Courtesy JCAL
JCAL’s Downtown Jamaica Riddim and Jazz Festival Returns July 26
By MOHAMED FARGHALY
mfarghaly@queensledger.com
The Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL) is set to light up Rufus King Park
once again with the return of the Downtown Jamaica Riddim and Jazz Festival, a
free, family-friendly celebration of music, community, and culture. The annual event
takes place Saturday, July 26 at 2 p.m. at 150-29 Jamaica Avenue in Queens.
Now in its third year, the festival has become a centerpiece of Southeast Queens’
summer arts calendar, drawing thousands to experience a day of genre-spanning
performances—from jazz and R&B to Latin rhythms and soul. This year’s
performers include Jaleel Shaw, Miki Yamanaka, Bartlett Contemporaries, and Steve
Oquendo, with music curated by Afro-Cuban percussionist Steven Kroon and Jazz
Gallery Artistic Director Rio Sakairi.
“Here we are, once again, ready to set Downtown Jamaica up with music,” said
Courtney Ffrench, JCAL’s Artistic Director.
The Riddim and Jazz Festival is a culmination of JCAL’s two signature music series:
Riddim Section, which explores sounds from across the African diaspora, and
Thursday Night Jazz, a showcase for emerging and established jazz artists.
“The music festival is called the Downtown Jamaica Riddim and Jazz
Festival—Riddim spelled R-I-D-D-I-M, a takeoff from ‘rhythm,’” explained Ffrench.
“Throughout the year, we have a Thursday Night Jazz series… and another music
series called Riddim Section. At the end of the year, we present the festival, which is
a combination of both music series into one day.”
Ffrench, who has been with JCAL for over a decade, noted how the festival has
outgrown its original indoor venue at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center. “It has
grown so much that we’ve moved it outdoors to the park at Rufus King… Last year
we featured Samara Joy, who’s a Grammy Award-winning artist. This year, we’re
featuring Jalil Shaw… Our reservation list is up to 2,500 persons.”
While the performances are free, JCAL has relied on a range of public and private
funding to support the event, including help from local Council Member Nantasha
Williams and foundations such as the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Hindu
American Foundation.
“Everything—you can’t do anything without some funding,” Ffrench said. “And then
of course, it wouldn’t happen without the community and the people who attend our
concerts throughout the year… They all come out to this festival and bring their
families with them.”
Attendees can expect a vibrant and relaxed atmosphere with food and merchandise
vendors, lawn seating, and music that transcends age and taste. “There are vendors
there selling different wares, Kool-Aid, selling hats, T-shirts and so on. So it’s a really
festive and fun affair… You don’t feel as if you need to be particularly knowledgeable
about music. It’s just a fun, fun happening.”
Ffrench emphasized the accessibility of the event, both culturally and financially.
“This festival coming up has Jalil Shaw, the Bartlett Contemporaries, [jazz pianist]
Yamanaka… A concert like this, let’s say at BRIC or somewhere in Brooklyn, you’re
talking about $45 to $65, whereas we are able to subsidize that—and it’s free.”
When asked what he hopes audiences walk away with, Ffrench didn’t hesitate: “That
you can actually get… great talent in your own backyard, that you don’t have to
travel to Manhattan, you don’t have to go into Brooklyn. You can stay right here in
Jamaica, Queens and get really good quality programming.”
The gates at Rufus King Park open at 12 p.m., with music running until 9 p.m.
Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, picnic blankets, and their entire
families.
Though the event is free, JCAL encourages continued community support through
donations and membership. “They can go to JCAL.org… You can donate to us there,
and give us a comment about what you like, what you didn’t like,” said Ffrench.
“Everything works from the ground up… The more membership we have, the more
we’re able to reach out to the community to get a sense of what it is they want to
see.”
For more information or to RSVP, visit www.jcal.org or call 718-658-7400.
