The Lake George Arts Project’s Jazz at the Lake, now in its 39th year, kicks off Friday, September 15 and runs through Sunday, September 17. Heralded as one of the Northeast’s premier jazz festivals, it features the talent of award-winning jazz artists from across the country performing in intimate settings with Lake George and the Adirondack Mountains for a backdrop. Performances are held at the amphitheatre in Shepard Park with special Jazz Around Town performances to be held Friday evening at local restaurants and the Lake George Caldwell Library.
Admission is free. Shepard Park is a kid- and dog-friendly venue. If you plan to attend, you may wish to bring a camp chair or blanket for sitting in the park. Metered Parking is available on surrounding streets and in nearby public and private parking lots. The Lake George weather forecast calls for sunny skies and mild temperatures.
Jazz at the Lake 2023 Schedule of Performances
Artist descriptions provided by Lake George Arts Project
Friday, September 15th:
6 p.m. – Endea Owens & The Cookout. Known as one of Jazz’s most vibrant emerging artists, Endea Owens is a Detroit-raised Recording Artist, Bassist, and Composer. She has been mentored by Jazz Icons the likes of Marcus Belgrave, Rodney Whitaker, and Ron Carter and has toured and performed with Wynton Marsalis, Jennifer Holliday, Diana Ross, Rhonda Ross, Solange, and Jon Batiste to name a few. In 2018, Endea graduated from The Juilliard School and joined the Late Show with Stephen Colbert as a member of the house band, Stay Human. Since then, Endea has won an Emmy, Grammy Award, and a George Foster Peabody Award.
7:30 p.m. – Jazz Around Town
• Scott Hopkins Trio performing at Gaslight Wood Fired Bistro, 91 Canada Street, Lake George
The Scott Hopkins Jazz Trio features stalwart jazzers Lou Smaldone on bass and Brian Melick on drums with Hopkins on electric banjo. The repertoire of the trio includes a combination of standards and contemporary tunes with flares of bluegrass and folk
• Heard performing at the Barnsider Restaurant, 2112 State Route 9, Lake George
Heard is a collective of musicians that bring their skills and passion for world music, jazz and improvising together to create irresistible grooves set in a unique sonic tapestry. Together for 15 years, their vibrant sound incorporates influences from West Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean and beyond.
• Ria Curley, Chuck Lamb & the Curley Lamb Nu-Soul-Jaz Project performing at the Caldwell Lake George Library, 336 Canada Street, Lake George
The Listening Room: The Ria Curley, Chuck Lamb & the Curley Lamb Nu-Soul-Jaz Project group features the dynamic duo of singer/songwriter Ria Curley & pianist/composer Chuck Lamb, joined by an alternating lineup of one or more of their talented musician friends, performing a unique, hooky combination of instrumental & vocal, original and standard, Jazz/Fusion and Smooth R&B/Pop/Rock.
• Dylan Perrillo and Brad Brose performing at East Cove Restaurant, 3873 NY-9L, Lake George
Bassist Dylan Perrillo (from Hot Club of Saratoga and the Dylan Perrillo Quartet) will be joined by NYC-based guitarist Brad Brose for a one-of-a-kind jazz experience that will have fans of gypsy and swing jazz moving in their seats.
Saturday, September 16th:
10 a.m. – Coffee and Jazz at The Caldwell Lake George Library (336 Canada St. LG)
For the jazz early birds, we invite you to join us for a new Jazz at the Lake program that combines the melodies of jazz with coffee and the camaraderie of fellow jazz enthusiasts. Grab a free coffee, and enjoy the music of James Rissacher who, for over 20 years, has performed in classic music venues throughout the U.S. and Europe and has recorded with numerous musicians. Coffee and Jazz is made possible by a Long Time Fan of Jazz Weekend
1 p.m. – Naya Baaz: Rez Abbasi & Josh Feinberg
Awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship in 2021 for composition, Voted #1 Rising-Star Guitarist in the 2013 DownBeat Critics Poll and subsequently placed in the top-ten guitarists alongside luminaries Bill Frisell and Pat Metheny, guitarist and composer Rez Abbasi is one of the most original voices on the current scene. Making New York home for the past 25 years, Abbasi is considered by many to be one of the foremost modern jazz guitar players the world over. He has honed his skills with performances throughout Europe, Canada, the U.S., Mexico and India and has performed and recorded with many jazz greats including, Grammy winner Ruth Brown, Peter Erskine, Kenny Werner, Barre Phillips, Gary Thomas, Dave Douglas, John Beasly, Ronu Majumdar, Kadri Gopalnath, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Vijay Iyer, Marilyn Crispell, Greg Osby, Howard Levy and a host of others.
3 p.m. – Aubrey Johnson Group
Aubrey Johnson is a New York-based vocalist, composer, and educator who specializes in jazz, Brazilian, and creative contemporary music with and without words. She holds a Master of Music degree in jazz performance from the New England Conservatory and as a student, won two DownBeat Collegiate Student Music Awards for “Best Jazz Vocalist” and “Jazz Vocalist, Outstanding Performance.” She currently teaches at Berklee College of Music in the Voice Department and in the Jazz Masters Program at Queens College in New York City. She has also held faculty positions at the New England Conservatory and Montclair State University.
