Past Staten Island JAZZ Festivals
Staten Island JAZZ Festival 36
Hosted by Sheila Anderson, author and on-air personality of WBGO, Jazz 88.3 FM. Featured performers: Camille Thurman with the Darrell Green Quartet, Brandee Younger, Olatuja, and Lakecia Benjamin. Honoring Tracy Hyter-Suffern (The National Jazz Museum in Harlem) and Robin Bell Stevens (Jazzmobile).
Staten Island JAZZ Festival 33
Hosted by Sheila Anderson, author and on-air personality of WBGO, Jazz 88.3 FM. Featured performers: NIKARA presents...Black Wall Street, Bria Skonberg, Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, Leopoldo F. Fleming Afro-Caribbean Jazz Ensemble, Danny Mixon Quartet Featuring Vocalist Antoinette Montague, The Universal Temple of the Arts Jazz Ensemble, Dal Segno Trio Featuring Michael Morreale and Houston Person.
Staten Island JAZZ Festival 30
Featured Performers: Barry Harris, Sun Ra Arkestra, Reggie Workman, Kiane Zawadi, Leopoldo Fleming Afro-Caribbean Jazz Ensemble, Danny Mixon, Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, Jeannine Otis, Karlus Trapp, Rudi Mwongozi, Darrell Smith, WaFoo, Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble, and Uptown Dance Academy: A Tribute to Bob Cunningham.
Staten Island JAZZ Festival 35
Hosted by Sheila Anderson, author and on-air personality of WBGO, Jazz 88.3 FM. Featured performers: Billy Harper, Quintet, Nabaté Isles, Santi Debriano Septet, The DLG Trio, Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, and The UTA All-Star Jazz Ensemble with Percussionist, Leopoldo F. Fleming; Pianist, Danny Mixon; Vocalist, Antoinette Montague and Drummer, Dr. Darrell Smith.
Staten Island JAZZ Festival 32
Hosted by Sheila Anderson, author and on-air personality of WBGO, Jazz 88.3 FM. Featured performers: Reggie Workman Presents New Stars on This Horizon, Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, Danny Mixon, Leopoldo Fleming, Antoinette Montague, Jeannine Otis, Sylvester Scott, and Karlus Trapp.
Staten Island JAZZ Festival 29
Featured Performers: Hamiet Bluiett, Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, Danny Mixon Quartet and Rod Rodgers Dance Company.
Staten Island JAZZ Festival 34
Hosted by Sheila Anderson, author and on-air personality of WBGO, Jazz 88.3 FM. Featured performers: Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, Andy McKee Quintet, Nat Adderley, Jr. Quartet.
Staten Island JAZZ Festival 31
A Tribute to Randy Weston, Sun Ra Arkestra, Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, Leopoldo Fleming Afro-Caribbean Jazz Ensemble, Danny Mixon Quartet Featuring Antoinette Montague, Earl Sauls, Sylvester Scott, Kiane Zawadi, Jeannine Otis, Karlus Trapp, Rudi Mwongozi, Darrell Smith, WaFoo, Sajda Musawwir Ladner and Nicole Wright.
Staten Island JAZZ Festival 28
Featured Performers: Hamiet Bluiett, Winard Harper Ensemble, The Makanda Project, Dr. Mambo and the Experience Ensemble and Danny Mixon Quartet.
The Staten Island JAZZ Festival
For 37 years, Universal Temple of the Arts’ Staten Island JAZZ Festival has been a premier cultural event, drawing jazz lovers from across NYC and beyond. Over its history, the festival has presented National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Masters, including Randy Weston, Barry Harris, Kenny Barron, Reggie Workman and Marshall Allen. Our reach in the jazz community is deep, and the Staten Island JAZZ Festival has become a vital platform for world-class artistry and cultural exchange.
Last year’s festival, themed “Joyful Women in Jazz,” featured an extraordinary lineup including saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, vocalist Camille Thurman and her Quartet, harpist Brandee Younger, and vocalist Alicia Olatuja. We were also honored to recognize leaders in the jazz world, Tracy Hyter-Suffern and Robin Bell-Stevens, for their outstanding contributions.
Above: Saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin and Harpist Brandee Younger in performance at Staten Island JAZZ Festival 36, December 20, 2024. Photos: Shani Mitchell
Performance Excerpts from Staten Island JAZZ Festival 36 December 20, 2024
Posters Throughout the Years
Since 2015, Universal Temple of the Arts has promoted the Staten Island JAZZ Festival with images by Romare Bearden, America’s preeminent African American visual artist, signifying the special relationship between Universal Temple of the Arts with iconic cultural creators and innovators since its inception in 1967 as an art, cultural and educational nonprofit organization.
Prior to 2015, UTA collaborated with four brilliant visual artists for the JAZZ Festival posters: Robert Sievert, Andrea Phillips, Jenne Glover and Janyra Jasan.
