Atlanta Jazz Festival

CRITIC’S PICK: Another Memorial Day Weekend, another edition of one of the largest free jazz festivals in America, if not the world. The 2024 Atlanta Jazz Festival at Piedmont Park in Midtown runs Sat., May 25 through Mon., May 27 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day. As always, attendees will enjoy music from nationally and internationally renowned artists, as well as some of Atlanta’s finest jazz practitioners. Details about the entire lineup and other pertinent info can be found here. Your learned correspondent recommends the following performers, one from each day of the fest.
• Sat., May 25: Cécile McLorin Salvant is one of the greatest jazz singers of all time, right up there with Billie, Ella, Carmen, Nancy, Nina, Betty, and the rest. Legendary opera singer Jessye Norman once said Salvant “has a unique voice supported by an intelligence and full-fledged musicality, which light up every note she sings.” Don’t miss those lights!
• Sun., May 26: If you want to hear Latin jazz done as the gods intended it, with just the right blend of old and new, caliente and cool, sharp and funky, get thy butt in front of the stage on Sunday prior to 9 p.m. to witness Paquito D’Rivera. The Havana-born, 16-time Grammy and Latin Grammy winning, co-founding member of the United Nation Orchestra led by Dizzy Gillespie, reed player, composer and arranger is the genre’s living master.
• Mon., May 27: It’s no exaggeration to say that André 3000 knocked the Earth’s axis a few degrees off center with the recent release of New Blue Sun, an all-instrumental, flute- and synth-heavy, ambient trip. The opening track, with a runtime of 12 minutes and 20 seconds, now holds the record for longest song to debut on the Billboard Hot 100. What’s not to love?
Attendant to the three day Atlanta Jazz Festival proper are two special events. On Fri., May 24, at 8 p.m. at Symphony Hall, drummer Lil John Roberts will lead an Atlanta All-Star Band in a program celebrating the 50th anniversary of WCLK-FM (tix $25-$50). On Sat., May 25, jazz chanteuse Lauren Henderson is the featured artist for a late-night (10 p.m.) concert at Park Tavern (tix $50) — Doug DeLoach
Free. 3-day event, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. each day. Piedmont Park, 1322 Monroe Drive, Atlanta, GA 30306. www.atljazzfest.com.