Jacques Schwarz-Bart at Atlanta Jazz Festival

Join us this Memorial Day Weekend as French saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart plays the Atlanta Jazz Festival!

Jacques Schwarz-Bart has been at the center of several musical revolutions: Neo Soul next to D’angelo and Erika Badu, New Jazz as a founding member of Roy Hargrove RH Factor. He is a leading pioneer in the creation of two surging new styles: Gwoka Jazz, and Voodoo jazz, reuniting jazz music with its Afro-Caribbean and spiritual origins. Jacques’ impressionistic writing, powerful tone, and wide-ranging language – both lyrical and angular – have fueled a growing presence on the world stage. His 2020 release, Sone Ka La 2/Odyssey, revisits his Guadeloupean roots and confirms his nickname as the “saxophone colossus of the Caribbeans.”

In November of 2021 JSB recorded the Harlem Suite, his 11th album. The compositions, qualified as “Soulful and timeless” (Downbeat Magazine), reflect his journey as a jazz player coming from the minuscule Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe, to the highest peaks of the legendary New York scene. It was released on the Ropeadope label in March 2023 and features such luminaries as Terri Lyne Carrington, Marcus Gilmore, Sullivan Fortner, Victor Gould, Matt Penman.

Atlanta Jazz Festival is regarded as one of the largest FREE jazz festivals in the country. An annual celebration of the music, culture and art of jazz begins in April and culminates each Memorial Day weekend, with an outdoor festival featuring jazz artists from all over the world. The mission of the Atlanta Jazz Festival is to expose and entertain a diverse audience of Jazz aficionados, young Jazz enthusiasts and aspiring musicians to the rich heritage and variety of Jazz as an authentic form of American music.

Read more and discover the full festival lineup here.