The Blue Note Jazz Festival 2012 Brings The Jams In June

Cassandra Wilson

A top-notch roster of talent will be featured at the 2nd Annual Blue Note Jazz Festival this month. The festival began on June 10 and will run through June 30 with more than 50 scheduled performances at several venues throughout New York City. The event will offer a diverse selection of local and international talent. Some those artists scheduled to perform at the festival include Stephanie Mills, Bootsy Collins, Meshell Ndegeocello, Kathleen Battle, Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def), Cassandra Wilson, ?questlove, Groove Theory, Average White Band, and Stanley Clarke & George Duke, among many others. 

The festival is presented by Blue Note Entertainment Group, which operates the Blue Note Jazz Club, the Highline Ballroom and B.B. King Blues Club. And with a few exceptions, the festival performances will take place at one of those venues. The Blue Note Jazz Festival made its debut in June of last year and featured more than 80 performances in 15 venues throughout New York City.

Blue Note Entertainment Group was established in 1981 by Danny Bensusan with the opening of the legendary Blue Note Jazz Club in New York's Greenwich Village. The Blue Note soon became one of the first venues in the country to present jazz in an intimate, upscale setting, and Bensusan has been credited with revitalizing jazz in New York City. For more info about the Blue Note Jazz Festival, visit their website.