Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival brings free concerts to Liberty Avenue

PITTSBURGH ― The 14th annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival returns Sept. 19-22, with free concerts on Liberty Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh.

Performers will include nationally known artists like Robert Glasper, Shemekia Copeland and The Average White Band (on its farewell tour).

Maysa, Sean Jones, Orrin Evans & The Captain Black Big Band, Emmet Cohen Trio, Endea Owens & The Cookout, Cimafunk, Luedji Luna, Dan Wilson and Vanisha Gould also will entertain.

Also paying tribute to the 15th anniversary of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, the festival will offer All Aboard The Jazz Train, a service that picks up festival-bound passengers in New York, Newark and Philadelphia.

The free concerts take place on Liberty Avenue, between Seventh and 10th streets.

The festival, also billed as The Homecoming, kicks off Sept. 19 with concerts at area clubs, followed by ticketed concerts and the popular Taste of Jazz Party on Sept. 20 at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC), at 980 Liberty Ave.

“We are celebrating resilience on a number of levels,” Janis Burley, festival founder, curator and president of AWAACC, said.

“In addition to returning to two full days of free concerts on Liberty Avenue after two years of observing pandemic safety precautions at the beautiful Highmark Stadium, our Homecoming also commemorates the 15th anniversary of AWAACC, which opened on Sept. 17, 2009. We are still here," Burley said. "We invite the community, friends near and far, to celebrate jazz music with food trucks, a beer garden and a Game Zone for Kids.  Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield has been a steadfast supporter since 2011, and now serves as our lead sponsor for 2024 along with support from UPMC and VisitPittsburgh."

The great gathering of musicians assembled for Homecoming include Glasper and his post-bop/hip-hop, Black Radio sounds; the velvet-toned vocalist Maysa, blues diva Copeland, Cuban hip-hop musician Cimafunk and Brazilian singer Luedji Luna.

Trumpet titan/educator Jones, a former Duquesne University School of Music professor, will premiere new music.

The Jazz Train, a reserved Amtrak car featuring a live jazz session, refreshments, games and spirited camaraderie with fellow jazz lovers, leaves the station on Sept. 19 at 10:52 a.m. in New York, picking up travelers in Newark at 11:09 a.m. and Philadelphia at 12:42 p.m., arriving in Pittsburgh in time to catch some jazz. The Jazz Train departs Pittsburgh the morning of Sept. 23. Tickets are on sale now at https://pittsburghjazzfest.org.

The daily schedule, including more artists and events, will be announced later.

Tickets for concerts at AWAACC and VIP packages for the free concerts go on sale 10 a.m. May 15, at pittsburghjazzfest.org.

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@timesonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival brings free concerts downtown