual artist and father played trumpet. By 18, he found himself playing with the Dizzy Gillespie Youth Ensemble at Wolf Trap. He has earned four Grammy® nominations for his ensemble work, including "Best Contemporary Jazz Album" as a participant in Stefon Harris's Blackout. His production work on Q-Tip's The Renaissance helped earn that disc a nomination for "Best Rap Album" of 2009. Cary's seminal masterwork, Rhodes Ahead Vol 1., released in 2000 and considered by many to be a classic, earned him the first Annual Billboard/BET "Best New Jazz Artist Award." His collaborations in all musical genres across the board include work with Meshell Ndegeocello, Dizzy Gillespie, Betty Carter, Arthur Taylor, Abbey Lincoln, Erykah Badu, Max Roach, Shirley Horn, Ani DiFranco, Wynton Marsalis and Roy Hargrove, among others. www.marccary.com.

7:00pm           Lakecia Benjamin & Soul Squad featuring Lakecia Benjamin, alto | Colette, vox | David Cutles, bass | Joe Blaxx, guitar | Jamiel Corneilo, guitar | Corey Bernard, keys | Shareef Clayton, trumpet

'Saxophonist to the Stars' charismatic and dynamic saxophonist/bandleader Lakecia Benjamin, takes center stage in her own right with, her own brand of irresistible original jazz-tinged funk and r&b. Benjamin began her career at the young age of 12, eventually earning a scholarship at the New School and landing stints with some of the most respected artists in jazz, including trumpet giant, Clark Terry and experimental jazz icon Reggie Workman, which led to gigs and tours with a wide array of artists such as Rashied Ali, the David Murray Big Band, Vanessa Rubin and James "Blood" Ulmer. With her deep jazz roots, she was soon in demand as an arranger and horn section leader, landing stints with such acclaimed artists as Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Macy Gray, the Roots, and Anita Baker. On her debut album, RETOX, which she just released in June, Benjamin shows off her impeccable, purist jazz resume with a deep, kaleidoscopic and ingeniously arranged mix of original old school soul and funk songs. Though her own music is immersed in the vintage sounds of James Brown, Maceo Parker, Sly and the Family Stone and the Meters as well as classic jazz, Benjamin's soaring, dance floor-friendly grooves take the classic vibe to a whole new level. The constant throughout it all is Benjamin's summery, sultry alto saxophone, adding something special, on every cut - be it a smoldering late-night ambience, an erudite, forceful jazz intensity or the tight funk multi-horn harmony sections that pepper the proceedings throughout. www.lakeciabenjamin.com 

8:30pm           Masters of Latin Jazz, Multi-Grammy® nominated Bobby Sanabria & Ascensión featuring

Bobby Sanabria - Musical director, drums, percussion, vocals | Obanilu Allende - congas, percussion, vocals |Hiram Remon - vocals, percussion | Enrique Haneine - piano, vocals, percussion | Leo Traversa - electric bass, vocals, percussion | Gene Jefferson - alto sax, flute, percussion, vocals | Peter Brainin - tenor sax, flute, percussion, vocals | Shareef Clayton - trumpet | Chris Washburne - trombone, dijeridoo, percussion, vocals

Multi-Grammy® nominated Bobby Sanabria, drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, recording artist, producer, filmmaker, conductor, educator, multi-cultural warrior and multiple Grammy nominee - has performed with a veritable Who's Who in the world of jazz and Latin music, as well as with his own critically acclaimed ensembles. His diverse recording and performing experience includes work with such legendary figures as Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Paquito D'Rivera, Charles McPherson, Mongo Santamaría, Ray Barretto, Marco Rizo, Arturo Sandoval, Roswell Rudd, Chico O'Farrill, Candido, Yomo Toro, Francisco Aguabella, Larry Harlow, Henry Threadgill, and the Godfather of Afro-Cuban Jazz, Mario Bauzá. Sanabria has been featured on numerous Grammy-nominated albums, including The Mambo Kings and other movie soundtracks, as well as numerous television and radio work. His ensembles have earned him numerous awards and Grammy nominations over the years, beginning with his octet Ascensión's 1993 album, ¡NYC Aché! which received worldwide acclaim and garnered four and half stars in Down Beat magazine, as well as receiving a nomination for Best Record of the Year by the National Association of Independent Record Distributors (NAIRD). His latest recording, Kenya Revisited Live!!! is a masterful tribute and re-working of the Machito Afro-Cubans legendary Kenya album features him conducting the Manhattan School for Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra and was nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Latin Jazz recording of 2009. Bobby was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame in 2006, having a permanent street named after him on the Bronx's famed Grand Concourse in recognition for his contributions to music and the arts. Mr. Sanabria has recently been awarded the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award by KOSA for his outstanding accomplishments in jazz and Latin music both as a performer and educator and the 2008 Martin Luther King Jr. Mentor Award presented to him by the Manhattan Country School for his work in the world of jazz. 

The Annual Peekskill Jazz & Blues Festival attracts thousands of people from across the tri-state area, and has become one of Westchester's premiere summer musical and creative events. Visitors are encouraged to come early and stay late!

Festival Sponsors: D. Bertoline & Sons; Verizon; Wheelabrator Westchester L.P.

Community Partners: The City of Peekskill; Hudson Valley Chamber of Commerce; Paramount Center for the Arts

 For Festival details, visit www.downtownpeekskill.com 

Jazz & Blues Brunch - 1pm - 4pm The Festival starts here with the best local music at restaurants and cafes around town. Festival-goers can sample the food and refreshments that make Peekskill a foodie destination.

Division Street Grill - Alexis Cole & Richard Sussman; 12 Grapes - Acoustic Blues; Nellie's Café - Bakklash; Peekskill Brewery - Jazz Trio: Danny Rab, Larry Gelb and Cameron Brown; The Peekskill Coffee House - Danny Rab & Friends;The Birdsall House - The Flynns; The Beanrunner Café - Annette A. Aguilar & the Stringbeans

Craft Alley - 1pm - SundownPark Street (between Division St. & Bank St)

Historic Downtown Peekskill and the surrounding area are home to many artisans, including the members of the Hudson Crafts Collective, who will be on hand selling their unique handcrafted jewelry, clothing, Japanese Paper Art and other artisanal crafts. In addition, Craft Alley will also offer a number of family art-making activities.

Festival Food Court - 1pm - 10pmS. Division Street (between South St. & Central Ave)

Besides the great eateries and pubs open for business on N. Division St., there are many other restaurants and cafes in Peekskill that serve delicious food which represents the great diversity of tastes that makes Peekskill a unique urban melting pot of cuisine in the Hudson Valley. Come sample a little bit of everything!

Getting to the Festival

By Train: Metro North trains running on the Hudson Line stop hourly at Peekskill Station. 

Trolley: The Peekskill Trolley will be making regular loops between the train station and downtown festival between 3:30pm and 10:30pm, so leave your car at home and hop on board because the ride's on us! 

By Foot: It's a 10 minute walk from the station up to the center of town. Follow Water Street north parallel to the train tracks and turn right up the hill on Central Avenue until you reach the festival. 

By Car: Take the Main Street exit from Rt. 9 and head east into downtown Peekskill or take the exit for US-202/NY-35 towards Peekskill from the Taconic Parkway. GPS Destination: One South Division Street, Peekskill, NY 10566. 

Public Parking: All parking in downtown on the streets and public garages is free on the weekends and after 5pm on weekdays. Please see the map below for all public parking close to the festival.