From the 2026 New York Hot Jazz Camp

I spent Presidents’ Week in New York working at the annual New York Hot Jazz Camp. I have missed only one year in the Camp’s 11-year history. The timing has moved from April to February to take advantage of lower hotel rates for the campers. There is also the issue of conforming to school vacations, as the venue’s (the Greenwich House Music School) schedule is aligned with the public school calendar. Approximately 45 campers attended, from 17 states and 5 countries. Perhaps as many as ten had attended previous Camps.

This year’s faculty: Dennis Lichtman, reeds; co-director Bria Skonberg, trumpet; Ron Wilkins, trombone; Tal Rosen, bass; Justin Poindexter, strings; Conal Fowkes, piano; Alex Raderman, drums; and Cat Russell, vocals. Unless you’re a musician looking to improve your trad jazz chops, anything I write about the camp might be of scant interest to you. Suffice it to say that the faculty is world class and it seems that everyone who attends leaves at a higher skill level.

Being in town for a week gave me a chance to take in some of the city’s finest talent. On Monday I saw Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks at Birdland, their post-COVID home. I’ve followed this band for 40 years and have seen them literally dozens of times. They’ve never disappointed. On this occasion there were several subs: Dan Pearson on reeds for Dan Levinson; Evan Arntzen for Will Anderson on reeds; Riley Baker from California for drummer Paul Wells; and Rob Hecht for Andy Stein on violin and phono-fiddle.

But for the first time I noticed that the band repeated about two-thirds of the tunes in both sets. This, apparently, is the new normal. I didn’t have a chance to ask Vince about it, but I learned later from several people that it’s because of an almost complete change in the audience between sets, which allows the band—mainly Vince—to get more mileage out of the arrangements he has to schlep to the gig. This is no small matter for him, and if you’ve ever seen his arrangement books you’d know why. They’re of a size that would put an old Manhattan phone book to shame.

Tuesday was Mardi Gras. The Camp organized a jam that included several faculty members at a pizza shop on Avenue A, followed by a second line parade to the regular Tuesday jam at Mona’s on Avenue B. Apparently the word got out and the result was pure pandemonium. I participated but probably wouldn’t do it again. I’m sure the number of people inside Mona’s far exceeded the city’s occupancy law. I had not planned to stay late as I usually do, as it was an hour’s trip back to my Airbnb in Jersey City and I had to work at Camp the next day. So I lasted only for the first hour with the house band. Some of the campers sat in, as did several NYC musician friends (although I wasn’t there to see them). When leader Dennis Lichtman is there, the first couple hours are live-streamed, so I was able to watch later the part I didn’t see in person

Wednesday night saw me back at Birdland for the Louis Armstrong Eternity Band. There were two international newcomers on the New York scene subbing: David Sgarre from Italy for Will Anderson on reeds and Alonso de la Fuente from Chile on banjo and guitar. Both of them took vocals. These are two guys to keep your eyes on.

On Thursday it was Birdland again for the High Society New Orleans Jazz Band’s early set, which is live-streamed on YouTube; type in Radio Free Birdland to watch free. That’s why I saw two large monitors above the stage for the first time. These greatly improved the view for most of those in the house. This band’s engagement has been successful enough that they’ve gained a second show. This is a great band, one that I’ve hired at Tri-State and will do so again.

I took Friday night off but attended the Camp’s student/faculty concert at 12:30 Saturday afternoon at the Triad, a small theater on W. 72nd St. Campers were grouped into 7-or 8-piece bands, each playing three tunes, including one vocal, as has been the practice in the past. Then the faculty band played for about half an hour. This concert was open to the public, but judging by the crowd, most of those present were campers’ spouses or relatives.

The campers deserve credit for developing into (mostly) smooth operations in just three days, having never met each other before. The faculty band, as expected, wowed the audience. Molly Ryan, a co-founder and director, is a wonderful vocalist in her own right. While I’ve been in awe of her voice for 20 years, her rendition of “Sleepy Time Down South” nearly had me in tears, and I’m not outwardly emotional.

The Triad is not a large space; in fact, there is no exterior sign indicating that it’s even there. It only serves drinks and snacks, with a $25 and two-drink minimum. In midday I was not about to order two beers without food, so I sprung for two OJs and a small package of pretzels. Rather steep, considering that at Birdland you can get real food for $20.

The camp faculty was scheduled to make a record on Sunday afternoon at a midtown studio. Whether this happened or not with the second blizzard in a month on the way, I don’t know. I had planned to go to Tri-State’s concert, but it too was cancelled because of the weather. That enabled me to get home without any weather problems.

I always enjoy volunteering at Camp and supporting the efforts of my friends Molly and Bria to further the trad jazz cause by nurturing people young and old who want to improve their skills.