Despite the burgeoning reputations of other cities, New York still remains the jazz capital of the world, if only for sheer volume. A night in NYC is a month, if not more, anywhere else - an astonishing amount of music packed in its 305 square miles (Manhattan only 34 of those!). This is normal for the city but this month, there's even more, seams bursting with amazing concerts. Summer is traditionally festival season but never in recent memory have there been so many happening all at once. We welcome back impresario George Wein (Megaphone) and his annual celebration after a year's absence, now (and hopefully for a long time to come) sponsored by CareFusion and featuring the 70th Birthday Celebration of Herbie Hancock (On The Cover). Then there's the always-compelling Vision Festival, its 15th edition expanded this year to 11 days at 7 venues, including the groups of saxophonist David S. Ware (Artist Profile), drummer Muhammad Ali (Encore) and roster members of Kadima Collective (Label Spotlight). And based on the success of the WinterJazz Fest, a warmer edition, eerily titled the Undead Jazz Festival, invades the West Village for two days with dozens of bands June. 12th-13th. Then there's the COMA Benefit Festival at ABC No Rio Jun. 6th, the BossaBrasil Festival at Birdland Jun. 8th-12th, the Red Hook Jazz Festival Jun 13th and 20th, the start of both Celebrate Brooklyn and Central Park Summerstage programming, Encuentro de Musicos Colombianos en Nueva York Jun. 18th-19th and a two-day fundraiser for Anthony Braxton's Tri-Centric Foundation Jun. 18th-19th. And did we mention that violinist Mark Feldman (Interview) is co-curating this month at The Stone, bringing in another 26 days of not-to-be-missed concerts? And that's all in addition to the over 600 concerts we have listed that are regular fare for the city any month of the year. Basically what we are saying here is that if you stay home for even a single night this month, you'll be missing something.
We'll see you out there...
