NJPAC Announces Winter Jazz 2024 Line-up Including Max Roach Centennial Celebrations

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) announces 2024 Winter Jazz performances including Max Roach Centennial Celebrations, All-Star Musical Exploration of Peggy Lee-Frank Sinatra, and more.

Max Roach Centennial: The Drum Also Waltzes Documentary Film Screening + Panel Discussion (Jan 18)
 
Jazz Jams Concert Series (Jan 18)
 
Max Roach Centennial: Freedom Now Suite Concert (Jan 26)
 
Celebrating Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra & Friends (Feb 8)
 
Free Jazz Jams Concert Series (Feb 15)

PROGRAM + TICKETING INFORMATION (subject to change):
 

Thu 1.18 @ 7:00 p.m. Max Roach Centennial: The Drum Also Waltzes Documentary Film Screening + Panel Discussion
 
Celebrate Max Roach’s centennial with a screening of the new documentary Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes at The Newark Museum of Art. Afterwards, a panel discussion will include Max’s son Raoul Roach and the film’s director / producers Sam Pollard and Ben Shapiro. Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes explores the life and music of the legendary drummer, composer, bandleader and social activist through a remarkable series of creative peaks, struggles and personal reinventions — from the Jim Crow era to the Civil Rights years, surveying the heady days of post-war modern jazz to hip hop and beyond. #MAXROACH100 Tickets: FREE. This event will be held at The Newark Museum of Art, Newark, NJ.
 
Thu 1.18 @ 7:30 p.m. Jazz Jams at Clement’s Place
Co-presented by NJPAC’s Jazz Advisory Committee and Rutgers RU_N’s Institute for Jazz Studies, Jazz Jams at Clement’s Place is a monthly Jazz Jams Session concert series featuring top-flight New Jersey musicians directed by pianist and bandleader, James Austin, Jr. T.  Audience members immerse themselves in the relaxing sounds of jazz music that stimulate the player’s and listeners’ minds. All novice and seasoned jazz musicians and singers are welcomed to jam and improv with the professional band throughout the night. Co-producers: Wayne Winborne, Executive Director, IFJS and Eyesha Marable, AVP, Comm Engagement, NJPAC. Tickets: FREE. This event will be held at Clement’s Place, Newark, NJ.
 
FRI 1.26 @ 8:00 p.m. Max Roach Centennial: Freedom Now Suite
Cassandra Wilson – vocals
Sonia Sanchez – poet
Saul Williams – poet
Ravi Coltrane – saxophone
Eric Revis – bass 
Nduduzo Makhathini – piano
Nasheet Waits – drums

The revolutionary 1960 album We Insist!: Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite explored issues of social justice and racial inequality through the lens of jazz and poetry. In celebration of the centennial of Max Roach (1924-2007)—drummer, bebop pioneer and civil rights activist—this landmark work is reimagined for today’s world. In affiliation with Jazz at Lincoln Center, this special one-night only concert is led by musical director Nasheet Waits (of Max’s percussion ensemble M’Boom) featuring vocalist Cassandra Wilson, poets Sonia Sanchez and Saul Williams, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, pianist Nduduzo Makhathini, and bassist Eric Revis. Experience the modern evolution of the Freedom Now Suite, a piece that continues to live, expand and inspire across generations. #MAXROACH100 “We American jazz musicians of African descent have proved beyond all doubt that we’re master musicians of our instruments. Now what we have to do is employ our skill to tell the dramatic story of our people and what we’ve been through.” – Max Roach to Downbeat  Tickets: $39-$79. This event will be held at NJPAC’s Prudential Hall, Newark, NJ.
 
Thu 2.08 @ 7:30 p.m. Celebrating Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra & Friends | A Tribute in Song featuring Aloe Blacc, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Paula Cole, Bettye Lavette, Christian McBride, Rachael Price, Brian Stokes Mitchell and The Christian McBride Big Band & Strings
Christian McBride – bass/musical director
Aloe Blacc – vocals
Dee Dee Bridgewater – vocals
Paula Cole – vocals
Bettye Lavette – vocals
Rachael Price – vocals
Brian Stokes Mitchell – vocals 
The Christian McBride Big Band & Strings
 
NJPAC celebrates the close friendship of legendary singer and songwriter Miss Peggy Lee and the greatest vocal star of all, Frank Sinatra. This one-night-only event features Christian McBride as Musical Director, with a lineup of all-star vocalists including Aloe Blacc, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Paula Cole, Bettye Lavette, Rachael Price and Brian Stokes Mitchell —and The Christian McBride Big Band and Strings. You’ll hear all your favorite Peggy Lee songs (“Fever,” “Is That All There Is,” “It’s a Good Day,” “Let’s Love”), along with Sinatra’s classic tunes (“Luck Be a Lady,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “One For My Baby,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It”)…plus many more. Learn the story behind these two musical icons who were best friends and creative colleagues for over 50 years. The American Song series at NJPAC is presented, in part, through the generous support of the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the David S. Steiner and Sylvia Steiner Charitable Trust, the Joan and Allen Bildner Family Fund, and the Smart Family Foundation/David S. Stone, Esq., Stone & Magnanini. Tickets: $49-$99. This event will be held at NJPAC’s Prudential Hall, Newark, NJ.

Thu 2.15 @ 7:30 p.m. Jazz Jams at Clement’s Place
Co-presented by NJPAC’s Jazz Advisory Committee and Rutgers RU_N’s Institute for Jazz Studies, Jazz Jams at Clement’s Place is a monthly Jazz Jams Session concert series featuring top-flight New Jersey musicians directed by pianist and bandleader, James Austin, Jr. T.  Audience members immerse themselves in the relaxing sounds of jazz music that stimulate the player’s and listeners’ minds. All novice and seasoned jazz musicians and singers are welcomed to jam and improv with the professional band throughout the night. Co-producers: Wayne Winborne, Executive Director, IFJS and Eyesha Marable, AVP, Comm Engagement, NJPAC. Tickets: FREE. This event will be held at Clement’s Place, Newark, NJ.