The New York Hot Jazz Fest Stage is a small part of Winter JazzFest, an eight-day event of—as its organizers claim—“communal celebration, open discourse, and musical inspiration on stage and beyond.” It took place from January 10-17 at ten venues mostly in and near Greenwich Village. The portion of JazzFest of greatest interest to us was held on Friday and Saturday evenings at Django, a basement cabaret at the trendy Roxy Hotel at the southern end of Sixth Avenue. Because of schedule constraints, I was only able to attend Friday night. But I undoubtedly would have enjoyed Saturday’s show as well, perhaps more so.
The NYHJF is the brainchild of Michael Katsobashvili and trumpeter Bria Skonberg, who founded the event about five years ago. It is now held on the fourth Sunday in September at the McKittrick Hotel. The Hot Jazz Fest Stage is probably best described as a subset of Winter JazzFest. Although the NYHJF was originally launched as just a day-long celebration for New York’s hot jazz and swing communities, it has expanded its mission to year-round presentations of, and advocacy for, traditional jazz through various collaborations and partnerships.
These include Central Park Summer Stage, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Symphony Space in addition to the dedicated event that is the subject of this report. The Fest has spearheaded a number of original projects and facili
