Jazz at the Lake

“One of the best-kept secrets on the Eastern jazz festival circuit, the Lake George Jazz Festival is a gem worth discovering;” – Downbeat Magazine

Now in our 37th year, this contemporary jazz festival includes performances by some of the most talented jazz musicians in the world. Jazz at the Lake is a three-day, jazz experience that takes place in the Shepard Park Amphitheater, a stunning lakeside venue in the Village of Lake George.

2021 Schedule

Friday, September 17th
@7pm
Blind Visionaries: Daniel Kelly & The Seeing with Photography Collective
Blind Visionaries is a multi-media performance featuring photography created by the blind and visually impaired members of The Seeing with Photography Collective with original music by Daniel Kelly.
Exhibited in galleries around the world, the haunting and poetic images of the Seeing with Photography Collective are created in a dynamic process called “light painting” transporting the viewer into their unique dream world of surreal portraits. Their captivating images will be projected on a video screen throughout the performance. Audiences will hear recorded interviews from these blind & visually impaired photographers reflecting upon their personal experiences with blindness and Daniel Kelly’s riveting original music composed in response to these compelling stories. Audience members will create a new photo with members of the Collective that will be projected on screen during the concert!

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Saturday, September 18th
@1pm
Helen Sung Quartet +
Helen Sung is an acclaimed jazz pianist and composer, and a newly named 2021 Guggenheim Fellow. Her albums have topped the jazz radio charts, and her newest release Quartet+ (Sunnyside Records) is a “double quartet” recording of music composed by women, performed by her quartet together with special guest Harlem Quartet. She has worked with such luminaries as the late Clark Terry, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Wynton Marsalis (who named her as one of his “Who’s Got Next: Jazz Musicians to Watch!”), MacArthur Fellow Regina Carter, and Grammy-winning artists including Terri Lyne Carrington and Cecile McLorin Salvant.

@3pm
Dayna Stephens Quartet
Dayna Stephens is globally recognized as a saxophonist, composer and arranger, and is the first place recipient of the 2019 DownBeat Critics Poll in the category Rising Star—Tenor Saxophone.

@5pm
Aaron Parks Little Big
Aaron Parks is acclaimed pianist, keyboardist and composer who has performed with such artists as trumpeter Terence Blanchard, guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and is a member of the supergroup James Farm, featuring saxophonist Joshua Redman, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Eric Harland. He has recorded albums for Blue Note, ECM and Ropeadope. JazzTimes magazine named Parks a “New Jazz Visionary” alongside current giants like Esperanza Spalding, Robert Glasper and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah.

@7pm
Yosvany Terry Quintet
Cuban saxophonist/percussionist/composer Yosvany Terry creates innovative music that is a unique confluence of Cuban roots music and jazz. He is a recipient of the prestigious Doris Duke Artist Award, a Grammy-nominee and has been welcomed by a broad range of artists in the jazz and contemporary music community; playing with, Steve Coleman, Rufus Reid, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Roy Hargrove, Vijay Iyer, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Avishai Cohen, Baptiste Trotignon, Eddie Palmieri, and Gerald Clayton.

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Sunday, September 19th
@1pm
Stephanie Chou
Stephanie Chou’s music combines classical and Chinese influences with Western jazz and pop to create an entirely original, unique musical world. She will present a bi-lingual (English and Mandarin) show exploring fresh takes on Chinese folk songs and tongue-twisters (from her album “Asymptote”), excerpts from her recent evening-length jazz-opera “Comfort Girl”, songs exploring her passion for math and literature, and several new pieces of music written during the pandemic. Stephanie’s music is all about connecting with the audience, and sharing her experience as a Chinese-American growing up in NY through her music.

@3pm
Ingrid Jensen Band
Ingrid Jensen has been hailed as one of the most gifted trumpeters of her generation. A member of the innovative jazz orchestras of Maria Schneiderand Darcy James Argue and has performed with the Grammy-winning Terri-Lyne Carrington and her Mosaic Project, Helen Sung’s Sung with Words project and the highly acclaimed all-star ensemble, Artemis. She has performed with a multi-generational cast of jazz legends ranging from Clark Terry to Esperanza Spalding.

@5pm
Black Art Jazz Collective
Black Art Jazz Collective is an all-star sextet featuring trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, trombonist James Burton III, pianist Victor Gould, bassist Rashaan Carter and drummer Mark Whitfield Jr. They have been invaluable members of ensembles led by Tom Harrell, Bobby Hutcherson, Kenny Barron, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, consistently receive rave reviews and regularly perform to packed houses of jazz fans eager to show their appreciation for the music and the band’s message of unity, integrity and pride