After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the Long Beach Jazz Festival is back this weekend
Music’s ability to cross boundaries of space and time makes it a fitting medium to inspire the inter-generational Black business legacy behind the Long Beach Jazz Festival. First started by jazz drummer Al Williams back in 1987, the festival is now celebrating its 33rd iteration (with two years off due to COVID-19). It’s spearheaded by Williams’ daughter Kim Benoit, and it takes place this weekend.
The star-studded lineup features multiple Grammy award-winning artists like Robert Glasper and Ledisi, as well as a diversity of genres from classical to R&B. Glasper released the tertiary album in his Black Radio trilogy earlier this year, Black Radio 3, which featured a collection of artists across genres from hip-hop legends like Q-Tip and Big K.R.I.T to neo-soul icons like Meshell Ndegeocello and India Arie. Glasper also won the Grammy for Best R&B Song for his track “Better Than I Imagined” (with H.E.R. and Meshell Ndegeocello) in 2021.
Fellow Grammy-winner Ledisi made an appearance on the album, just as she will headlining the Long Beach Jazz Festival Stage on Saturday night. In the same year as her win for Best Traditional R&B Performance on the track “Anything For You” in 2021, the singer released a Nina Simone tribute album, Ledisi Sings Nina, which honors the outsized role Simone’s music played in Ledisi’s life.
On Sunday night, Sergio Mendes will close out the festival with his signature Brazilian sounds which infuse traditional bossa nova with funk and jazz elements. The 80-year-old musician approaches every opportunity with vigor, claiming he has no intention of slowing down in the immediate future.
In addition to world-renowned and soul-stirring musical fare, festival attendees will have access to a health and wellness pavilion that will feature healthcare providers and wellness professionals as speakers and panelists, host live cooking demonstrations, offer screenings and educate visitors on overall a lifestyle of wellbeing. Festival organizers state this is an effort to bring care to members of their community who often find medical treatment inaccessible and undergirds this year’s festival theme, “A Healthy Taste of Jazz.”