Atlanta Jazz Festival (AJF) returns to Piedmont Park May 22-24

Posted by | Ray Cornelius

The Atlanta Jazz Festival returns to Piedmont Park this Memorial Day Weekend May 22-24 for three days of music, arts & culture and lots of food. Scheduled artists include Diane SchuurArturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Pharoah Sanders and a special tribute to Nina Simone featuring Kathleen Bertrand, Julie Dexter, Rhonda Thomas and Terry Harper.  Yours truly will be there covering the festival for the first time, so I am really excited about this opportunity.

“We have an incredible roster of musicians coming to Atlanta from around the world to perform at the 38th Annual Atlanta Jazz Festival over Memorial Day Weekend,” says Camille Russell Love, Executive Director of the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs. “And with three stages to enjoy, you’ll have lots of fabulous choices. Whether you like instrumentals or sultry vocalists, contemporary, traditional, swing or Latin Jazz, we will have something for every jazz lover. Visit our web site at www.atlantafestivals.com  to learn more about the artists who are performing at this year’s Atlanta Jazz Festival.”

Check out the full list of performances below:

Friday, May 22

Main Stage:

7:00 pm                                Mad Satta

9:00 pm                                Thundercat

Saturday, May 23

Local Stage:

12:30 pm                              Tri-Cities High School Jazz Band

2:30 pm                                Jessie Davis & the Nebraska Jones Experiment

4:30 pm                                Kenosha Kid

6:30 pm                                Wolfpack ATL

International Stage:

1:30 pm                                North Atlanta Center for the Arts Jazz Band

3:30 pm                                Dida

5:30 pm                                Banda Magda

7:30 pm                                Alfredo Rodriguez Trio

Main Stage:

1:00 pm                                Contemporary Violinist Daniel D.

3:00 pm                                The Rad Trads

5:00 pm                                Marcus Strickland Twi-Life

7:00 pm                                Otis Brown III

9:00 pm                                Derrick Hodge

Sunday, May 24

Local Stage:

12:30 pm                              Joe Gransden and his Big Band

2:30 pm                                Mastery

4:30 pm                                Jeff Sparks

6:30 pm                                Tony Hightower

International Stage:

1:30 pm                                Fernanda Noronha

3:30 pm                                Strings from Haiti

5:30 pm                                Emrah Kotan

7:30 pm                                Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra

Main Stage:

1:00 pm                                Navy Band Southeast: VIP Protocol Combo

3:00 pm                                Four Women: A Tribute to Nina Simone*

5:00 pm                                Nettwork Trio**

7:00 pm                                Diane Schuur

9:00 pm                                Pharoah Sanders Quartet featuring Kurt Rosenwinkel

*Featuring Kathleen Bertrand, Julie Dexter, Rhonda Thomas and Terry Harper

**Featuring Charnett Moffett, Stanley Jordan and  Jeff “Tain” Watts