5 p.m. – Jared Schonig Quintet
Grammy-Award winning drummer, composer & bandleader Jared Schonig has toured and/or recorded internationally with Nicholas Payton, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Donny McCaslin, Darcy James Argue & Secret Society, The 8-Bit Big Band, and Ernie Watts among others. A favorite among vocalists, Schonig has toured with Grammy Award-winners Kurt Elling, The New York Voices, Kristen Chenoweth, Cynthia Erivo, Katherine McPhee, Jessica Vosk and singer/songwriter Donna Lewis, He has performed around the world from sold-out shows at Carnegie Hall to festivals in Zimbabwe. Schonig co-led The Wee Trio, which released five critically acclaimed albums over the past 8 years and recently released two solo albums of original music (one quintet and one big band) in the fall of 2021 to critical acclaim. When at home in New York City, Schonig is a fixture in both the jazz and Broadway scene- he recently held the drum chair for the critically acclaimed Tony, Grammy and Emmy-award-winning Broadway Revival of The Color Purple and is currently playing drums and percussion for the 10-time Tony-winning Moulin Rouge! The Musical.
8 p.m. – Jane Bunnett and Maqueque
Five-time Juno Award winner, Jane Bunnett has turned her bands and recordings into showcases for the finest musical talent from Canada, the US, and Cuba. She has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, received The Order of Canada, The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, and, most recently, The Premier’s Award for Excellence. With Maqueque, Bunnett has created something new and phenomenal in the world of jazz. What started five years ago as a project to record and mentor young brilliant Cuban female musicians, has become one of the top groups on the North American jazz scene. Since 2015, they have played in major jazz festivals like Newport and Monterey, been featured on NPR’s program Jazz Night in America, won a Juno Award for their first album, Jane Bunnett and Maqueque, were nominated for a Grammy Award for their second release, Oddara and were nominated for a Juno Award for their latest release, On Firm Ground/Tierra Firme. Most recently, were voted as one of the top ten jazz groups by the prestigious DownBeat magazine’s critics poll.
Sunday, September 17th:
1 p.m. – Duduka Da Fonseca & Quarteto Universal
The Percussionist; author and producer, born in Rio de Janeiro, Duduka Da Fonseca is a 4-time GRAMMY® Award Nominee Drummer. He has appeared on over 250 albums alongside American Jazz icons as well as Brazilian Jazz Icons, including 25 albums as a leader/co-leader, making him one of the most recorded Brazilian drummers in this idiom. In 2002 Duduka’s first solo album, Samba Jazz Fantasia, was the first “Samba Jazz” instrumental album ever to be nominated for the American Grammy® Award. He has recorded and toured with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gerry Mulligan, Astrud Gilberto, Phil Woods, Kenny Barron, Lee Konitz, Eddie Gomez, Herbie Mann, Wynton Marsalis, Nancy Wilson, John Pizzarelli, John Scofield, Tom Harrell, Joe Lovano, Oscar Castro Neves, and many others.
3 p.m. – Richie Goods / Chien Chien “Connected”
“CONNECTED” was formed in 2020. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Richie Goods and Chien Chien decided to do a project that would unify people and invoke imagery of love and peace. As often happens, music was the catalyst that bridged the gap and resulted in a rare collaboration; a partnership that produced “The Path” Sep. 2020, “We Three Kings” Nov. 2020, and “Rain” Dec. 2021. They decided to cement their musical relationship by creating “CONNECTED”, Together, Richie and Chien Chien create an exciting, new, energetic listening experience and attract new audiences everywhere. Their new release, “Richie Goods & Chien Chien – CONNECTED” was released in January of this year and has been on the jazz week charts for 12 weeks.
5 p.m. – Emilio Solla & the Tango Jazz Orchestra
Latin Grammy winner and multi-Grammy nominee, Argentine-born and New York-based pianist and composer Emilio Solla’s first band, Apertura, (1983-1989) was praised by Astor Piazzolla as one of the most interesting new sounds in the Buenos Aires scene in 1986. Today, with eleven CDs as bandleader and more than forty as arranger/producer, he is regarded by peers and critics as one of the most outstanding and unique composers in the Tango-Jazz field, a musical language that blends Argentine tango and folk with jazz and other contemporary music styles. He has performed all around Europe, Japan, the US and Latin America. The Tango Jazz Orchestra (TJO) is Emilio’s most ambitious project to date. A full 17-piece jazz orchestra that replaces the guitar with a bandoneon. This large ensemble has allowed Solla to take his blend of tango and Latin American music with jazz to a whole new level of accomplishment. The orchestra recorded and released its first work, “Puertos, Music of International Waters” in 2019. One of Solla’s compositions was nominated that same year for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement (sharing the honor with Vince Mendoza, John Williams and Jacob Collier) and the full album was awarded the 2020 Latin Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album.