Monroeville Jazz Festival marks 20th anniversary

Murmurations are groups of starlings that twist and turn while flying together in a giant flock. People watch in amazement, wondering how they don’t ever run into each other.

That is what local musician Kenny Blake likens to jazz music.

“They’re not thinking. They’re not acting. They’re just doing it all together,” he said.

Blake is one of the headliners for this year’s 20th-anniversary celebration of the Monroeville Jazz Festival.

The event will be held Sept. 2 at the Tall Trees Amphitheatre in Monroeville Community Park West. The entertainment will begin at 1 p.m. and run until 8. There is no fee to attend, and guests are reminded to bring blankets and chairs.

The jazz festival is completely funded by sponsors and for the past few years it has been coordinated by the Monroeville Foundation, taking over from previous organizer Chuck Summerville.

“We’ve been doing it now for five or six years and it’s grown a lot since then,” said Ernest Groover, foundation president and a music enthusiast.

“First of all, we are lucky to have some fantastic musicians and vocalists in this area,” he said. “Pittsburgh’s venues have really evolved over time from smaller speakeasy types to larger venues now that can accommodate more people. This is how new artists get heard.”

One of the key differences between the larger Pittsburgh Jazz Festival and the one in Monroeville is the artist selection.

“Pittsburgh usually goes after the A-listers, but in Monroeville we really try to highlight local and regional talent. We’d even prefer to get some up-and-comers,” said Groover.

This year’s lineup is as follows:

• 1:15-2:30 p.m. — Calvin Stemley and Mixxtape Band with Lailonny Yvonne and Tyler Humphries

• 3-4:15 — Kenny Blake and the New Hip

• 4:45-6 — Eric Byrd Trio

• 6:30 – 7:45 — Roger Humphries and RH Factor

Perhaps none of these performers is more homegrown than Blake.

“I remember riding my horse to junior high school in Monroeville for my clarinet lessons. I think that’s the last time I was in the Times Express newspaper,” he said, jokingly. “When I was 12 years old they did a story about me riding my horse to school.”

He attended Columbia University in New York City.

“I didn’t go there for music, but I played the whole time I was in school. I thought that if I went there, I would magically wake up and be a lawyer, but that’s not how it works,” said Blake.

Instead, Blake has been a full-time musician for many years.

“I love music, all types. I’ve had a very rewarding career. I feel very fortunate. I’ve played the clarinet and then the saxophone and I really have been lucky to have had some great teachers,” he said.

He speaks highly of the Pittsburgh jazz scene and the region’s music, in general.

“You know, the size of the city has its advantages and disadvantages. For the most part it’s great, because some fantastic musicians are reachable, right here. I needed a fill-in bass player for a project, and I ended up contacting somebody, and next thing you know, I got someone from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra,” said Blake.

This year won’t be the first time Blake has played the Monroeville Jazz Festival, but it has been a while since he last did. During that time, he’s seen some changes in the younger crowd.

“I’m finding in my travels that there are some young people thoroughly involved in jazz,” he said.

Groover said he expects people of all ages to attend the festival.

Pittsburgh is recognized globally by jazz enthusiasts as being the “little-big” city positioned between New York and Chicago that welcomed and sprouted some of the world’s most famous jazz musician. The suburb of Monroeville continues to help hold that notion true.

For more information, visit www.monroevillefoundation.org/monroeville-jazz-festival.